The Times, Are They a-Changing?

I've heard quite a number of women now remark on Brett Kavanaugh's emotional tantrum during Thursday's Senate hearing.  They actually recognized his tears for what they were:  rage at having been called to question for his past.  Up until now, Kavanaugh has had the bejeweled life of a white boy who went to the best prep school and college, who was groomed for success.  He was so confident -- cocky --about his bright and shining future, that he had made jokes about his rambunctious past behavior in front of a group of a group of law students at Catholic University for gods' sake:

"...fortunately, we had a good saying that we've held firm to, to this day,... which is, 'What happens at Georgetown Prep, stays at Georgetown Prep....'  That's been a good thing for all of us, I think."

Until today, that is.  Today the thought of this man having the power of a Supreme Court Justice was just too much for a few women to bear.  Until now, men like Brett Kavanaugh and his drinking buddy Mark Judge, and like his admirer Donald Trump, were able to treat women with condescension and insult, and assume that all the bad behavior of their past would be of no consequence to their fortunes.

Kavanaugh's statement was pretty unbelievable.  He states proudly that he showed it to no one except one of his clerks.  Maybe that was his first mistake.  His tone was defensive from the beginning, his face contorted into rage.  His attacks were many, and bizarre, naming the Democrats in general and the ever-popular Clinton conspiracy machine in particular.  I imagine that holing up for days in the White House while you plan your attack (i.e. defense) will do that to a person.

Let me admit here that I was planning on listening again to Kavanaugh's opening statement, but just could not do it.  Over the past weeks I have heard enough lies from this smart and conceited brat.  I have been, since 2015, tainted by the ugly comments of our now sitting "president," and don't have much stomach for that kind of bullshit.  I did hear him avoid asking for an FBI investigation, and noted his clever legal tap-dance around the issue.  I'll bet he didn't even need to rehearse his responses, he is so good at the maneuvers that have gotten him to this point in his life.

He took his attitude from Clarence Thomas, who did the outrage thing at his hearing in 1991.  But Kavanaugh did not count on women who, in 2018, are fed up with the hatred and rage spewed by men of power when they are held to account.  We hear it in his voice, and his words.

It may be that Brett Kavanaugh's behavior at one time so scared him that he turned to God and went on the straight and narrow.  But it may also be that he has merely sculpted himself to look like the type of man who has always done the right thing.  Studies, sports and church indeed.  And it may be that the powerful white boy's club we have in this country accepted his whitewash and welcomed him into their arms, and he has never been challenged before.  Indeed, he said in so many words that he has never been challenged the way he is being challenged now.

We had a helluva nerve.

He certainly had good cause to assume his confirmation would be a slam dunk.  That is the way the Senate works these days, provided you are on the right side of this right wing.  You will be protected.  You don't have to answer a question if you don't want to, and those in power will help you dance around it if the questioner is too persistent.  Chuck Grassley has done a fine job of that, cutting Democrats off in mid-sentence when the air gets too thick.  Even so, the questions continued to come.  And the women, brave hearts that they are, continued to come forward.

Appalling:  Brett Kavanaugh was appalled at being called to account for a past that he has never even had to hide.  I tried to  imagine the fate of a person in Judge Kavanaugh's courtroom being asked a question he did not want to answer and responding, as he did with Senator Amy Klobuchar's question about whether he had ever blacked out, "I don't know, have you?"  Imagine Kavanaugh tolerating the belligerence he himself demonstrated.

I have heard many comparisons now of Kavanaugh's testimony to that of Dr. Ford, who was restrained and polite, and obviously attempting to answer as completely and honestly as possible.  What this hearing put me in mind of, though, was all those hours Hillary Clinton spent being harassed by this partisan Congress.

Hillary, too, was hoping to be chosen for an important position in the government.  What happened to her in Congress impacted her and the entire country.  Through all the accusations, through all the tortured and twisted investigations of everything she had ever said or done, Hillary held herself with dignity.  She was knowledgeable and professional.  She was tireless.  She never tried to avoid a question, or an investigation.  She never had a tantrum.

Because if she had, the men (and, sadly, too many women) would have pointed to her and said that this was proof that she was lying.  Meanwhile, hours and hours of testimony made their way into the media and took over the narrative of her campaign.  Still, she never attempted to refuse or avoid an investigation.  Not just because she was innocent, which she was, but because that is the temperament of a leader.

Brett Kavanaugh did not feel the need to reign in his behavior or his attitude.  He reeked of haughtiness and privilege, and self-importance.  He demonstrated exactly why he should not be on the court -- any court.  He stated melodramatically that his name has been "permanently destroyed by vicious and false... accusations."

One has to wonder why he would think, if he were innocent, why his life would be "permanently destroyed."  Remember, this is a judge.  Who presumably believes in the law, and the courts.  And who would have no compunction at all in demanding that any of us in his courtroom answer his questions.  And presumably assumes that the innocent would walk away happy to have had their day in court.

Apparently, Brett Kavanaugh does not believe that the truth will set him free.  Wonder why?

And I also have to wonder why someone of Kavanaugh's intelligence, who can argue the existence of angels on the head of a pin -- or the right to prevent a young woman from having a legal abortion -- would resort to such a slew of transparent and insulting lies.  Attributing "ralphing" to a weak stomach.  Lying brazenly about yearbook entries:  calling cruel references to being a "Renate alumnus" as honoring their friendship and calling the "Devil's Triangle" a drinking game.  I could just about picture him as a 17-year-old giving these answers, straight-faced, and then walking out of the room and bursting into laughter at having lied so convincingly.

We have also heard the comparisons between this hearing and that of Anita Hill.  We have had too many years of the smug and silent Clarence Thomas flaunting his right wing privilege over the poor and powerless of the country.  Granted, if justice had been served all those years ago, we may yet have had a conservative justice in his place who spoke out against women and minority rights, but we would not be haunted by the overtly misogynistic acts of the man and those who ignored compelling testimony to vote him to the Supreme Court.

So, where are we?

I won't even say I feel cautiously optimistic about the decision to have the FBI investigate Kavanaugh and the accusations.  The FBI may be bringing us the Russia investigation, but they also brought us Hillary's emails, and the door slamming on her campaign days before the election.  I wonder who Trump is reaching out to on the FBI, and how he is attempting to pull the strings of this investigation.  You know Trump.  You know he is.

I admit, I will be surprised if what happens is a thorough "limited investigation," and I will be further surprised if the Senate (no longer Chuck Grassley but the even more vile Mitch McConnell in charge) proceeds in an open and professional manner.

What should have happened weeks ago is that Kavanaugh should have withdrawn his nomination.  But he wants that post and that power so much that he can taste it, and it tastes better than any brew he has ever chugged.  He knows that in 1991 a similar hearing was rigged to halt further testimony, and that justice sits on the bench today.  His belief that a sitting president is immune to prosecution assures him that the deck is stacked in his favor by the most powerful man in the country, the one he would protect.

So we wait and see.  I cannot imagine a world in which we don't vote to take over the House and the Senate in November.  I don't want to believe that Americans can be that jaded and, frankly, stupid.  But I was here in 2016, and I know the impossible can happen.  And in the weeks to come we will find out whether women's voices matter any more than they did in 1991, or whether the rage of powerful men will drown them out.