Friends, I recommend to you this great article, which aptly summarizes where we find ourselves after the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh before the U.S. Senate. The nation was entranced by their emotional performances, but, as I opined beforehand, the superficial credibility of a witness pales in comparison to the power of evidence, and there is no evidence on hand that can prove either Judge Kavanaugh's guilt or the falsity of Ford's claims. This affair is, always has been, and always will be a matter of "he said, she said", and no FBI investigation will change that. Democratic Senators did their best to undermine Kavanaugh's credibility, and they gushed over Ford's bravery and nobility (never even considering the possibility, so it would seem, that she could be lying or mistaken), but none of that goes to the heart of issue: did he do it, or did he not? The hearings were, in the end, a dramatic sideshow that will have, in all likelihood, little effect on the confirmation votes of Democratic and Republican Senators, and which never had anything to do with justice and fair play.
Personally, I see the Republicans' decision to concede a further FBI inquiry into Brett Kavanaugh, lasting one week, as good news. Such a pause will take away one of the Democrats' key talking points -- that Republicans refused to take the allegations seriously -- but it is highly unlikely to produce definitive evidence of what happened in 1982. The real effect of the FBI investigation will be to give wavering Republican Senators (Collins, Murkowski, and Flake) political cover to vote "yes" on Kavanaugh. They can say that they went the extra mile and sought an FBI probe, but that it produced no proof of guilt, and plenty of reason to doubt Ford's account. The end result will therefore be as I predicted weeks ago: Brett Kavanaugh will be our next Supreme Court Justice.
The Dems tried their best, and they showed just how devious and resourceful they can be in the pursuit of power, but once again they will come up short. Let's hope that their losing streak remains unbroken in November, and far beyond.
https://www.city-journal.org/ford-kavanaugh-testimony-16199.html
Dr. Waddy: I see your point about giving Collins and Murkowski political cover but why would Flake want or need it? What about his open disdain for President Trump? He'll be out of office in January anyway because he was wise enough not to run - for obvious reasons Arizonans were unwilling to extend to him the forgiveness they gave John McCain for his RINOism.
ReplyDeleteJack, I think Flake wants to bask in the adulation (five minutes' worth) that he'll receive from Democrats and journalists for "pausing" the Kavanaugh confirmation process, and I suspect he was also genuinely disgusted by the rancor he witnessed at the hearings. Will he ultimately vote for Kavanaugh? I would guess he will. What's his "endgame," as a retiring anti-Trump Republican? That depends on whether he wants to join the talking heads. If so, then we genuinely have something to fear, because he might want to go out as a hero to the Resistance. Up to now, though, his votes (as opposed to his musings) don't bear that out.
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy: I see today that Joe Manchin may be undecided. If he votes "for" he will cancel out a potentially petulant and vindictive Flake and either Murkowski or Collins can fluff for all I care. I so look forward to a time when the Republican party ( the only available vehicle for a restoration of common sense and a decisive repulse of the leftist assault) is free of such termites.
ReplyDeleteYou may well be right that Flake genuinely recoils from the rancor so very obvious in the Senate. So too, did Chamberlain in 1938 and '39 until stark reality struck him with full force, discredited him forever and may well have ended his not uncreditable life. We are in an existential struggle with the leftist dominated Dems and wimps like Flake cannot abide it. Good luck to him in his fortuitous retirement, though the prospect of him as another Joe Scarborough is very plausible.
Jack, Flake's recent appearance on 60 Minutes raises the likelihood of a Scarboroughian denouement to this story... But I agree: good riddance to him and to all Republicans like him. Not that I believe Trump should be immune from criticism, but Flake's criticism is laced with pure loathing, and thus the private sector is where he belongs!
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy: We'll find out momentarily if Flake intends to strike a departing blow. It will be for nought if the GOP retains the Senate and assures the seating of a Trump nominated conservative(or conservatives). In a noodle spined, yet childishly vindictive one such as Flake, any fluff is possible. We can survive it if it happens. We must be resolute. Charles Schumer is and we must match him blow for blow.
ReplyDeleteThose who read the tea leaves seem to think Kavanaugh's chances are getting better and better. We'll know soon enough!
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