You Can't Handle theTruth!
If we put aside Professor Ford’s allegations and her testimony – which is almost impossible to do at this moment, but bear with me – what was particularly riveting today was Kavanaugh’s reaction to those allegations.
He was in tears one minute, and belligerent the next. He displayed paranoia (this is just revenge for Trump’s election, for my role in Bill Clinton’s impeachment, etc.), and disdain for those he considers to be political enemies.
He was easily prompted to anger, and just as easily brought to choked-up sobs. He was loud and combative; he responded to several queries by questioning his interlocutor rather than answering the questions posed.
He was, in the popular vernacular, all over the map – or perhaps “unhinged” would be the more accurate term.
What Kavanaugh amply demonstrated today is a temperament that makes him totally unfit for a seat on the Supreme Court – a position that, by its very nature, requires a calm and thoughtful assessment of facts and the law, free of political or personal bias. And Kavanaugh amply demonstrated that he lacks the ability to meet those basic requirements.
What we saw today was a man who is willing to lie (and his lies were obvious) in order to be elevated to the highest court in the land; a man who cannot control his own temper when confronted, a man who wants to be one of the ultimate finders of fact who steadfastly refuses to allow a fulsome investigation that – if he knows he is innocent – could and would exonerate him.
Do we want a Supreme Court justice who can’t answer straightforward questions without inserting self-serving talking points into their responses? Do we want a Supreme Court justice who apparently can’t keep his personal paranoia about perceived political enemies out of the decision-making process? Do we want a Supreme Court justice who can’t control his temper when his own credibility is challenged?
No, we, the citizenry, do not want such a man seated on the SCOTUS, as the polls have shown. But the Republicans do.
George W. Bush said that if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. What the Republican senators – and Kavanaugh himself – made abundantly clear today is that the nominee has much to hide and, as a consequence, much to fear should the truth be investigated and ultimately exposed.
The refusal of the Republicans - and Kavanaugh himself - to allow further investigation into the nominee's background, and to hear the testimony of witnesses and other accusers, speaks for itself.
An innocent man would never refuse an investigation into his own conduct, if he knows it would serve to prove his innocence. And a party that supports that man's innocence would never refuse an investigation that they know would serve to exonerate him.
It's that simple. It's that obvious. It's that in-your-face blatant that Kavanaugh's defenders can't handle the truth - and are determined to ensure that the ugly truth never sees the light of day.
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