Why the Temperament Argument Is Another Red Herring

The latest argument against Judge Kavanaugh is that he was overly angry when defending himself against unsubstantiated allegations about which he asserted his own innocence.  Somehow, defending oneself when faced with life destroying accusations is a sign of poor judicial temperament.  Everyone should realize how ridiculous this argument is!

First, the hearing in which the Judge’s temperament is criticized was one where he was fighting for his very life and that of his family.  He was not deciding a legal issue.  If he had been a judge in this case he would have recused himself.  But he himself was on trial – a very public and very unfair trial in which he was essentially being asked to prove his own innocence.  Yet, in asserting that innocence strongly and firmly he is now told he is guilty of bad temperament.  Essentially, this is a catch-22 in which one is guilty if they say they are innocent. 

Secondly, throughout his years on the DC Circuit the Judge has exhibited fairness and judicial temperament of the highest quality in every case that he has decided.  In the first hearing on his nomination, when his qualifications and not his alleged high school antics, were the subject, there was no issue of his temperament, no allegation that he did not have proper judicial temperament.  Indeed, there has been no question of his temperament until he was placed in the untenable position, following weeks of a politically motivated smear campaign, of proving that he is innocent of unsubstantiated accusations.  Even then, the temperament issue did not arise until it was clear from both the testimony of the accusers and further investigation that the allegations would not destroy Kavanaugh as intended.

Third, the attacks on his temperament generally refer to his “performance” and argue that this is not how one should react in the face of such allegations.  How should one act?  That question cannot be answered because we all will act differently in the face of such attacks.  Yet, we are holding the Judge to some sort of standard that is certainly not clear, at least to me:  When one is charged with something that he claims is false, and is faced with more biased questioning from those who participated in the smear campaign, is he supposed to simply sit back and take more, or is he not entitled to feel the very personal wounds of the political assassination attempt and stand up for his own innocence?  Apparently, in the eyes of his opposition, that personal defense from their attacks is enough to disqualify him.  This was a personal attack on the judge and his life; it had nothing to do with his judicial temperament.  He was angry; I suspect most everyone would be angry in this or similar situation.  Did he not have a right to defend himself without being condemned for doing so?

Fourth, we demand that this man act in some one specific way or we will continue to destroy him, but throughout these weeks of smear campaign we have been told that women act in all sorts of ways when they make accusations and we are supposed to accept that without question and bend over backwards to accommodate their behavior, whatever it is.  This certainly sets up two very different standards for two different identity groups. 

The attacks on Judge Kavanaugh’s temperament are just one more weapon that the Democrats are using in their attempt to keep this highly qualified jurist from the bench.  It is one more red herring, designed to distract us from the actual qualifications of this fine jurist.  One should be entitled to defend oneself, to assert one’s own innocence without that defense being used to find new guilt.  No one should be distracted by the opposition’s latest red herring.

Why Every Senator Must Vote YES

Every Senator who cares about this country must vote Yes on the Kavanaugh nomination.

At this point if his nomination fails they are authorizing the sort of smear campaign against any and every future nominee that we have seen play out against Judge Kavanaugh.

What we have is a good nominee who was faced with unsubstantiated accusations the investigation of which (along with the search for dirt) may have found some less than honorable episodes or words in his youth (throwing ice in a bar; perhaps becoming over intoxicated; using sophomoric jokes in yearbook; etc.)  Let’s remember that we are all human, none of us is perfect, and if we search hard enough we will find some less than honorable event in the life of everyone, even a saint.

Now having been accused of poor character and his character smeared beyond belief, we are told he cannot be a judge because of that character.  We are told that righteous indignation in the face of allegations which he claims are false is sufficient to keep him from the Bench – essentially that his claims of innocence are proof of guilt, or should at least disqualify him from this nomination.  This is a catch-22 that is not democratic, not the way this country operates.

We cannot let the screams of hatred and anger intimidate the country into complicity with and authorization of this horrendous political assassination tactic along with its obvious use of troubled individuals for nothing more than political gain.  We cannot let the stall tactics of the democrats continue as they now attack the investigation that they called for.

I understand that Judge Kavanaugh might not be the individual that some would pick for the Supreme Court if their role was to nominate, but that does not mean that he is not highly qualified for the position.  The Senate’s role in confirmation is not one of personal preference.  In its role of advice and consent I would hope that the Senate would look to those legitimate qualifications and not at the distracting political circus and its many red herrings that have been produced over the past few weeks.

