Judge Brett Kavanaugh (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
By Josh Wagner, Opinions Editor
A powerful testimony was given before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week. Dr. Christine Ford’s statements were genuine and moving. Sane individuals would have difficulty watching her testimony and not believing every word. Now, based on he-said-she-said arguments and an FBI investigation, the Senate will shortly have to make a choice: to appoint Judge Brett Kavanaugh or to not.
If Judge Kavanaugh did assault Dr. Ford, then Kavanaugh’s nomination should be voted down. That is clear.
However, suppose Brett Kavanaugh did not sexually assault Dr. Ford. Instead of being guilty of sexual assault, he only drank excessively while underage, misled the Senate Judiciary Committee, and does not have the temperament necessary to be on the highest court.
Judge Kavanaugh did not split hairs during his Senate hearing stating: “I drank beer with my friends, almost everyone did. Sometimes I had too many beers, sometimes others did.” He later walked back this statement claiming:”I liked beer, I still like beer, but I did not drink beer to the point of blacking out and I never sexually assaulted anyone.” Within this one hearing Kavanaugh would use the word ‘beer’ 29 times in his defence. Discussing an alcohol dependency at a job interview does not bode well, especially when fending off claims of assaulting someone while inebriated. Perhaps Judge Kavanaugh should speak with representatives from the Center for Career Engagement to get some pointers on interviewing tactics.
Kavanaugh also led the Senate Judiciary Committee to believe that he was of legal drinking age while he developed this strong affinity for beer. He was not. He was 17 years old when the age limit was raised from 18 to 21 in Maryland, the state where his high school, Georgetown Preparatory School, was located. He avoided lying to the court by correctly stating that the drinking age was 18 for ‘most’ of his time as a student there – he left out that while he was 18 he was not legally allowed to drink.
Drinking aside, Judge Kavanaugh also downplayed the role of polygraph tests due to Dr. Ford’s use of a polygraph to support her testimony. When asked if he would similarly take a polygraph, Kavanaugh said that they’re ‘not reliable.’ This is a break from Kavanaugh’s past support of the polygraph as ‘an important law enforcement tool’ to ‘test the credibility of witnesses’ as he wrote in a judicial opinion.
Forgetting his fixation with brewskis and newly discovered dislike of polygraphs, Judge Kavanaugh does not have the temperament of a Supreme Court Judge. His caterwauling, tears, and shouts do not befit the Supreme Court. Judges should be stoic adjudicators. His impassioned rant against Senate democrats showed he was anything but.
Kavanaugh was a bad pick for the Supreme Court. Donald Trump should find a new nominee – perhaps Trump could select someone who did not graduate from Georgetown Preparatory School. Neil Gorsuch graduated two years before Kavanaugh from Georgetown Preparatory School, so he will surely be able to represent the elites of the Washington Metro area by himself. Regardless, Kavanaugh’s nomination should be withdrawn.
