Too close to judge ...the case that has divided America
The furore surrounding Brett Kavanaugh is about more than just sexual politics. As President Trump wades in to support his Supreme Court nominee, Philip Delves Broughton reports on the motives at play
❝ Liberals fear that Kavanaugh will yank the court towards his conservative positions
For 72 hours or so, President Trump distanced himself from the furore over Brett Kavanaugh, his nominee for the Supreme Court. He had a trade deal with Mexico andCanadatoconclude.But, on Wednesday, he burst out of his restraints to side with the men feeling besieged in this age of #MeToo.
This is a “very scary time for young men in America when you can be guilty of something that you may not be guilty of ”, he said echoing his son, Donald Jnr, who said he was scared for his own young sons in the current social climate. Asked about women, the president said they were “doing great”.
Whatever you think of Trump, he has a genius for rallying his supporters around a contentious issue, for defacing the most imposing walls of liberal consensus and making himself the centre of any national conversation. It is the root of his political success.
When nine out of 10 politicians, newspapers and cable news commentators say one thing, there is Trump to say the opposite, to take the fears and prejudices of swathes of the electorate and brazenly dangle them out in the open.
He has done it on race, immigration and foreign countries. Even though he has acted in vulgar and aggressive ways towards women, he feels confident enough in his core support to take aim now at the women coming forward as part of the #MeToo movement.
He said of Kavanaugh and his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford: “You can be an exemplary person for 35 years and then somebody comes and they say you did this or that and they give three witnesses and the three witnesses at this point do not corroborate what she was saying. It’s a very scary situation where you’re guilty until proven innocent.”
With every turn of the news cycle, the Kavanaugh case is turned on its head. First, his nomination seemed inevitable. Then, his truthfulness about legal issues was called into question. There were doubts about his honesty when recounting his service in George W Bush’s White House. Then came the accusations of assault and counter-accusations from Republicans that this was nothing but a political hit job by Democrats.
In its latest iteration, Democrats are charging that Kavanaugh showed by his indignant testimony to the Senate judiciary committee last week that he lacked the temperament to be a Supreme Court justice.
Faced with accusations that he was a drunk and groped girls as a teenager, they said he exposed an emotional dark side and political prejudice that would compromise his effectiveness as a judge. Their goal is to drag out this process or, if that fails, to trash Kavanaugh’s reputation so completely that his judicial opinions will forever be called into question.
Senator Charles Schumer, the Democrats’ leader in the Senate, said Kavanaugh had “grossly mischaracterised his relationship with alcohol”. Nancy Pelosi, the Democrats’ leader in the House, said Kavanaugh had been “hysterical”, and Hillary Clinton said judges needed a more “judicious temperament”.
The Supreme Court, the highest court in the US, is the last resort for anyone looking for But it also ensures laws are consistent with the constitution. Its members are given lifetime tenure, since they are expected to be loyal to America’s basic values, rather than any political majority.
Presidents get to appoint one or two justices during their term. Judges appointed by Republicans have liberal tendencies, and liberals have spasms of conservatism.
Every Supreme Court nomination, then, to some degree, offers a moment of national self-reflection: who does the country want to protect its character?
The last time a nomination got this bad, though, was 26 years ago, when Clarence Thomas, an African-American judge, was accused by a former colleague, Anita Hill, of sexual harassment. The hearings made for spellbinding TV, but the Senate voted Thomas onto the court, where he has served since as a dependable conservative vote.
The significance of Kavanaugh’s nomination is that, if it succeeds, the court will have a clear conservative majority. Liberals fear the Right will flood the court with cases to set precedents on everything from corporate and environmental law to abortion. They fear Kavanaugh will yank the court towards his conservative positions.
Presidents must leave the White House after eight years at most. A conservative Supreme Court, with 53-year-old Kavanaugh on board, could be entrenched for years to come.
The importance of his appointment, and the sleazy nature of accusations against him, makes for a perfect storm, a flood of “mud and muck”, in the words of Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell.
Opinion polls this week show women oppose his confirmanaugh tion by 55% to 37%, while men support it 49% to 40%. Some 41% of voters believe Kavanaugh, 48% believe Christine Blasey Ford. In the 2016 election, Trump won the support of 53% of women versus 41% who backed Hillary Clinton. It’s that group he hopes to rally by accusing the Democrats of pulling a “con job” on Kavanaugh.
Republican talk radio is buzzing with discussions of the war on white men. Conservative commentator Ann Coulter wrote that “there has never been a more pacific, less rapey creature than the white male of Western European descent”, yet they are being vilified as predators. This is the kind of language Trump is dialling into, the people who think #MeToo has breached its limits.
With mid-term elections looming next month, both parties are looking for an edge. To that extent, Kavanaugh and his family have become collateral damage in a political fight.
It is astonishing to think that, just three weeks ago, Kavajustice. was being held up as a man so devoted to law, country and family that he had foregone the private sector in favour of public service. A judge whose greatest passion outside work was coaching his two young daughters’ basketball team.
On Saturday afternoons, the three would turn up for Mass at their church in the suburbs of Washington, still wearing their sports kit. Say what you like of Kavanaugh’s politics, went the Republican case, but his character was unimpeachable.
Now, his name will forever be associated with accusations that, as a young man, he was a heavy drinker and sexual assailant. The kind of beery jock who would physically impose himself on women and joke with friends about orgies.
Whether he finally takes his seat on the Supreme Court or not, at least half of America will always be convinced he has no business judging anyone.