Kavanaugh Roulette: Karma Be Like…

The unaddressed problem with the whole Kavanaugh spectacle was that immediately the GOP conflated a job interview with a criminal trial, shifting the burden of proof to the accuser. I listened to a great story about logic on Science Friday on NPR, and the abstract mathematician Eugenia Cheng pointed out that, even IF this were a criminal trial, the other half of the story (not just “assume he’s innocent until proven guilty”) is that Dr. Blasey Ford should be assumed to be telling the truth until it can be proven that she’s not. She never got that consideration because the Republican members of the Judiciary committee framed this particular vetting (a desperate rush-job) as a criminal trial, which got Republicans and other misogynists thinking that the Dems were not giving him the courtesy of “presumed innocence.” ALSO the sham subsequent FBI “investigation” that was severely constricted by 45 ENSURED the truth would never come out because it was never actually sought.

ADD TO THAT the way the brain stores trauma and lets fade away inconsequential details such as the street address of a house you were once in 30 years ago and how you got there. Can anyone in their 50s remember how they got to even the BEST high school party they went to? Throw some severe trauma in that night and you will remember what happened and how you felt. Even if you suppress that trauma for years, the traumatic details can be triggered and re-accessed, as was clearly the case with Dr. Blasey Ford.

Tragically, she was NOT given this same courtesy afforded the GOP’s golden boy. This gave the GOP all the ammo they needed to say shit like “They’re coming for your sons next!” And non-critical thinkers across the land jumped on board. It’s a mob mentality and Trump is very adept at steering those.

Statistics show it is extremely difficult to prove guilt in sexual assault. But again, this was not a criminal trial; this was a review–and then a test–of the nominee’s character and temperament. Which he failed horribly IF YOU ONLY CONSIDER HIM AS A SUPREME COURT JUDGE NOMINEE. If you consider him a regular person, you should at least give pause, more aptly find his behavior repugnant, but people who don’t think critically can be lured onto the “witch hunt” tract very quickly. Makes you wonder why they relate to Kavanaugh so deeply. How does he reflect their past behavior?

But let’s be clear: BK was being vetted for his suitability as a judge on the SCOTUS. In that regard, he was appallingly partial, partisan, and of the absolute WRONG temperament for the office. Not to mention he has a past of illegal drinking that he openly admitted. They couldn’t find a cleaner candidate? The good ole boys don’t recognize these problems in their own kind.

Republicans in the Senate don’t think his temperament is wrong because he represents THEM, not the philosophical objectivity and clear-minded, equitable logic we need on the highest court in the land. They can’t imagine what is wrong with the rest of us because, as a group, they are virtually devoid of empathy. But they should imagine that if the tables were turned and a Democrat were up for nomination (they couldn’t even bear to…the thought is so odious to them they not only refused to do their job and give Merrick Garland a hearing, THEY CHANGED SENATE RULES AND DECADES OF TRADITION TO WIN ONE ROUND) and the Dems railroaded the process so conspicuously and contemptuously. What if the shoe were on the other foot? They are so blinded by their vision of a theocratic, white-male-dominated power structure, they can’t see how utterly UN-American they have become. I would add inhumane (cf. health care, minority and women rights, immigration policy).

So now with the new low threshold of 51 votes, when the Dems next have the majority and a SCOTUS seat is up, they have a bitter cup to chug. Too bad they like beer…THAT brew will not be as refreshing. It’s going to taste a lot like the carpet in Bret Kavanaugh’s dorm room.