I will not rehash all the appalling events and red herrings of that circus.  Let me just point out a few that are most troubling:  the disregard of our Constitution, the rule of law, and core principles of democracy such as innocence until proof of guilt; the callous use of a clearly troubled woman for political purposes and with little if any regard for that woman herself, despite Democrat claims of this being about protecting women; the inflation of this nomination into a representative battle of various identity groups; the complete failure to focus on the qualifications and record of the nominee that are relevant to his service as a justice and failure of the Senate to properly carry out its role of Advice and Consent; the effect that this willingness to use smear tactics reminiscent of the Inquisition, McCarthyism, and Communist Russia will have on the likelihood of qualified individuals entering public service in the future.

The bottom line is that the tactics used by the Democrats to stall this nomination should be unacceptable to every American.  The end does not justify by any means necessary.  To accept that premise is to deny the importance of the principles of our Constitution and our democracy.   It is those principles that allow for an honest and fair opposition, not the Stalinesque tactics that we have seen employed over the past few weeks.  A no vote on Kavanaugh effectively endorses those undemocratic tactics.

We have a qualified candidate for Supreme Court Justice.  Personal preferences aside, there is no reason not to vote YES.  In this instance, that YES vote will further indicate a stand against the unsavory tactics demonstrated by the Democrats over the past weeks. 

Anyone who believes in fairness and justice must now stand up for what is right, renounce the political assault we have been witnessing, and urge the Senate to confirm this highly qualified jurist.

The Play Book Is Truly Frightening

So, here is the play book:  Accuse a good man of poor character, based on unsubstantiated allegations and his denial, then, argue that the man is not qualified because of his poor character.  Continue to demand investigation upon investigation, forever if necessary, until he is eliminated. (Even before its release, the Democrats claim that the FBI investigation is not sufficient and demand more)

I can think of several labels for this:  Catch 22; Salem Witch Trials; McCarthyism; Kafkaesque; Black lynchings in the segregated South; Stalin Show Trials; the Inquisition.  None of these should be part of America in the 21^st Century.

Perhaps the political assassins don’t think we will notice.  They distract us with all sorts of red herrings (A “red herring” is defined as “something, especially a clue, that is or is intended to be misleading or distracting.”).   Failure to produce classified documents; questionable and unfounded allegations; media frenzy about whom to believe and who put on the better “performance.”; juvenile humor in a high school yearbook; claiming outrage of a man who claims his innocence is proof of his poor character; the need to believe women and treat them with special care; etc. etc. 

These questions are red herrings.  The country’s obsession with them is distracting us from the violation and rape of the Constitution that is occurring under our noses as the Democrats turn their role of Advice and Consent into an inquisition designed to serve their own political agenda to the detriment of our Country and with the destruction of a man and his family as some sort of collateral damage.

What we have is a good nominee who was faced with false accusations the investigation of which may have found some less than honorable episodes or words in his youth.  Let’s remember that we are all human, none of us is perfect, and if we search hard enough we will find some less than honorable event in the life of everyone, even a saint. 

What we are witnessing is political assassination by a group of people who are unwilling to accept the fact that they are not in power, that the people of this country elected a president the Democrats do not like and that the election was a signal that their policies were not the direction that the country wanted to go.  This assassination attempt in itself is bad enough, but it sets a precedent for future behavior as well as a warning to anyone who might seek public office in the future.  This smear and scare campaign is detrimental to us all.

It is apparent today that many are willing to ignore the Constitution when they believe that it furthers their political or social agenda.  There are many pretexts for this act of ignoring the constitution, all of which are nothing more than excuses that boil down to justifying “by any means necessary” to get one’s way.  There are small excuses: “this is just a job interview” (of course, questions such as many of those being asked of Kavanaugh would be impermissible and often illegal at a job interview).   There are the rumblings of underlying revenge:  for failure to put Merrick Garland on the bench, for the nomination of a constitutional conservative, simply for the fact that the country elected Donald Trump.   And, some come from the “social justice warriors” who in the case of the Kavanaugh hearing seem to less concerned about the questionable allegations here than in fighting for justice for all women or against all men or at least powerful men.  The problem with ignoring the constitution in this social justice battle is that it is that very constitution that allows those warriors to fight their battle.

