I don’t
know who’s wrong or right in this circus of spin, but it is quite clear where the
liberal-leaning SNL writers stand on the issue. My uneducated guess on the outcome
of this appointment is that, after the week is up, and the FBI has done their
restricted investigation of Dr. Ford’s allegations, Kavanaugh will squeak
through. Politics aside, the ability to confirm an accusation that happened so
many years ago is next to impossible. Sadly, I believe Dr. Ford, and I do not,
as some suggest, believe that her motivation in coming forward was political. That said, her traumatic assault was politicized
and, as has been suggested many times on the news, this scandal may have been
payback by the Democrats for the scuttled Obama appointment in 2016 of the
liberal-leaning Merrick B. Garland. I have several things to say about this
latest downward spiral in human decency.
First of
all, I find it noteworthy that this appointment became a powder keg moment in
the “Me Too” movement. It struck a nerve, and this scandal seems to have unleashed
all the rage and indignation that assault victims all over America have been experiencing
for a long time. Bill Cosby, poster boy for sexual predators, just went to
prison for his crimes. Harvey Weinstein will likely do time as well. Women are
angry and Kavanaugh has become this symbol of oppression, a man who might have
the power to determine a woman’s right to choose. In my opinion, there is
something fundamentally wrong with any man making that decision for a woman. I
don’t know what happened almost forty years ago when Dr. Ford and Brett Kavanaugh
were in high school. Her testimony was compelling, and I believed her story. Does
it fully explain what happened, probably not. What it does do is raise doubts
about this man who is being interviewed for a lifetime appointment to the
Supreme Court. He could potentially be the deciding vote in the overturning of
Roe V. Wade, so stories about his possible mistreatment of a woman, no matter
how long ago, are troubling. When Kavanaugh was interviewed after Ford’s
testimony, I felt he was less than forthcoming. Apart from his palpable and
perhaps justifiable anger, he answered some of the difficult questions in an
aggressive and combative manner. A man being interviewed for a seat on the highest
court of the United States Judiciary should be level-headed. One thing is
clear: two lives have been thrown into the Washington grist mill and spit out
like hamburger meat. This whole thing stinks, and this brings me to point #2.
We’re
collectively incredulous that a man like Rump was elected President of the
United States, but this latest example of the self-destructive political
vitriol which has overtaken Washington is exactly why Rump was elected. Arguably half of American voters chose Rump because he’s
not one of them. People hate politicians. Politicians lie, they do not, as they
are entrusted to, do what is right for America; they pander to their base,
cover their butts, and kiss the asses of their big money financial supporters.
I am a just-right-of-center conservative, but I do not like Kavanaugh for
justice of the Supreme Court. I suspect he is not the villain he is being made
out to be, I simply don’t want Roe V. Wade overturned, and I don’t like his
stance on executive privilege. Regardless, the process by which he was to be
appointed is severely compromised by the political divisiveness of the
interviewers. What qualified individual in his or her right mind would subject
himself or herself to the kind of character assassination and dirty pool so
prevalent in this corrosive political environment? More often than not, I am confused
by that which is presented as the truth, and the waters just keep getting
murkier. I hope some good can come from all this ugliness, and that the ship of
state will right itself. We’ll see.
Written by Jamie
Oppenheimer c 2018 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No comments:
Post a Comment