Time To Confirm Kavanaugh

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

President Trump hit exactly the right note after today’s Senate hearing on his nomination of Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. The judge, the president tweeted, “showed America exactly why I nominated him.” He called the judge’s testimony “powerful, honest, and riveting” and denounced the Democrats’ “search and destroy” strategy as “disgraceful.”

The Sun has the same conclusion as the president and urges a speedy vote to confirm. Like Judge Kavanaugh, we don’t gainsay that a sexual assault might have been perpetrated against Christine Blasey Ford, but the supposed witnesses and other evidence suggest it was not Judge Kavanaugh. The accuser’s allegations against him should not be allowed, even in a political setting, to prosper absent at least some due process.

In that respect the Judiciary Committee defaulted on a shocking, even historic scale. Judge Kavanaugh himself marked that fact in plain language. He put the lie to, among other things, any suggestion that he’s a mere technocrat. Trembling with emotion throughout, he not only asserted his own innocence but lit into committee Democrats for the disgrace they engineered.

It was a breath-taking moment. The first to leap in to back him up was, in one of his finest hours, Senator Lindsey Graham. He called the Democrats’ performance “the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics.” This theme was quickly picked up by other GOP solons, while Senator Dianne Feinstein cowered with her head down and her lips pursed, looking guilty.

The Democrats’ line was that the FBI ought to launch an investigation. Mrs. Feinstein demanded a point of personal privilege to try to defend her sitting on Ms. Blasey Ford’s letter for weeks after she got it. She convinced exactly no one. The fact is that late in a heretofore distinguished career, the Californian now finds her reputation indelibly tarnished.

As will, we predict, Senator Schumer, the silent assassin in this scandal. He announced within minutes of the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh that he would do everything in his power to defeat his confirmation. Then he kept a low profile while working his mischief. The key point is that the worst scandal to hit the Senate in decades took place on his watch.

It is unclear at the moment whether Judge Kavanaugh will clear the Senate. Senator Jeff Flake seemed to signal at the end of the hearing that he might vote against confirmation. Senators Murkowski and Collins, who are also Republicans, are supposedly on the fence. All of which underlines the importance of the election in November, when, in addition to everything else, the fate of the Supreme Court will be on the line.


The New York Sun

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