Our country is far from perfect, but it is our country’s democracy and its Constitution that allow us to improve ourselves.  It was the 1^st Amendment and its freedoms of speech and assembly that allowed the suffragettes to be heard and gain the vote for women.  Similarly, it was our Constitution that allowed the civil rights movement to arise and become successful.   It is the Constitution that allowed the President to enforce the orders for school desegregation.  Without the freedoms and the rights provided to the people in the Constitution these movements and many others could have been stopped before they even began.

In this era of the 24-hour news cycle, of social media, of the need for instant gratification of every desire, it is hard to have the patience that a democracy requires.  On top of that, people are encouraged in intimidation tactics when, because of those very tactics, even our representatives are afraid to stand up to them and for what is right.  We must not let the screams of hatred and anger from his opposition intimidate us into complicity with and authorization of this horrendous political assassination tactic.  We must remember that we are a country with a constitution and the rule of law and basic concepts including innocence until proof of guilt.

Changes happen, but they happen slowly.  Most importantly, they happen via and because of the rule of law.  Those who want to rectify all the wrongs instantly and without the process that democracy requires are making a huge mistake.  I can perhaps understand the emotional need for instant results, but that need is complicit with those who would change our constitutional democratic republic to some other form.  The red herrings that they conjure and present may seem to be the key issue but they are not.  They distract those who, in the passion and sincerity of their plea for change, fail to look beyond those red herrings and see the bigger picture along with the underlying and real issue of the method by which they are seeking change.

In the case of Judge Kavanaugh the tactics used from the beginning have not been for the people, not for the accusers, not for women, not for justice.  They have been only for political power of those who now find themselves out of power and are hoping that will change with the midterm election.  No one should stand by and let this happen; no one should stand by as if this were OK. We are seeking a qualified jurist.  Judge Kavanaugh is that.  It is because he is that, because he cannot be challenged on his credentials, that the smear campaign was undertaken. 

At this point, anything other than a Yes vote on his nomination sends a frightening message to our leadership – that all the stops are out, all systems go – assassinate at your will, ruin families and lives, all for your own power and with complete and total disregard for the people whom you were elected to represent.  This is not the playbook that we should be using in America.

What the Kavanaugh Hearings Tell Us About America

Looking at the Kavanaugh nomination circus, anyone who has half a brain knows the process is broken, though sadly many choose not to see what they know.  So, what does this tell us – not only about the Kavanaugh hearings, but about America itself?  Let me suggest a few things.

We are losing America as we know it.   The original motto of our Country, adopted by act of Congress, in 1782, is “E pluribus Unum.”  That means “From many, one.”  Even though changed to "In God we trust" in 1956, "e pluribus unum" has been for 200+ years a perfect description of our country:  many diverse people with diverse views come together under one rule of law, set forth in the Constitution.  That Constitution’s guidelines allow us to hold our individual beliefs yet bind us together as one people who believe in liberty and justice for all.  It sets forth principles of due process which provide for fair and equal treatment and which are essential for any form of democracy.   Because we held our Constitution and the rule of law in high esteem, we were able to disagree, sometimes heatedly, about policy and actions of the country while at the same time all believing in and hoping for the success and vitality of our democracy and our country.

We have lost this.  With the rise of identity politics we have devolved into tribes, each concerned primarily with their own interests and not with the good of the country or of the individuals who make up one or another tribe.  We have become willing to ignore the rule of law and the Constitution as tribe fights against tribe.

The Kavanaugh hearing has become about women and the MeToo movement.  Dr. Ford has lost her individual identity to become simply a representative of the tribe of MeToo women.  That tribe seems to be at war with the tribe of white, conservative men as represented by Judge Kavanaugh, or simply the tribe of non-activist judges that one would anticipate a non-liberal president to appoint. 

Dr. Ford is not all women; she is one woman, one individual and this is one alleged event.  This is not a trial of all women vs. all men.  Yet that is what it seems to have become.  And, in so becoming we have thrown out the core democratic principles of due process.  Now, rather than evidence, what matters is who puts on the best show – who is the most “compelling” witness, who cries or does not cry, who is the most sympathetic.  We ask “should a man be brought to tears by what he claims is an unfounded allegation?”  Does that mean he is weak?  What we are doing is painting all men with one brush, not seeing each person as the individual he or she is.  We are one tribe against another.

