by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Mitch McConnell is smiling smugly somewhere in the U.S. Capitol this morning, secure in the knowledge that the Kavanaugh nomination to the Supreme Court has been rescued and that his white, patriarchal form of justice will continue to prevail in America - while at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue Donald John Trump is wolfing down a few cheeseburgers for the road as he prepares for another grueling weekend of golf. Trump, too, is smiling because he knows that right has prevailed and he was personally responsible for stopping the con-job (or was it a witch hunt?) that those crooked Democrats tried to pull in derailing his nominee to the Supreme Court.
Happy days are here again. Huzzah, huzzah!
Well, both of those good ole boys, McConnell and Trump, had better luxuriate in the feelings of euphoria while they can - because they ain't a-gonna last long. Yesterday's day-long melodrama with Dr. Ford's compelling, tear-stained testimony followed by Brett Kavanaugh's extended rage and Lindsey Graham's histrionics, will leave an indelible mark on the American psyche, and one that will haunt and ravage the Republican Party for a generation or more.
McConnell, and Trump, and Grassley, and all of those other pasty old white men won the battle that was fought in the OK Judiciary Committee Corral, but damned if they didn't lose the war. Americans heard what was happening on their radios - and they watched it unfold on television - and Americans were appalled.
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford came prepared to tell her story. She took a lie-detector test conducted by a former FBI operative prior to the big event, gave a heart-wrenching account of the night a young Brett Kavanaugh attempted to rape her, and then sat through a lengthy interrogation of which the Republican portion was conducted by a professional prosecutor instead of the cowardly GOP members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. And through it all, Dr. Ford remained calm, even as she occasionally fought back tears while reliving that terrible night.
Not so with Brett Kavanaugh. Within minutes of beginning to speak he was in full rage mode, showing the world what a mad drunk looks like. As Kavanaugh climbed the heights of outrage in defending his honor, his demeanor and hostility reminded many women around the world of the wrath that they had themselves endured at the hands of controlling men. But Kavanaugh was not speaking to impress women. He was speaking to Donald Trump and imploring him not to pull his nomination to the Court - and he was speaking the the eleven GOP male members of the Judiciary Committee begging them to stand by him.
And it looks like he was successful. Trump, himself a pompous male with a history of abusing women, is gushing with praise for Kavanaugh's performance yesterday, and it looks as though all eleven Republican members of the Judiciary Committee will hold the line for Kavanaugh as well.
But yesterday was the very definition of a pyrrhic victory, one that is certain to cost Republicans dearly at the polls in just a few weeks. The central players themselves are also destined to be defined by yesterday's events for the rest of their lives. Thirty years after the Clarence Thomas hearings, Americans still remember the clarity and courage of Anita Hill as she faced down a roomful of stodgy old white men in similar circumstances. Anita Hill still has the respect of the nation, a respect that Clarence Thomas never did garner.
It will be the same with Dr. Ford and Brett Kavanaugh. She will go down in history as a martyr who stood up to an entrenched patriarchy - even if it was on its last legs, and Brett Kavanaugh will go through the rest of his life being regarded as little more than a stain on the Supreme Court of the United States of America - Clarence Thomas redux.
Thank you, Dr. Ford, for having the grit to fight this battle. Your courage in coming forward to tell you story will help to move America forward into a brighter future, one in which the lanterns of justice will be held aloft by people other than drunken frat boys and will shine on more than just those born into privilege.
Christine Blasey Ford risked her safety and reputation yesterday to make America better, and come November we can tell her "thank you" in a way that will be remembered through the ages.
Register, vote, and throw the bums out!
Citizen Journalist
Mitch McConnell is smiling smugly somewhere in the U.S. Capitol this morning, secure in the knowledge that the Kavanaugh nomination to the Supreme Court has been rescued and that his white, patriarchal form of justice will continue to prevail in America - while at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue Donald John Trump is wolfing down a few cheeseburgers for the road as he prepares for another grueling weekend of golf. Trump, too, is smiling because he knows that right has prevailed and he was personally responsible for stopping the con-job (or was it a witch hunt?) that those crooked Democrats tried to pull in derailing his nominee to the Supreme Court.
Happy days are here again. Huzzah, huzzah!
Well, both of those good ole boys, McConnell and Trump, had better luxuriate in the feelings of euphoria while they can - because they ain't a-gonna last long. Yesterday's day-long melodrama with Dr. Ford's compelling, tear-stained testimony followed by Brett Kavanaugh's extended rage and Lindsey Graham's histrionics, will leave an indelible mark on the American psyche, and one that will haunt and ravage the Republican Party for a generation or more.
McConnell, and Trump, and Grassley, and all of those other pasty old white men won the battle that was fought in the OK Judiciary Committee Corral, but damned if they didn't lose the war. Americans heard what was happening on their radios - and they watched it unfold on television - and Americans were appalled.
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford came prepared to tell her story. She took a lie-detector test conducted by a former FBI operative prior to the big event, gave a heart-wrenching account of the night a young Brett Kavanaugh attempted to rape her, and then sat through a lengthy interrogation of which the Republican portion was conducted by a professional prosecutor instead of the cowardly GOP members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. And through it all, Dr. Ford remained calm, even as she occasionally fought back tears while reliving that terrible night.
Not so with Brett Kavanaugh. Within minutes of beginning to speak he was in full rage mode, showing the world what a mad drunk looks like. As Kavanaugh climbed the heights of outrage in defending his honor, his demeanor and hostility reminded many women around the world of the wrath that they had themselves endured at the hands of controlling men. But Kavanaugh was not speaking to impress women. He was speaking to Donald Trump and imploring him not to pull his nomination to the Court - and he was speaking the the eleven GOP male members of the Judiciary Committee begging them to stand by him.
And it looks like he was successful. Trump, himself a pompous male with a history of abusing women, is gushing with praise for Kavanaugh's performance yesterday, and it looks as though all eleven Republican members of the Judiciary Committee will hold the line for Kavanaugh as well.
But yesterday was the very definition of a pyrrhic victory, one that is certain to cost Republicans dearly at the polls in just a few weeks. The central players themselves are also destined to be defined by yesterday's events for the rest of their lives. Thirty years after the Clarence Thomas hearings, Americans still remember the clarity and courage of Anita Hill as she faced down a roomful of stodgy old white men in similar circumstances. Anita Hill still has the respect of the nation, a respect that Clarence Thomas never did garner.
It will be the same with Dr. Ford and Brett Kavanaugh. She will go down in history as a martyr who stood up to an entrenched patriarchy - even if it was on its last legs, and Brett Kavanaugh will go through the rest of his life being regarded as little more than a stain on the Supreme Court of the United States of America - Clarence Thomas redux.
Thank you, Dr. Ford, for having the grit to fight this battle. Your courage in coming forward to tell you story will help to move America forward into a brighter future, one in which the lanterns of justice will be held aloft by people other than drunken frat boys and will shine on more than just those born into privilege.
Christine Blasey Ford risked her safety and reputation yesterday to make America better, and come November we can tell her "thank you" in a way that will be remembered through the ages.
Register, vote, and throw the bums out!
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