Maybe it’s because I’ve been getting so much grief from left and right for the alleged sin of “both sides-ism” over the last few years, but Thursday (yesterday for me) was both clarifying and cathartic. Oh, don’t get me wrong: It was horrible and possibly tragic for the Court and the country, but it was also oddly — and probably momentarily — liberating, at least for me.
Because, finally, there was a left–right fight about which I am largely un-conflicted. This wasn’t a brouhaha about Trump or any of the usual stuff. The issue here was that the Democrats and their abettors in the media simply behaved atrociously.
For example, on Thursday, nearly every conservative and Republican was respectful towards Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, finding her testimony moving and credible. But when Brett Kavanaugh spoke, also movingly and credibly, the instantaneous response from much of the liberal and Democratic chorus was “Ermahgod! Raaaaaapist!” or “How dare he be angry!” or “You can’t have a partisan madman like this on the Court!”
Look, I actually agree that Kavanaugh’s anger towards Democrats in the hearing — though morally and emotionally justified — isn’t a good thing over the long run if he were to make it on the Court. But this idea that he can’t be a Supreme Court justice because he wasn’t dispassionate in the face of multiple bogus allegations that he’s a rapist is both grotesque and grotesquely dumb.
https://twitter.com/JRubinBlogger/status/1045471629491326977
https://twitter.com/ezraklein/status/1045412138343440387
Sen. Feinstein on Kavanaugh's testimony: "I have never seen a nominee for any position behave in that manner. Judge Kavanaugh used as much political rhetoric as my Republican colleagues—and what's more, he went on the attack." https://t.co/kgAR78zAcn pic.twitter.com/EfLGRsopSy
— ABC News (@ABC) September 28, 2018
First of all, is there any doubt in your mind that, if Kavanaugh had been coldly dispassionate, dismissive, and reserved, the Jen Rubins of the world would be screaming, “See! He’s an emotionless monster! He doesn’t even have the basic human decency to take offense at being called a rapist!”?
Second, contrary to the tsunami of smug sorrowful opining, judges are not expected to be cold and dispassionate in the face of charges about themselves. That’s why they recuse themselves from cases in which they have personal interests. Here’s an idea for you: The next time you’re in a court of law, shout at the judge that he’s biased because he’s an alcoholic rapist perv. See what happens.
Dianne Feinstein — who is more to blame for this three-ring-fecal-festival than any other actor — began her questioning of Kavanaugh by raising an allegation that he ran a rape gang. He responded angrily. And now she’s offended by the partisanship? Please. Judicial nominees aren’t supposed to be like the guards at Buckingham Palace: “Let’s see how many absolutely horrible things we can say to his face before he loses his temper — and then when he does, let’s berate him for not doing his job.”
This is what I mean when I say that the hearing was clarifying. It’s no secret that I’m a Trump critic, but I do my best to stay rational and fair about it. I keep hearing from other, even more ardent, Trump critics that people like me should vote for — and endorse — the Democrats because the Republican party has been utterly corrupted by Trump. I get that argument, and I don’t think it’s as insane as some of my friends on the right do — at least on paper. But when you actually look at how the Democrats have behaved . . . Great Odin’s Raven, I don’t want anything to do with any of that.
I’ll stay in my Remnant, thank you very much.
The Blame Game
At a 30,000-foot level, I do think Quin Hillyer has a point.
To those who voted for Trump not despite, but becuz, he fights dirty,b/c 'the only way we'll win is by fighting as dirty as the Left'..The Kavanaugh hit job shows we can NEVER fight dirtier than they; using such tactics,we ratify sense that tactics MUST be so low-which helps THEM
— Quin Hillyer (@QuinHillyer) September 26, 2018
As I’ve been saying for a long time, when the president violates norms, it creates a permission structure for everybody to violate norms, including in his own administration. Every bad act by one party is over-interpreted by the other party, and the urge to counter-punch twice as hard is indulged.
But here’s the thing: Virtually any other Republican could have or even would have nominated Brett Kavanaugh, and most of the garbage we’ve heard over the last two weeks — he’s evil, he doesn’t deserve the presumption of innocence, he must be guilty because other men or white men or prep-school men are sexual predators, he’s guilty because Mazie Hirono thinks his rulings on abortion are proof of rapey-ness, he floats on water just like wood, etc. — would be spouted by these people all the same. Sure, you can put some of the blame on Trump for the climate in Washington. You can blame him for making it harder to speak credibly about sexual misbehavior since there are so many credible allegations against him.
But you can’t blame him for Democrats believing that Brett Kavanaugh ran a rape gang in high school. Nor can you blame Trump for all of the liberals who know it must be a lie and refuse to say so. That’s on them.
Let’s stay on that, because unlike the Ford question, which I think reasonable people can disagree on, the idea that Brett Kavanaugh helped run a regular rape operation is true witch-hunt groupthink. Why not just accuse him of having turned someone into a newt or moth with his blood magic?
You know why? Because this is the first time the Democrats and media colluded to destroy an innocent man… a man they KNEW was innocent. Even Judge Thomas had to be restrained… otherwise, the left would have branded him an “angry black man”.
True enough. The fact that Obama was not allowed to submit Merrick Garland is, on paper, supposedly behind the justification for the un-American, despicable, deplorable, invertebrate behavior of the Senate Democrats, even though that was justified by what Democrats had tried to pull themselves. I fully endorse not lowering one’s self to the level of the opposition, but ignoring their slime has not shamed them into changing their behavior; they still act like Beria-style secret police.
Not unless one can blame Trump because he won the election, because that is all Trump did to provoke the unending and relentless attacks. All that can be blamed on Trump’s own behavior is his REACTION to attacks. The reaction is, in most cases, the reason for the attack, but the FACT his, Trump has no problem turning conciliatory once the attacks end; he’s done so in every case. Meanwhile, when Trump played nice with Obama, Hillary and the Democrats after the election, the returned the favor by doing everything they could to undercut his administration. As another post states, you can’t reason with sociopaths.
Liberals don’t seem very concerned about keeping the scope of their lies within the realm of the credible. Apparently, a liberal doesn’t need to believe the lies they are told, they merely check a box in their minds that justifies them repeating the lies and supporting the cause de jour. Probably learned that from Josef Goebbels.
It must be very comforting to Democrats that NONE of their lot went to any prep schools or behaved like dicks.
As we watch the Democrats take a quantum leap in insanity every time they have to defeat the Constitution, keep in mind; we still have Ginsburg to deal with.
Morals they put boys in girls locker rooms men in womens bathrooms, sued nuns, allow the sale of pre term baby parts they can STFU about morals.
@kitt: Republicans are against rape. Democrats are against rape committed by Republicans.