We see the rise of tribes playing out in our elections as well.  We are told to vote for someone because they are a woman or a Native American or a Black or an Hispanic or an Immigrant or a Republican or a Democrat or a veteran or a Muslim or – the list goes on.  We no longer look for the candidate who is best for America, but the one who will represent the tribe that we may happen to favor.  Similarly, in the Kavanaugh nomination, we have forgotten about the Constitution and the qualifications of a Justice.  It has become nothing more than a battle for tribal power.

Looking at the Kavanaugh hearings, we should be alarmed by how little the Constitution means to so many.  We should be alarmed at how the media, rather than present facts objectively and fully to the people, participate as propaganda machines for one or another tribal interest.  It has almost become a game – whom do you believe?   It is little more than a reality show; I’m surprised they haven’t asked people to call in with their judgment – text 1 for Kavanaugh, 2 for Ford.  This is not justice, this is not due process, this is not representative of what the Constitution and this Country stand for.

The Kavanaugh circus, which has turned into a Show Trial and which ignores the rule of law demonstrates how easily we are able to ignore the Constitution.  This ignoring of process began when the Democrats sat on Dr. Ford’s allegation when they could have brought it forth in closed session during the original hearing.  The Democrats chose not to do so, but instead held it as a weapon, meanwhile finding a lawyer and Democrat operative to advise Ford.  Only when it seemed that Kavanaugh would be confirmed did the Democrats bring the allegation forward – not for Ford, but as a weapon against Kavanaugh.  At that point I wish Sen. Grassley had said, “too bad, too late, hearing closed.  Go bring your allegation in court.”  But he did not.  Because of fear of the MeToo coalition he put the rules aside and reopened the hearing.  Then, when the Democrats weren’t yet ready to present Ford we had delay upon delay upon delay as hearing deadlines came and went for things like her “fear of flying” which we learned from her own testimony is bogus.  Her lawyers wouldn’t agree to the committee's offer to come to Dr. Ford when they were under the impression she feared flying, but again, from Ford’s testimony it appears she was never told this was a possibility.  This all reeks of stall tactics not for justice or concern for Dr. Ford, but as part of the attack on Judge Kavanaugh and the tribe he represents, a tribe which has been declared the enemy of the Democrats.

This ease with which we ignore the rule of law that once held us together sets a very dangerous precedent.  In the Kavanaugh circus we have thrown out the rules because of fear of various tribal interests and emotional hysteria.  There is no due process for either party and the Constitution and rule of law have become a casualty as people justify the use of any means necessary to achieve their end goal of victory for their tribe.   This has become an example of mob rule, not rule of law.  In this case, by following the precedent that the rules don't matter, the vote on Kavanaugh could be delayed forever as the Kavanaugh opponents parade out allegation after allegation and demand investigation after investigation. Like Stalin's Beria, they have their victim, they will continue to search for the crime.  This case is especially troubling because of the way the Democrats have used Ford, demonstrating that they care less about the individual and her anguish than about their own political power.

But, beyond this case, we are seeing a precedent where we are willing to ignore the rule of law – the constitution – to serve political ends.  If we are willing to do that here, then really that document, the Constitution, that binds us all together with rights and responsibilities that apply to all, has lost its meaning.  And when it has lost its meaning then we as a country have lost our meaning – we are no longer one people, but a bunch of tribes each fighting for our own interests. 

This crisis of America did not begin with the Kavanaugh hearing.  It has been building for years – years long before Donald Trump even became a politician.  It is fueled by lack of education about the fundamentals of our government and objective history of our country and its place in the world.  It is fueled by a media that cares less about truth than about ratings and that is more than willing to become a propaganda machine for one or another group.  And, it is boosted by the use of identity politics that raise a tribal identity over the individual and then foment the hatred of one tribe against another.

America is now, however, at a true and important crossroad.  Will we continue on the path of tribalism, or will we stand against it and for the unified America that holds the Constitution and the rule of law as its unifying and guiding principle?  Will we assume that all people of a particular tribe think and act the same, or will we recognize people as the individuals that they are?  Are we willing to sacrifice our individual voices and the reason and fairness of the rule of law to a world where tribe fights tribe by suppressing all opposing voices?  Or, are we able to accept our imperfect democracy and work to save it?  Are we still able to welcome diverse voices and viewpoints all with a common cause of protecting and defending the Constitutional freedoms, rights, and responsibilities that have made America a shining example to the world for over 200 years? 

