Again, I pause at the threat of posting too much political stuff here, and it’s been a heated, fast-moving story, but I feel again compelled to weigh in on the Kavanaugh debacle.
In the wake of Thursday’s hearings, Friday’s ludicrous sprint towards a vote, and then the last-minute stay of execution (of a sort) with Senator Jeff Flake’s agreement to advance Kavanaugh’s nomination to the floor on the condition of an FBI investigation, emotions have been charged and perceptions have been at odds. Will the concession of the FBI probe end up being only a Pyrrich victory, given that the White House is heavy-handedly overseeing the investigation in the form of Don McGhan, the Trump administration’s leading advocate for Kavanaugh’s confirmation? We’ll know by the end of the week, I guess.
Over the course of the weekend, meanwhile, social media feeds were buzzing with fallout from the whole affair. I spotted the cartoon by Bruce MacKinnon above and shared it on Facebook. While most of the friends who responded liked and shared it, I did have one or two folks say it “went too far,” was “total BS” and that I’d summarily “lost my mind.”
To that, I say this.
Planning to continue with the vote on Friday morning essentially reduced Thursday’s hearings to an incidental formality, at best. To confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court in the wake of Thursday’s testimony and without any follow-up investigation by the FBI was — and remains — the wrong thing to do. It will only demonstrate a brazen disregard for the rule of law, sow massive unrest and irreparably undermine and delegitimize the credibility of the highest judicial body in the nation. There will be long-term consequences.
If you believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford -- as I do -- then you'll agree that her painfully candid testimony demands more time and consideration, and certainly deserves better than the lip-service Senators Grassley, Graham, Cornyn and the rest of those sanctimonious pricks were willing to grant her, as they tried to swiftly railroad this process to fruition without any semblance of due diligence in the form of a thorough FBI investigation. True to MacKinnon’s depiction above, the Republicans on the Senate Judiciary committee are essentially doing to the rule of law what Kavanaugh is accused of doing to Ford. To any cries of political unfairness, where was your righteous indignation when Merrick Garland was up for a vote? That the FBI are finally getting a CURSORY and LIMITED time to conduct an investigation was something that had to be fought until the 11th hour over. And now, even that’s largely compromised. My fellow Americans on both sides of the divide should be alarmed, disgusted and ashamed.
If you’re thinking of going as either Kavanaugh or Ford for Halloween, please go stick a fork in the nearest toaster.
Lastly, if you believe MacKinnon's cartoon is too coarse for your delicate sensibilities, consider the words that dribbled out of the pie hole of our president.
Fret not, .... I'll get back to punk rock, forgotten record stores and gratuitous NYC nostalgia shortly.
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