It’s time to say enough is enough.
If you are a regular reader of this column, you know how I have begged for more civil political discourse. I have watched, unbelievingly, as politicians at the highest levels engaged in name-calling and arguing like children at a playground. With obvious hyper-partisanship, they have argued less and less for truth and more and more only to advance their party’s agenda. The recent spectacle over the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court is only the latest embarrassing example.
Reasonable, thoughtful people can disappear in the excitement of political circus, ensuring that only those willing to use attack dog tactics and win at all costs can get elected. This is not good for democracy.
Pundits compare the testimonies of both Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford, and with great personal emotion, declare them both credible. Yet back in the world where the rules of justice and fairness matter, that is ridiculous.
Credibility is not measured only by a witness’s apparent sincerity and compelling story. When that alone is the standard, everyone, regardless of his or her innocence, becomes an easy victim to any scurrilous attack by a well-coached actor.
Instead, credibility also requires that testimony fit within the framework of the known facts. Kavanaugh, whose testimony is supported by his personal calendar and the sworn testimonies of all the witnesses identified by the accuser, is therefore credible. Ford, who cannot remember the date, the place, or other important details, regardless of her emotional delivery, does not meet this basic standard of fairness.
Credible testimony must be consistent – like Kavanaugh’s. Again, Ford’s testimony is inconsistent in that what she told her doctors and her friends don’t match up to what she told the judicial committee last week.
While I might accept that Ford was sexually assaulted in high school, there is no compelling evidence that Kavanaugh had anything to do with it. Instead, the exact opposite is true, since credibility also takes into account an individual’s history. Kavanaugh’s exemplary life and his proven track record for treating women with respect and honor for over 40 years weigh heavily in his favor.
The leftists say this is a job interview – not a trial. They’re right – but since when do we throw out American principles of fairness just because it is an interview?
The whole problem with this process has been the left’s willingness to toss out basic principles of justice because they don’t believe the Judge agrees with their politics. Fairness no longer matters, and they have turned what should have been a respectable and important political process into a carney sideshow trying to get their way.
If the Democrats truly wanted the truth and were seriously concerned over Ford’s allegations, why didn’t they investigate when they first received them? If they truly cared about protecting their witness, couldn’t they have conducted the investigation in private – as she wanted? Instead, they leaked her story, throwing her desires under the bus when it became obvious that an anonymous, unsubstantiated claim was not going to delay the nomination. They abandoned any sense of propriety, ignored the facts, and snubbed the traditional values of American justice. That is despicable.
That politics has sunk this low indicates how dangerous the situation has become.
This is not about Kavanaugh. It is about a political system mired in hyper-partisanship and an electorate too willing to enjoy the show and look the other way as long as their side is winning. After all, it’s just politics …right?
But when discussing the rise of Nazi Germany, the German pastor Martin Niemoller warned:
First, they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.
Kavanaugh, who the left condemns for daring to defend himself, warned the committee “What goes around comes around … I fear for our future.”
It is time to stop this folly. It is time to say enough is enough. I hope the Republicans can find the courage to do the right thing in the face of these vicious, unfounded, political attacks and confirm Kavanaugh. I also hope that this latest madness will wake-up the majorities on both sides of the aisle to say enough is enough. Let’s get back to the business of serving free people with honor and decorum.
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It’s not just about Kavanaugh
Posted in Political Commentary, tagged conservative, kavanaugh, supreme court on October 3, 2018| 1 Comment »
It’s time to say enough is enough.
If you are a regular reader of this column, you know how I have begged for more civil political discourse. I have watched, unbelievingly, as politicians at the highest levels engaged in name-calling and arguing like children at a playground. With obvious hyper-partisanship, they have argued less and less for truth and more and more only to advance their party’s agenda. The recent spectacle over the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court is only the latest embarrassing example.
Reasonable, thoughtful people can disappear in the excitement of political circus, ensuring that only those willing to use attack dog tactics and win at all costs can get elected. This is not good for democracy.
Pundits compare the testimonies of both Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford, and with great personal emotion, declare them both credible. Yet back in the world where the rules of justice and fairness matter, that is ridiculous.
Credibility is not measured only by a witness’s apparent sincerity and compelling story. When that alone is the standard, everyone, regardless of his or her innocence, becomes an easy victim to any scurrilous attack by a well-coached actor.
Instead, credibility also requires that testimony fit within the framework of the known facts. Kavanaugh, whose testimony is supported by his personal calendar and the sworn testimonies of all the witnesses identified by the accuser, is therefore credible. Ford, who cannot remember the date, the place, or other important details, regardless of her emotional delivery, does not meet this basic standard of fairness.
Credible testimony must be consistent – like Kavanaugh’s. Again, Ford’s testimony is inconsistent in that what she told her doctors and her friends don’t match up to what she told the judicial committee last week.
While I might accept that Ford was sexually assaulted in high school, there is no compelling evidence that Kavanaugh had anything to do with it. Instead, the exact opposite is true, since credibility also takes into account an individual’s history. Kavanaugh’s exemplary life and his proven track record for treating women with respect and honor for over 40 years weigh heavily in his favor.
The leftists say this is a job interview – not a trial. They’re right – but since when do we throw out American principles of fairness just because it is an interview?
The whole problem with this process has been the left’s willingness to toss out basic principles of justice because they don’t believe the Judge agrees with their politics. Fairness no longer matters, and they have turned what should have been a respectable and important political process into a carney sideshow trying to get their way.
If the Democrats truly wanted the truth and were seriously concerned over Ford’s allegations, why didn’t they investigate when they first received them? If they truly cared about protecting their witness, couldn’t they have conducted the investigation in private – as she wanted? Instead, they leaked her story, throwing her desires under the bus when it became obvious that an anonymous, unsubstantiated claim was not going to delay the nomination. They abandoned any sense of propriety, ignored the facts, and snubbed the traditional values of American justice. That is despicable.
That politics has sunk this low indicates how dangerous the situation has become.
This is not about Kavanaugh. It is about a political system mired in hyper-partisanship and an electorate too willing to enjoy the show and look the other way as long as their side is winning. After all, it’s just politics …right?
But when discussing the rise of Nazi Germany, the German pastor Martin Niemoller warned:
First, they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.
Kavanaugh, who the left condemns for daring to defend himself, warned the committee “What goes around comes around … I fear for our future.”
It is time to stop this folly. It is time to say enough is enough. I hope the Republicans can find the courage to do the right thing in the face of these vicious, unfounded, political attacks and confirm Kavanaugh. I also hope that this latest madness will wake-up the majorities on both sides of the aisle to say enough is enough. Let’s get back to the business of serving free people with honor and decorum.
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