Now is the time to decide, because once we throw out our common purpose and its guiding principle, then it will be very hard, if not impossible, to get it back.   I truly believe that anyone who cares about this country and the freedom, justice, and fairness for which it stands needs to stand up and speak out now or I really fear what we will become.

What We Learned From Today's Hearing

The testimony of Ford and Kavanaugh ended about an hour ago.  So here are my initial observations about what have we learned today:

1. That some people do not find Ms. Ford credible while others do, and some feel that they must defer to her simply because she is a woman.  Some find Ms. Ford credible in the sense that something happened to her or that she truly believes that something happened.  As Sen. Booker said, she “told her truth.”

2. We don’t really know what “her truth” is.  There is absolutely no proof that her truth is actually the true facts of what happened.  Ms. Ford has produced no corroborating evidence and the supposed witnesses she produced have all denied under penalty of perjury that what she claims happened did not happen.

3. Once the allegation that the Democrats held secretly for weeks was made public, the Republican members have conducted investigations that the Democrats refused to participate in.  The senate judiciary website documents the investigations in detail.  These investigations are not unlike the investigations that would be conducted by the FBI; an FBI investigation would simply ask the same questions that have already been asked.  An FBI investigation does not make conclusions about the testimony.

4. Judge Kavanaugh steadfastly denies the accusations against him.  He actually has some contemporaneous evidence in the form of his calendar/diary for the period of time during which Ms. Ford claims the event occurred.  That calendar/diary records the events, including gatherings and parties, that Judge Kavanaugh attended during the summer of 1982 (when the event allegedly occurred).  The party that Ms. Ford describes is not listed.

5. What we have is two people whose testimony conflicts.  The accuser has brought forward no corroborating evidence and that which she proffered to the committee did not support her testimony.  It is not Judge Kavanaugh's duty to prove himself innocent, but the duty of an accuser to prove her allegations.

6. The Democrats could have brought Ms. Ford’s allegations forward to the committee and had them investigated out of the public eye as was Ms. Ford’s wish, but instead they chose to use them politically as a means of stalling the appointment of a Justice to the Supreme court.  Their plan, long before Ms. Ford came forward, was to keep Kavanaugh from the court by any means necessary.  Ms. Ford, sadly, became a weapon of the Democrat’s political agenda.

7. Democrats do not believe that these accusations entitle Kavanaugh to due process.  Yet, these are criminal allegations and while they may have been brought forward in the wrong venue (i.e. not the court of law where she still could have brought the charges), in this country under our Constitution, an accused is entitled to due process.  One is not found guilty of criminal charges without proof beyond a reasonable doubt.  To determine, based on allegation alone, that Ford's story is true in essence finds Kavanaugh guilty of the accusations, requiring him to live with that pronouncement for the remainder of his life.

8. The argument that this is not a criminal prosecution so no need for proof just does not fly.  It reeks of McCarthyism and Communist Show Trials.  Yes, it is not a criminal trial in the sense that it is not taking place in a court of law, but rather in some way attached to the nomination hearing.  Nonetheless, the effect is the same on the accused; in fact, it is really worse because if a decision is made just on who is “more believable” then there is never a definitive decision about the guilt or innocence of the Judge and he will live the rest of his life with this question hanging over his head.  Similarly, Ms. Ford will spend the rest of her life with the question of whether he story was provable or not/whether it was really true or not.

9. Democrats’ search and destroy mission continues as they have already obtained a URL for the next website dedicated to stopping the next judge.

10. To keep a qualified jurist from the Supreme Court because of unsubstantiated allegations is a new low for the politics of hatred and a serious wound to our Constitution and our Democracy.

11. There is also the effect on women and the MeToo movement which I have previously addressed.  Suffice it here to say that demanding all women be believed or that all men must be guilty not only destroys a basic tenet of our Constitution, it also has a way of minimizing the true and serious allegations of sexual misconduct while at the same time demeaning women with the implication that they must be so weak that they can’t stand up to the demands of proving their case.  It also has a way of creating a victim mentality in all women.

