Thursday’s hearings and related news cycles were nothing short of exhausting. Between both Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s hearing and Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s hearing, the political event lasted almost all day. And watching each hearing and the related news coverage was emotionally draining. While the hours upon hours of testimony and questioning were full of important, and incredulous, information, there are a few things that really need to be highlighted.
The Anita Hill hearing back in 1991 was awful. In light of #MeToo and the overall shift in how we are viewing sexual assault, many were hopeful that things would go differently this time. But it seems that was false hope. The Senate Judiciary Committee majority did not ask the FBI to investigate- as it did with Hill- and they spent way less time on Ford’s accusations than they did with HIll (three days). It did not allow for any other witnesses, failing to call key witnesses who could add to their overall knowledge of the events. It also implemented short, five-minute questioning periods for each senator, which the senators of the majority allocated to sex crimes investigator Rachel Mitchell during Ford’s hearing. However, for Kavanaugh’s hearing, they barely used Mitchell at all, choosing instead to make angry claims about the Democrats and furiously support Kavanaugh regardless of substantial evidence. Senator Lindsey Graham took his five minutes to scream some evil, small-minded vitriol that served to make Trump proud and discredit both Ford and the Democratic Party.
But what was most surprising to me was the way each person handled their respective hearing. Ford, while nervous and visibly shaken at times, came across mild, calm, and truthful. She answered every question to the best of her ability, taking the time to ask for clarification of questions when needed in order for her to supply the best, honest answer she could. Her opening remarks were strong and brave, yet the most power may have come during her emotional moments of weakness, like when she vividly described the details of her assault.
Kavanaugh, on the other hand, was the opposite extreme. He came across angry, spiteful, and volatile. Instead of calmly answering questions of the minority senators to the best of his ability, he chose to chastise the senators, calling them out for creating these sexual assault allegations in order to assassinate his character. His opening remarks were an uncomfortable combination of tears, harsh words, and an attempt to be viewed as the real victim in this situation.
What I think is most notable is not whether or not Ford’s allegations are credible, which I think most would agree they are. It’s not even whether or not Kavanaugh is guilty of sexual assault. The most important thing that came out of yesterday’s hearings, in my opinion, is Kavanaugh’s blatant lack of judicial temperament and overall neutrality. He showed himself to be a tough partisan, even charging that this was all a result of a left-wing Democratic conspiracy to bring him down. He yelled at individual senators from the minority and constantly interrupted their questions in an aggressive fashion. This in and of itself should have disqualified him as a potential Supreme Court justice. He showed that he cannot maintain a calm temperament in the face of adversity, and made it quite clear where his loyalty lies. A Supreme Court justice can have neither of these qualities. A lifelong appointment to the highest court in the land should not be given to a man who is both aggressively tempered and highly partisan.
But the decision is not mine to make. And as of this posting, the Senate Judiciary Committee has voted to send the Brett Kavanaugh nomination to the floor — under one condition: Senator Jeff Flake will only support it after a brief FBI investigation. Flake voted yes on the grounds that he would get support to request a floor vote delay and a one week FBI investigation. However, Flake has been given no commitment by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. If McConnell moves forward without that investigation, Flake will vote against Kavanaugh. Whether this happens or not rests with senators such as Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, who have not announced how they plan to vote. As of right now, everything is still up in the air. And we will have to wait and see how all of this turns out.
By: Cianna Allen