Normally I try to stay away from national issues but these judicial confirmation hearings are a national disgrace and really bug me — but don’t surprise me.
I had the opportunity on a couple of occasions to testify before congressional committees and found the experience generally a profound waste of time. Most of them are not in the room anyway, and they talk to each other or staff while you’re testifying.
Even at the state level, I found myself testifying in front of people who are not nearly as important and in some cases as smart as they think they are.
The past 17 days or so have really been a disgusting example of the problems in the other Washington. Before that and after six FBI background investigations, Judge Brett Kavanaugh was a good man and had a sterling reputation. And even after hours of intense interrogation by the Democrats, they really hadn’t done anything except show their own disgusting behavior.
And then, although she had the allegation for weeks, Senator Dianne Feinstein holds up a piece of paper and makes the anonymous claim from almost four decades ago on the eve of the vote.
From that moment the personal destruction of the Kavanaugh name began.
She could have asked him about it in the private meetings she held with him-but didn’t. In fact as I understand it, the entire investigation by senate investigators could have been done quietly, determined if there was any truth to them, kept Professor Christine Blasey Ford’s identity a secret as requested, and not publically destroyed Judge Kavanaugh’s good name unnecessarily.
If after investigating it completely, and talking with her witnesses it was corroborated, then they could destroy him. But since destroying him was really the point they couldn’t do it the right way and made the mess we’re watching.
It will be the same no matter who is nominated by President Trump and maybe that’s really the point of all this nasty behavior; go ahead and nominate another if you can find one willing to go through what amounts to a colonoscopy of your life.
What decent person would go through that?
Even when the Democrats made a deal, it’s not really a deal. One week delay — let the FBI look at it one more time — that’s all we’re asking and once they do we can vote. That was the deal they made with Senator Jeff Flake — who has really acted like one too.
But when the report came back without any corroboration at all, the shrieking continued.
A week wasn’t enough, the report is incomplete, and my favorite, the FBI is covering it up. Yeah, because they’ve been such a supporter of President Trump.
So what did we learn during all this? Professor Ford made an allegation from high school and provided four witnesses, one who was supposedly in the room. Judge Kavanaugh strongly denied it as well supported by witnesses of his own to character in high school and college, and who’d worked for him and all said this is not in his nature.
Two more claims are made which couldn’t be corroborated either, using their own named witnesses.
Oh-and he said he liked beer, maybe he’d liked beer a bit too much on occasion in his high school and college days.
It’s easy to see why they are so nasty because they use the courts to find new rights, like abortion, and separation of church state, which aren’t in the constitution while at the same time trying to take one that is, away.
Liberals haven’t been able to win with ideas, so they use the courts as their tool to impose their will on the rest of us. If they don’t have liberal justices who make rights up, they can’t get their way.
If anything good can come from this it will be Judge Kavanaugh will be confirmed and good and decent people of all stripes will rise up during the midterms and make sure these people do not get power.
Lord help us if they do.
•••
John McCroskey was Lewis County sheriff from 1995 to 2005. He lives outside Chehalis, and can be contacted at musingsonthemiddlefork@yahoo.com.