12. This is a completely unsubstantiated allegation against the nominee (note, I am not saying that Ms. Ford did not suffer some sort of sexual encounter with someone, nor am I saying that she does not believe it was with Kavanaugh, nor am I saying we should not have sympathy for whatever it is that she is going through).  An accusation, without more, is not enough to give rise to a no vote against an otherwise qualified candidate.  That is true regardless of one’s political views or views about women or the MeToo movement or anything else.   We know what the votes were going to be before these allegations were made.  Despite delays and efforts to find some sort of corroboration, they still have no proof other than the words of the accusers. The Democrats would have us delay further, conduct duplicate investigations,  as they search for something/anything to completely destroy the judge. What they are doing is making a mockery of the nomination process.  Anyone who changes their vote based on the flimsy accusation presented here should not be reelected; it is clear that they have no understanding of fairness or our constitution or our democracy.

Kavanagh – Today’s Thoughts.

So, now the Thursday hearing is in jeopardy and suddenly more accusers have discovered their memories.  Just a few points:

1. Ms. Ford has received far too many concessions already.  If this accusation had been brought in a court of law (as it should have been if the goal was justice and not political gain), a hearing date would have been set, Ford would have had to appear or her claim would be dismissed, and she would have no choice about who would question her or the format of the questions or of the hearing.  Fairness and due process would have been afforded to both parties.

2. This is not about justice for what Ms. Ford alleges happened.  This is about destroying a man whose views are not in accord with those who are now using Ms. Ford and a smear campaign to keep a qualified jurist from the bench.  They are willing to throw out rules of fairness, justice, democracy in order to further their own power.  They don’t care about Ms. Ford or the American people.  They just want to destroy their opposition.

3. The question before the Senate is whether or not Judge Kavanaugh should become Justice Kavanaugh, not whether rules of fairness and justice, including the concept of innocent until proven guilty, should be waived for any woman with an unsubstantiated accusation.

4. Nor should this one alleged incident be the sole criteria for the nomination.  Even if this were proven true, it would be one event – one teenage act of poor judgment – to be weighed with 30+ years of adulthood, and with especial emphasis on his proven abilities as a judge.  If one incident during the teen years when the mind is not fully developed is enough to destroy one’s life forever, than there are few people on earth whose lives should not be ruined.  In a court of law, crimes, including murder, that take place before adulthood are usually tried and sentenced in juvenile courts with likely expungement of records when adulthood is reached.  The law recognizes the difference between a teen indiscretion and an intentional adult act.

5. Women are not victims as the MeToo movement would have us believe.  Giving a MeToo accuser everything she wants simply because she brings forth an accusation does nothing for women’s rights.    We all know that not all accusations are true and that there are many reasons for bringing an accusation forward.  But to treat all accusations, especially those with no supporting evidence, as true cheapens those that are true and provable and in a way makes them more suspect.  Additionally, demanding that a woman be believed without more, without the due process that justice demands, in a way makes all women victims – they are apparently unable to stand up for themselves but instead must be coddled and believed with nothing more.  This is unfair to both men and women and horribly contrary to the justice that we all should demand.

6. I think women are strong – stronger than the treatment of Ms. Ford would have us believe.  When she decided to come forward (and especially because she had hired legal counsel) she knew what she was getting into.  She is a well educated woman; it is time we stopped babying her.   While she may or may not be emotionally distraught, this is America; we do not let any type of accuser (even those who represent some cause or identity group that many support) destroy another human being without far more than an accusation.  I suspect that Ms. Ford knows that even if she is being counseled otherwise.

7. Perhaps what Ms. Ford claims happened indeed did happen.  Perhaps there is more to the story.  Perhaps different individuals were involved.  Perhaps this is a memory that she has somehow constructed in her mind over the course of 36 years and truly believes it is true, even if it is not.  Or perhaps it is all a fabrication.  Since she has brought this allegation forward, she must allow her allegation to be questioned and examined in a way that is fair and just to both individuals involved.

8. This is a criminal allegation and should be given the due process standards that criminal allegations deserve.  It should not be tried in the media or the court of public opinion or based upon a political or identity group’s agenda.

