The issue that was under
review in the Judiciary Committee really wasn’t about whether Dr. Blasy-Ford or
Judge Kavanaugh is telling the truth. Without an investigation ANY accusation
is reduced to he said, she said. We have been exposed to an accusation but with
no evidence upon which to attach a TRUTH placard. Which one of the two you
choose to believe comes down to which one rings true to you, which one do you
want to believe, and which one did a better job of being credible and likable.
Those who watched the
hearing did not see two people laying out evidence to substantiate their case.
What we saw was how our government has been distorted and deformed, to the
point where it is no longer a reflection of the lofty ideals that gave birth to
our nation.
Both sides of the aisle
are guilty of dismantling of our democracy. The left is fond of blaming all
dystopian functions of government on the current administration. But it appears
that this inexperienced, ill-prepared president is particularly guilty of being
unwilling, unable or uninterested in playing the traditional game and in eschewing
that role he has left the torpid winds of underhanded politics and politicians
to wreak their damage, unchecked and even lauded and applauded. The fury
of the storm has stripped away the pretense that we have elected officials
collaborating with each other for the benefit of their constituents. With a leader who disdains civility and diplomacy
and whose behavior garners applause and wild demonstrations of support the
entire political scenario has shifted more dramatically toward disruption and
destruction. But it is not just HIS disruption and destruction. It is his
willingness to abandon the pretense that has laid bare the baser qualities of
the American psyche, spreading the contagion that threatens our national health.
That diseased body was on full display at the hearings and those who went
beyond watching and actually SAW the performance should be dismayed.
Traditionally, under our
Constitution, a person is innocent until proven guilty. Prosecutors are
charged with obtaining evidence of culpability and defenders with refuting the
evidence and/or obtaining evidence to the contrary. Dr. Blasy-Ford was
correct in her request for an investigation. Evidence to support her claim can
only be obtained by a professional investigation. It was embarrassing to
witness a room full of seasoned lawyers (members of the Judiciary Committee no
less) equating signed statements “under penalty of felony” to an investigation
by the FBI. Riveting and painful as her testimony was it only presented a
credible reason for the need of an investigation. It did not present verifiable,
substantiating evidence to support the accusation.
Judge Kavanaugh’s
testimony presented two powerful pieces of evidence, each contradicting the
other. On the one hand his uncanny ability to refer to calendars dating to the
time in question seemed to present exculpatory evidence. But the veracity of
the information in the calendar must be established through an investigation;
the calendars mean nothing at face value. The second piece of evidence was his
anger and partisan accusations of conspiratorial goals; not entirely without
merit. The final stages of the Judiciary
Committee’s hearing were most certainly manipulated to cause as much delay as
possible, with the obvious objective of maximizing the potential to have the
final confirmation vote fall after the midterm elections. But his arrogant
display of anger and disdain for the Senators also gave credence to the
accusations of his sense of entitlement and the ease with which he sinks into
bullying. Most telling was his repeated response to questions about possible
alcohol abuse. He consistently responded with a recitation of his academic and
athletic achievements. Aside from being a non-sequitur his response
insinuates a belief that the sacrifice of hard work and success is justifiably
rewarded with alcohol consumption, leaving the issue of its possible abuse as a
shadowy appendage to the question, not worth answering. He never,
categorically, stated that he had not had periods of blackout, failure to
remember his actions while drinking or bouts of belligerence while under the
influence of alcohol. Instead, in one instance he arrogantly turned the
question around to the questioner.
The Republican entourage
of lawyers and lawmakers bent on not letting the delay tactics of the Democrats
achieve their intended goal decided it was better to torpedo justice than to
risk the possibility of losing the chance to fill the Supreme Court seat with
Judge Kavanaugh. The Democrats bet democracy against the lives and reputation
of two people and lost everything.
Our nation, held aloft on the righteous
columns of “justice for all”, demonstrated to the American people that we can
no longer aspire to that promise. We the people have elected representatives to
Congress, within both parties, who do not defend the constitution, who do not
pursue justice, who do not revere the uniqueness of the government structure
set in place by intellectual giants. They created a functioning system created
to thwart monarchical tendencies, to limit the abuses of privilege and defeat
injustice. Years of malfeasance have undone their carefully crafted and robust
system, injecting and infecting it with a fragility that threatens to leave us
with nothing to pledge allegiance to. The most recent victim is Dr. Blasy-Ford,
but this time the perpetrator is not Judge Kavanaugh; it is the collective. We
the people are rewarding the manipulators and the pretenders. It is not they
who are as naked as the emperor, but we! We have been stripped of a functioning
government, we have been fed a crock of lies and we have gleefully complimented
the chef and asked for seconds.
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