The Dirt and Delay Playbook Democrats want to push a Kavanaugh vote past Election Day.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-dirt-and-delay-playbook-1536966589
A reliable rule of modern politics, especially Supreme Court politics, is to think lower. Really low. That’s our advice as we learn more about the last-minute accusation that Democrats are floating against Brett Kavanaugh. The timeline of this ugly disclosure suggests it’s part of a calculated if desperate strategy to delay a confirmation vote past the November election.
The New Yorker on Friday offered more details on the accusation from a woman who claims Mr. Kavanaugh had “attempted to force himself on her” at a party when the two were in high school in the early 1980s. Yes, high school. The story was published a day after Senator Dianne Feinstein, ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, announced that she had “information” about Mr. Kavanaugh that she had shared with the FBI.
Ms. Feinstein purported to take the high road of offering no details and protecting the woman’s privacy. But someone took the low road of providing the New Yorker details of the accusation contained in a letter from the woman to Ms. Feinstein. The unidentified woman alleges that Mr. Kavanaugh “held her down,” covered her mouth with his hand, and with a male classmate turned up the music so she couldn’t be heard. “She was able to free herself,” the New Yorker reported.
The magazine was given these details with enough time to contact someone close to the woman. The reporters also had time to contact the male classmate who said he had “no recollection” of the incident. For the record, Mr. Kavanaugh “categorically and unequivocally” denies the allegation.
The timeline here is damning about Democratic motivations. The New Yorker says the woman first approached Democrats in July. Yet Ms. Feinstein didn’t ask about the accusation in her meeting with Judge Kavanaugh, didn’t ask about it at the hearing, and no Democrats asked about it in their 1,278 written follow-up questions after the hearing.
So why now? As we wrote Friday, the charitable explanation is that Ms. Feinstein didn’t think it worthy enough of investigation but finally bowed under pressure from her colleagues. She’s running for re-election against a left-wing Democrat who is pounding her for not stopping Mr. Kavanaugh and on Friday hit her for a “failure of leadership” for waiting to disclose the allegations.
This is the explanation implied by the New Yorker reporters, who compare Ms. Feinstein to Joe Biden’s supposed failure to get tough on Clarence Thomas after Anita Hill’s last-minute accusations in 1991. The idea that Mr. Biden was soft is hilarious. Democrats were vicious.
But if you think lower, waiting to drop the letter is right out of the Anita Hill playbook. Her accusation was also sprung shortly before a confirmation vote and prodded Democrats to hold a second hearing, when Justice Thomas credibly denied her claims.
The letter gambit looks like an attempt to create a similar #MeToo uproar that would force Republicans to delay the hearing. If nothing else, such a delay might spare Democratic Senators running in Trump states from having to take a difficult confirmation vote. No Democrats have called for a new hearing, but let’s see what Democratic media say this weekend.
The accuser remained unidentified on Friday, but even if she comes forward the accusation is too distant, too disputed and too late in the day. It also doesn’t fit everything else we know about Mr. Kavanaugh’s behavior across his 53 years. No fewer than 65 women who knew the judge in high school sent a letter to the Senate Friday attesting that “he has always treated women with decency and respect.”
Republicans can strike a blow against this sleazy, late-hit politics by sticking to their timeline and confirming Judge Kavanaugh so he can take the bench when the Court begins its fall term on October 1.
Appeared in the September 15, 2018, print edition.
Comments are closed.