9. These hearings are a complete farce.  Before they began we had the Democrats in unison telling us they would not vote for Kavanaugh no matter what was said at the hearings.  They had Ms. Ford’s accusation but did not bring it forward.  They waited, hoping it would look like Kavanaugh would not get the votes he needed, but, when the hearings ended and he had proven himself to be an outstanding jurist and the vote seemed certain in his favor, the Democrats then brought forward the unsubstantiated allegation and demanded a hearing.  That served as a nice delay.  And delay.  And delay.  And still delay.  The accuser and her Democrat attorneys made demands for the hearing that essential threw out any semblance of fairness, instead weighting the hearing in the accuser’s favor before it has even begun.  Sadly, the Republican leadership, apparently fearful of this woman who can’t stand up for herself or show up at a hearing, caved to many of the demands.  Yet we still have no certain hearing as demands continue.  And now, the call having been put out for more, we have other accusers.  Yet, all the witnesses named by the accusers have said nothing happened.  No matter.  It’s all about delay and keeping a good jurist from the bench.

10. We can easily infer that the Democrats’ concern is not with Ms. Ford or women victims of violence when we look at their reactions to members of their own party who have been accused with actual substantiating evidence, unlike this case.  When it is one of their own, the women are ignored, shamed, or in some other way silenced while excuses are made and inquiries are not held.  In those instances it is rare that there is a demand that the woman must always be believed.

11. This has really got to stop.  I don’t care how many more “memories” are suddenly found.  I don’t care what other concessions Ford and her attorneys demand.  There is a hearing set for Thursday.  She can come testify or she can go home.  Anyone else has had plenty of time to come forward.  They have lost their chance to testify here.  If they really feel aggrieved, let them go to a court of law and seek justice as Ms. Ford should have done.

12. This smear campaign, in addition to making a mockery of the judicial nomination process, has a frightening chilling effect on the future of our democracy.  If those who step forward to serve are forced to face what Judge Kavanaugh is now enduring, how can we expect good people to come forward?   This is a way of silencing those views with which one party does not agree.  A democracy requires diverse views.  It deserves good public servants who do not have to go through the equivalent of a Salem Witch trial and risk the destruction of their lives as well as the lives of their families in order to serve.

13. This whole circus is a full out attack on Democracy.  It is time that it stop, that a vote is taken and that decisions are made based on the criteria for sitting as a Justice, not on the basis of a 36 year old unsubstantiated teenage allegation and the undemocratic demand that all women must be believed, period, without more, without proof,  without due process for the accused, and in direct opposition to democracy’s core belief in innocent until proven guilty.  Proof does not and cannot consist of someone’s accusation alone.

14. I have trouble keeping up with this ridiculous spectacle.  I want to ignore it, but no American should.  Rather, we should all stand up against what is going on and demand a return to fairness, justice, and the rule of law.

My past 3 blogs have addressed some of the above and some other points in more detail – I encourage you to read them:

https://ps.pinkspolitics.com/2018/09/this-is-crucial-moment-for-america.html  This addresses the convergence of tactics used by the Left for over 30 years to keep conservative, non-activist jurists from the Appellate and Supreme Court benches with the use of identity politics and its companion hatred as a weapon against those standing in the way of a political agenda.

https://ps.pinkspolitics.com/2018/09/purging-enemies-of-party-with.html This includes the parallels between this demand of a guilt sentence upon accusation alone to the same tactics of accusation alone used by dictatorships to silence and remove the opposition.  It discusses democracy’s need for due process and fairness and a real belief in innocence until proof of guilt is shown.

https://ps.pinkspolitics.com/2018/09/its-about-more-than-nominee-its-about.html  This is about the broader implications for our country of this nomination and the farce that it has become.  If we let the Democrats get away with their antics, if we let them stop a perfectly valid nomination based on accusation and innuendo alone, then we are empowering further their assault on our democracy and we are well on the way to losing America as we know it.

See also: https://ps.pinkspolitics.com/2017/11/me-too-does-not-empower-you.html, a post from last year about the MeToo movement

This is a Crucial Moment for America

There are two major political practices in our country today that are converging to make the circus that is the Kavanaugh nomination a frightening and serious moment in American history.

One is the historical (beginning at least as long ago as the 1980s;  for a summary of some of the most egregious see: http://video.foxnews.com/v/5839042505001/?#sp=show-clips)  efforts by the Left to keep from the bench (both Supreme and Appellate Courts) judges appointed by non-Leftist administrations; judges that hold the view that a judge must focus on law, not policy, and should interpret and apply but not create law.  This view, while consistent with the Constitution, contrasts with progressive views that would like to have more partisan judges willing to make, change, or ignore law when policy demands; that is, they seek activist judges.

