Judge Kavanaugh is not on trial today. Dr. Ford is not on trial today. What is on trial today is whether or not we continue to have a system of checks and balances in this country. What is on trial today is whether or not the Senate still exists as a body capable of independently fulfilling its constitutional responsibility to advise and consent to presidential nominations. This nominee should be rejected because there is sufficient and reasonable doubt that he is qualified to take a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land. Full stop.
Rejecting this nomination is not a criminal sentence. Judge Kavanaugh will keep his day job as a judge on the second highest court in the land, he will keep his property and his freedom. This is a denial of a promotion that the nominee no longer is qualified to earn due to the reasonable doubt cast upon his candidacy by the credible testimony of Dr. Ford. The Senate should do it’s job. If it fails to do so, the voters should do theirs.
anybody could be credibly accused of anything according to this standard
Where? When? With who? Who cares. All protections go out the window in your appalling, desperate thirst for power.
I’ve been working as a professional engineer, manager, and executive since 1974. I’ve held on the order of a dozen jobs. I’ve directly hired at least three times that many men and women, and been involved in recruiting at least ten times that.
Each and every one of those has included a background check.
I am very confident that if any of those background checks had turned up accusations as credible as those made by Ms. Ford (never mind the two additional accusers that the committee is turning handsprings to silence), it would immediately be a deal-breaker.
There is absolutely nothing new or shocking about using a background check to confirm that a candidate is a suitable match for a job. That has nothing whatsoever to do about any “thirst for power”. There is a very long list of behaviors that are not criminal and that are nevertheless disqualifying.
Candidates are often asked to participate in team interviews, and are often asked to make presentations about themselves.
Any candidate whose background check included the credible accusations we heard yesterday would be rejected by any company I’ve ever worked for or with. During a team interview presentation, any candidate who demonstrated the out-of-control rage that Mr. Kavanaugh displayed yesterday would be summarily rejected.
This process is not selecting a low-level staffer who can be fired at any time for any reason. This process is creating a lifetime appointment to one of the most powerful positions offered by the most powerful nation in human history.
The only “appalling desperate thirst for power” that I see is from you and today’s Trumpists (including virtually the entire GOP).
A supreme court nomination is a special case. But for the average man, who is comparatively powerless, there should be some process for him to defend himself. It may not be a criminal sentence — but to be passed-over for employment, can be a pretty big roadblock in one’s life.
I agree that this is a difficult topic that will take generations to resolve.
It is true that being passed over for employment can be a pretty big roadblock in a man’s life, and that makes false accusations dangerous. It is also true that being held down by multiple drunken men who laugh while attempting to have their way can also be a pretty big roadblock in one’s life. That makes false denials dangerous.
We have, until now, paid far too much attention to the impact of false accusations and far too little attention to the enormous harm done by a handful of predators among us.
I agree that we do indeed need some sort of process. I hope you agree that this process must treat the victims of sexual abuse with far greater respect.
I suggest that a key starting point is to embrace the importance of sexual “agency” for both men and women — especially young men and young women. Sexual agency is the ability of a man or woman to recognize and act on their sexual feelings and goals. It means that “no means no and yes means yes” for both men and women.
Or just a reputation being dragged through the mud, even if there is ultimately no real consequence. There’s a commercial currently airing claiming BK had several FBI checks and this never came up, but I suppose if a victim never reported there would be nothing for such a check to catch.
As I said elsewhere, getting rejected for a lifetime promotion to the highest decision making body in the land, is totally different from a criminal conviction or even losing a job. It is about getting rejected for a high honor and responsibility. Not something anyone is entitled too. Certainly not someone credibly accused of sexual assault.
I agree, but getting one’s reputation busted if it is for no reason is hard to take.
It is also “hard to take” getting busted for crimes a person thought they got away with.
I’m disappointed that you show so much empathy for Mr. Kavanaugh and so little for his apparent victims. A presumption of innocence is all well and good — so long as it is accompanied by a willingness to hear from credible accusers about loathsome behavior.
I remind you that it is “hard to take” an attempted rape at 17.
I AM on the record saying the preponderance of the evidence leads me to believe Dr. Ford.
@ preponderance: I understand.
That’s why I’m surprised by your commentary on this thread. Given the preponderance of evidence, I’m surprised that you haven’t written more about the devastating impact of his acts on his victims.
Well, I’m sure the impact is devastating, but since I have not been a victim myself I cannot comment intelligently beyond that. I cannot honestly say some platitude like I know how she feels because I don’t and it would be dishonest and phony to pretend that I do.
I have, however, had my reputation dragged through the mud based on rumor and false accusations. It was to be clear a completely different category of accusations (ie not sexual assault, but rather political corruption in a student government context), but as someone who highly values his reputation for honesty and integrity this was quite the blow. There was an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to remove me from my role in administering student elections and most people I talked to including some who I supposedly harmed concluded the charges were bogus, but nevertheless it was draining and I felt I was less effective after that. February 23, 2005, the day these allegations were brought to my attention remains a day that will live in infamy in my personal life. I don’t know if I have ever been so angry before or since and to my surprise it even made me physically sick to the point that I called out of work the following day. Not only were the charges anywhere from completely made up to twisting my actual words and actions beyond recognition, but the way I found out (from a reporter at the student paper to whom they had been leaked, and one of the accusers but only after it was decided to seek my removal rather than simply talking to me about their concerns which would have nipped this whole thing in the bud), was so out of line.
So maybe this is why I recognize his reaction and believe I could only do likewise if I knew for sure my accusers were wrong. It’s also why I understand a desire to maintain one’s reputation with or without more concrete consequences.
I appreciate the clarification and I’m sorry that you endured such pain.
I have been close to several women who were sexually assaulted. It is because of their pain that I feel so passionately that we need to listen to these women.
What is clear to me is that Brett Kavanaugh is NOT ready for prime time and does NOT have a judicial temprament. Before all this I did not know he existed as a being. The Appeals Court and District Judgeships do not put one in the spotlight. Whether or not he did these disgusting things as an illformed youth – what is clear is that he does not respect the Senate, has little control over his emotions, and is an entitled yet anxious personality. I have appeared before dozens of judges in my time. The ones who hold grudes, get into snits, and prejudge cases harm the entire judicial system and the personality that stepped out in front of the curtain with the name Brett Kavanaugh is a petty, vindictive, entitled, poorly self regulated sort that dysregulates under pressure. How do I know? All of that was on current, public display. Not pretty. Not stable. Not someone I want as a lifetime appointee to the Supreme Court. Add that to the way the well modulated, mature Merrick Garland was robbed by partisan chicanery – well I just don’t want Brett Kavanaugh, period.