The Kavanagh Hearings: Some Reflections On The Despicable, Disgraceful and Disgusting…

The actions of the Judiciary Committee in relation to Prof. Ford are despicable, disgraceful and disgusting. The general mind-set of the all male G.O.P. members of the committee is unbelievably shallow and reflects an old male assertion of deniability that no longer stands up to the light of scrutiny in todays world: ‘If this happened, as Ford says it did thirty years ago, why didn’t she come forth before this?’ In point of fact, their painfully transparent thinking process is really an attempt to totally discredit a woman who has been attacked by a man who sexually violated her and who, in her mind, might have even killed her.

These servants of the people further bring disgrace upon themselves by suggesting that Prof. Ford’s coming out at this time, and in this way, is   only a political ploy to discredit their ‘fully qualified’ candidate for the High Court. They also cast dispersions on her stated desire to remain anonymous. In psychological terms, they might be projecting onto her how they would behave and are tone deaf to the sincerity of Prof. Ford’s feelings and motivations.

Then, you further add a splash of irony onto this scene by having Mitch McConnell asserting that the confirmation of a justice needs to be done forthwith, and with not a moment to loose. This sense of urgency resounds of hypocrisy in light of his refusal for nearly a year, to have Merrick Garland invited to answer questions before the Senate Judiciary Committee, when, in all probability, he would have passed a confirmation vote of the full senate.

So we have petty politics at its worse.  And we, as citizens, pay the price for such cheap motives and behavior.  Such goings on cast an atmosphere of doubt and distain over our whole body politic.  In truth, we are also diminishing the value of the two individuals who are involved in this real life tragedy. 

First, we have a woman who has lived with having been violated by a man, who felt that her very life was in jeopardy. The pain of that experience has, by all reports, been a constant fixture in Prof. Ford’s life for over thirty years. She finally wanted to come forth when she found out that Judge Kavanagh was a potential nominee to the High Court.  She must have felt that Kavanagh’s elevation to this court was inappropriate in light of his behavior in relation to her.  So she went to her representative and came forth with her experience and asserted that she wanted to remain out of the spot light.  She has a husband, family and profession that she wanted to keep from a media circus. 

Prof. Ford received assurances that her request for anonymity would be respected by Sen. Diane Feinstein, hence the delay in her story coming out weeks ago. Ford’s confidence was violated and when she began to hounded by members of the Press, she chose to discuss her experience with the Washington Post. Her motivation, as a result of this leak, has been questioned and she has been accused of being disingenuous in her assertions and she has been painted as nothing more than a vehicle to postpone the Kavanagh nomination to the high court.

Next, we have a man with an enviable record for his tenure on the bench, someone who has met the approval of such bodies as the American Bar Association.  His nomination has also, been roundly applauded by conservatives.

Prof. Ford’s assertion was that it was Kavanagh who behaved as he did as an intoxicated seventeen year old. He claims that he has no memory of such an event during his high school days and further states that it did not happen.   

So we have a situation of she said, he said. This is a woman’s worst fear in coming forward around being sexually molested, not being believed and becoming a target for innuendos and disparagement. To her credit, Prof. Ford subjected herself to a polygraph test that she passed.  She also requested that the F.B.I. do an investigation into what happened on the night of her experience of having been sexually attacked. 

Judge Kavanagh, rather than denying outright his part in what happened during that evening, would be well served to allow for the F.B.I. to investigate the evening and event in question.  It would be an act showing a willingness for transparency around the whole matter.  It would also be an act of a mature man, to acknowledge that, even though he did not remember his involvement in any such event, if it were he who had done what Prof. Ford alleged that he had done that evening while in an alcoholic stupor, for him to apologize for having caused her pain.  Such an approach, on his part, would allow for healing to take place, not only for Prof. Ford.  Such a gesture on his part would soften the otherwise dark cloud of doubt that would otherwise hang over his confirmation and tenure on the High Court.

The fact that the F.B.I. has been given the go ahead to make an inquiry into the this situation and maybe interview certain potential witnesses within the one week period of time that they have been given by the Senate Judiciary Committee, will hopefully be more than going through the motions of making the Senate Hearings more than the sham that it has devolved into being.

One final note. It is not at all true that a teenage young man is at the mercy of his hormones. The idea that once a young male gets sexually excited that he loses all sense of right or wrong and control over his behavior is, as Richard Reich would say, ‘rubbish.’ A part of a young man’s maturational process is to learn that women are people too. And, that we (boys and men) need to treat others as we would want to be treated.