The trouble with this is that the attempt to destroy via unsubstantiated accusations just because one doesn’t agree with the philosophy of the nominee is totally un-American.  In this country we have elections and when a more conservative party wins, of course they will appoint more conservative jurists.  The answer is not to smear these nominees with false and unfounded accusations, but simply to win the next election.  And, in the meantime, to use the actual criteria (as laid out in our Constitution) for choosing a Justice.

The other practice is the use of identity politics to stir up hatred that can then be channeled against those standing in the way of progressive power as well as assist in the unfair and unfounded attacks against those with differing views.  This method creates an identity group, finds affronts to members of that group, and then demands that any accusation of that group be believed without more.  The Left uses these identity accusations to gin up a sort of mob-hatred against anything that might keep them from power.  (An interesting piece on the underpinnings and beginnings of the hatred that goes hand in hand with identity politics is: https://outline.com/TXW6L8)\

There are historical parallels to this mob-like hysteria.  Of course the Salem Witch Trials come to mind.  But also, what about the lynchings of Blacks in the south?  A white woman could claim a Black man sexually assaulted her and without more he would likely be lynched.  More recently, the instigation of anti-white and/or anti-law enforcement hatred reached a peak during the Obama administration as many believed any Black person arrested or injured by law enforcement was wronged and the police became targets of both verbal and physical assaults including murder.  Individual incidents and their facts become no longer relevant as an entire identity group is urged to rise up against another group.  And now we have MeToo where “women must be believed.”  That command goes directly against our Constitution.

America was founded as a democratic republic.  It has stood as a shining light to other countries, especially those whose people live under dictatorial regimes with little if any freedom of thought or speech.  One key underpinning of our democracy has been the principle that one is innocent until proven guilty.

That phrase, uttered often and easily, actually has great and deep significance.  If one can be found guilty without proof or evidence, without any sort of due process, without an opportunity to face his or her accuser and tell his or her side, without the opportunity to cross-examine the accuser to pull out additional or questionable facts, without all the procedures that we equate with fairness and justice, then the many freedoms and rights that we hold dear fail and fall.  And without those rights, our country as we know it must also fall.

Allowing one to be determined guilty on the mere accusation of another  silences all our First Amendment rights.  One cannot speak freely, hold religious beliefs, express those beliefs, associate with others if someone else who finds those words, beliefs, actions offensive can simply accuse with the result that the accused is in someway cast aside and silenced.

Yet isn’t that what we see happening now?  The accusation against Brett Kavanaugh should not be used as a political tool to thwart the Constitution and our Democratic Republic form of government.  If the accusation actually occurred, or even if Ms. Ford simply believes it occurred, her claim should receive the due process that our Constitution demands.  That includes both due process for the accuser and due process for the accused.  And, that is why this accusation belongs in a court of law where the goal is justice, achieved through due process, rather than a goal of revenge and political gain.

There is another concern with the use of these tactics (questionable accusations to derail nominations of otherwise qualified jurists and identity politics to foment mob hatred against those standing in the way of the fomenters’ power).  As it becomes clear that those qualified individuals on the wrong side of the hatred will be vilified and destroyed, it becomes less and less likely that they will come forward to serve their country.  How many people are willing to put themselves and their families through the ordeal that Judge Kavanaugh is currently enduring?

Without diverse voices and the freedom to express them we lose a key ingredient of our democracy and instead begin to approach the necessary environment for a thriving dictatorship.  My two previous blog posts have discussed some of these points further.  I encourage you to read them.  Today I want to encourage everyone who cares about this country to open their eyes and see what is happening.  If your political leanings are on the Left, please open your eyes and see what your group is doing to America.  I realize that some on the Left no longer believe in America and seek to fundamentally change it.  I argue that this is a huge mistake.

I urge people to review history.  Countries which silence opposing viewpoints – by accusation and by intimidation – end up being a very unpleasant place for the majority of their people.  It seems to me that the convergence of political hatred and quests for power with ignorance of the very nature of our country and its constitution along with a willingness to ignore what it stands for have reached a critical mass; this is the time to either take a stand and say STOP or to acquiesce in the movement of this country to a very different and far less free place.  It is time to look beyond today and see the direction we are headed; if we allow this country to continue to veer Left to the point that it is no longer recognizable as the great country that it is, then it will be its own people that will have extinguished its shining light and they will have no one to blame but themselves.