Brett Kavanaugh’s Angry, Partisan, Yelling, and Crying Has Likely Torpedoed His Nomination

The single most damaging witness so far for the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United is without a doubt – Brett Kavanaugh. His opening statement was an extended, foaming at the mouth diatribe filled with invective and grievances against his perceived enemies. Donald Trump made it known that he was unhappy with Kavanaugh’s performance during his pitiful interview on Fox News. But if he thinks this was the way to rehabilitate his tattered reputation, he’s only proving that his faulty judgment makes him unfit to serve on the Supreme Court.

Brett Kavanaugh

The most notable impression left by Kavanaugh will be that he was furious with the women who were making allegations about his behavior, and with the Democrats in Congress who are seeking the truth. But his unhinged harangue will be viewed after the fact as detrimental to his confirmation. The spectacle of a potential justice of the Supreme Court throwing a public tantrum like this only reinforces the opinions of those who believe that he doesn’t have the temperment to do the job.

No one would hold it against him that he cried during his testimony. Well, no one except the President of the United States, Donald Trump. On more than a few occasions Trump has mocked others for showing such emotion. He routinely referred to Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer as “Cryin’ Chuck.” Should we expect a similarly disrespectful tweet from the President about “Cryin’ Brett”? And if Trump was disappointed with Kavanaugh’s appearance on the friendly Fox News network, what must he be thinking now after this extended display of shouting and weeping? If anything, it makes the charges that he is a belligerent drunk more believable.

Perhaps the most harmful part of Kavanaugh’s rant was his ferocious condemnation of Democrats. He implied that they had “laid in wait” and plotted to “blow me up and take me down.” His repetitious attacks made it clear that he regards the party as a political foe. He accused Democrats of conducting a campaign against him that was “well financed” by some unnamed and evil benefactor (George Soros?). He described their opposition to him in conspiratorial terms resembling Trump’s references to a “Deep State” cabal. Specifically, Kavanaugh said that his critics were deploying a “political hit” as “revenge on behalf of the Clintons.” Seriously?

With that sort of brazen and vile partisanship, how can Kavanaugh be relied upon to be a neutral arbiter of the law? His extreme prejudice is starkly apparent. And whether or not one believes he has justification to feel this way, it disqualifies him to be a justice whose impartiality is mandatory. No judicial authority can be allowed to harbor such obvious biases. He could certainly withdraw and run for the senate, where his partisanship would be expected. But he has morally resigned as any kind of judge and now needs to recognize that fact and resign in reality.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

The Grossness of Lindsey Graham’s Defense of Judge Kavanaugh and Attack on His Accusers

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hear from both Brett Kavanaugh and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford today in an attempt to resolve the controversy over whether Kavanaugh had engaged in sexual assault. Unfortunately, this Senate process is woefully insufficient to actually resolve such a question, but it’s the only thing the Republicans will allow.

Fox News, Lindsey Graham

Prior to the hearing, Fox News was setting it up in a manner that blatantly advantaged Kavanaugh. In a segment on Fox and Friends with Sen. Lindsey Graham, the Senator is heard laughing during a discussion of parties where women were allegedly drugged and raped. That’s an unambiguously inappropriate response under the circumstances. But he doesn’t behave any better as the interview proceeds, as observed in this exchange about the declaration provided by another accuser, Julie Swetnick (video below):

Anna Kooiman: Here’s the problem Senator. We’re not saying that nothing happened to her. It’s serious allegations. Something might have happened to her. We are all just questioning why she didn’t go to police. She says that she was raped at one of these parties. Not by Kavanaugh. Someone else. So people are wondering why didn’t she go to police when that happened. Or why isn’t she going to police now? [She’s asking for an FBI investigation]
Graham: Well here’s what I would say. Y’all are very nice people. I don’t buy this. I don’t believe that any reasonable person would go to a party where people are being drugged and raped and not tell anybody about it, but keep going for ten times over a two year period. Brett Kavanaugh’s life – there’s no indication that that’s the kind of person he is. This lady, Brett Kavanaugh says ‘I never met her’. Avenatti is her attorney. If you can’t figure this out, then there’s something wrong with you.

Graham went on to repeat his surprise that Ms. Swetnick continued going to parties while in college. And he summed up by stating flatly that “Brett Kavanaugh is not a serial rapist,” revealing that his mind was already made up before anyone has testified.

However, Graham’s characterization of Swetnick’s declaration is patently false and even absurd. He’s implying that she willfully attended regularly scheduled rape parties. But she never said anything of the sort. Her testimony is that she attended ten parties, in two years, where she observed this repulsive behavior. Graham is asserting by assumption that those were the only parties she attended. It’s more likely that she attended many more.

If we estimate that she attended one party a week during these two years of college (a conservative estimate), that’s 104 parties total. She wasn’t deliberating attending parties where such activity was advertised and tolerated. So at ten of these parties – out of more than a hundred – she happened to encounter some disgusting individuals like, allegedly, Kavanaugh.

Graham’s attempt to portray Swetnick as someone who regularly and deliberately attends rape parties is just plain nauseating. And it’s proof of his intent to malign her character. Furthermore, his snide reference to to her attorney, Michael Avenatti, was also meant to disparage her and dismiss her testimony. Never mind that Avenatti has provided remarkably precise and accurate commentaries on everything from Kavanaugh to Michael Cohen, and of course, Stormy Daniels. Graham, on the other hand, has proven to be a sleaze ball who sucks up to Donald Trump and abandons every speck of integrity or dignity he might have ever had. Just sayin’.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.