September 20, 2018
The reactions that have greeted Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s decision to go public with her allegations against Brett Kavanaugh are the clearest example yet of the profound danger our country faces. Supporters of Kavanaugh have leveled so many violent threats against her that Dr. Ford and her two teenage sons have had to leave their home and hire security (Source: “Kavanaugh Accuser Christine Blasey Ford Is Moving Out of Her Home Due to Death Threats,” by Opheli Garcia Lawler, TheCut.com, 9/18/18). In the genteel remove of the Senate, befuddled fossils like Chuck Grassley have rejected Dr. Ford’s call for the FBI to investigate prior to the hearings, stating that it’s not the FBI’s job to investigate claims such as hers.
Grassley may not know how the internet works, but those of us who can use Google, or are old enough to remember the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas hearings, know that Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution requires that judicial appointments be made with the “advice and consent” of the Senate. If the Senate refuses to conduct hearings in a manner actually designed to elicit the facts to inform that obligation, it is an empty ritual devoid of meaning.
It is a sign of how fundamentally broken our system is that a credible claim of sexual assault is not enough to halt Republican senators in their headlong rush to confirm a hard right ideologue with a dubious relationship with the truth. Rather than take the time to conduct an appropriate hearing, Republicans are forcing Dr. Ford into an untenable position. She can either submit herself to a show trial, in which 8 doddering misogynists impugn her honesty and her sanity… or she can refuse to participate in the charade, allowing Republicans to claim that she rejected a chance to be heard. Either way, the process will give Republicans cover to vote for Kavanaugh and cement their illegitimate hold on the nation’s highest court for a generation.
The rot at the core of those ruling this country has been exposed and we can no longer pretend not to see it. The process is designed to make an example of Dr. Ford in order to intimidate other women who seek to hold prominent men accountable for the assaults and harassment that they have inflicted on women for decades (centuries) with impunity. The message couldn’t be clearer. They are showing us that they will enlist the massive power of the state and the power of a violent, self-styled army of zealots, not only to silence women, but to destroy us.
This is the same playbook used to keep Black people “in our place,” to try to force LGBT folks back in the closet and to silence anyone who stands up for the dignity and humanity of all people. We can no longer pacify ourselves by parroting platitudes about “E pluribus unum,” and our “more perfect union.” An obdurate and powerful minority is determined to hold onto power at any cost, democracy be damned. We can’t afford the luxury of ignoring those injustices that don’t touch us personally. Our numerical advantage is meaningless if we aren’t prepared to come together against those who would harness hatred, fear and greed to maintain power. Remember, they can beat one of us, but they can’t beat us all.
#VOTE
#Swingleft
#Bluewave2018