Kavanaugh and SCOTUS

I am frustrated by the fact that the entire discussion of Kavanaugh’s ascent to the Supreme Court has been badly off track. In the shadows of his ascent we have headlines like “Sex offender sent to the Supreme Court.” No, “Lier, Bully, bad Drunk, and Politician sent to Supreme Court” is what we should be saying.

I have no argument with the MeToo Movement as such and I believe it was correct that Ford’s accusations were brought forward. I believe the other women should also have been heard and I believe that the FBI should have been given complete freedom to investigate all of these matters. The fact that almost none of that happened is the fault of a hugely powerful Republican political machine.

But in the end, when the Senate was finally ready for a vote, what should they have been thinking? In my mind, the most important aspect of Kavanaugh’s series of hearings was his present behavior —- precisely who he is today, how he thinks, and how he behaves. Is Kavanaugh really the kind of person Americans want on the highest court of the land? In this respect, Kavanaugh had already been failing well before the allegations of sexual misconduct came forward. While Republican Senators stroked him, Democratic Senators tried to probe with serious questions. Kavanaugh repeatedly avoided giving direct answers, refused to reveal his beliefs, and hid 90% of his judicial record from examination. When he was forced to testify with respect to Ford’s allegations on that infamous Thursday, he behaved like a monster — angry, resentful, altra-political, and a bully. Clearly, also, he lied numerous times under oath. Now that should have disqualified him from a position on the Supreme Court right there.

I do not believe that sexual misconduct in high school or college, for that matter, should itself disqualify the man (or for that matter a woman). People do grow up and become better people. The sexual issue is disqualifying only if we find it appearing in the present and recent past as well, signaling that growth of character has not occurred. This is the case of Donald Trump, a sexual predator that should never have been allowed into political office. Neither of them should have a high public office, but in the case of Kavanaugh, I believe, it is not for his sexual misconduct.