He said/she said. She testified about sexual transgressions by the Supreme Court nominee. He rejoined with an emphatic, highly emotional denial. I was inclined to believe him, giving him the benefit of the doubt.
But in the years since, it has become altogether clear that Anita Hill was telling the truth, and Clarence Thomas was lying. He still sits on the court, its longest serving member. If you call it “serving.”
Testimonials from legions of women, who’ve known Kavanaugh, have vouched for his upstanding behavior. Human beings are complex and deep. A person may behave beautifully in most contexts and abominably in another. Kavanaugh testified that he sometimes had too many beers; what “too many” meant was not clarified. But too many beers can make people do things they would not ordinarily do. Things they don’t even remember. Kavanaugh may even have convinced himself his attempted rape didn’t happen.
And he does not, in fact, have a record of honesty. His previous testimony in these hearings was fundamentally a lie, calling Roe v. Wade “settled law,” as though it would be safe from him, when in truth he will vote to overturn it. Which indeed is virtually the raison d’etre of his nomination.
Some Republican Senators, so vocal in denouncing Democrats and supporting Kavanaugh (like John Cornyn) meantime also said Ford was convincing and credible. It’s been said the sign of true intelligence is the ability to hold two contradictory beliefs.
For all the venom Republicans spewed at Democrats for their conduct here, Republicans’ own conduct is characterized by their leader McConnell’s candid statement that they’re going to “plow right through” everything to get their man on the Court no matter what. No matter what Kavanaugh may have done.
