EMOTION OUTWEIGHS ALL IN
THE CONFIRMATION DISPUTE
The Democrats have certainly shown they’re great at planning ahead.
After silently lining up accusers to tar Brett Kavanaugh with a colorful variety of sex-abuse allegations — of which Christine Ford’s is only one — they’ve got their next argument ready for his confirmation vote…
His extreme emotional reaction to Ford’s charge shows he lacks the proper “judicial temperament” to sit on the Supreme Court.
If you haven’t heard that notion yet, you will soon.
But preparations don’t stop there. Lefty media mouthpieces are already announcing the strategy for blocking the assault on Roe v. Wade they assume would follow Kavanaugh’s ascension to the Court.
As reported by Breitbart News, Terry Moran, chief foreign correspondent for ABC, laid it all out during coverage of the committee hearing…
“Referencing both Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas, Moran continued … ‘overturning Roe v. Wade by an all-male majority — two of whom have had credible accusations of sexual misconduct lodged against them — would not be a legitimate action.’”
Set aside the question of whether those accusations are credible. Moran is suggesting that when some case testing Roe comes before the Court, Kavanaugh and Thomas would have to recuse themselves.
It’s a clever gambit (downright creative, even), but it’s hardly relevant. No one has charged either Kavanaugh or Thomas with causing an unplanned pregnancy or pressuring some woman into having an abortion. So how would abuse allegations disqualify either man from ruling on an abortion-related case?
Not that logic matters. Terry Moran showed himself to be a man of compassion, arguing that if Kavanaugh is confirmed…
“…he had better take into that lifetime appointment a sense of the woundedness of so many people in the country, and factor that in his decisions.”
Which cries out for a restating of the highly pertinent point I raised in a previous blog post…
“Supreme Court justices aren’t supposed to represent the people.
“Supreme Court justices represent The Constitution.”
But that truth wouldn’t likely be of interest to Moran. His argument is a display of emotion — whether real or contrived, who knows — and the entire Ford/Kavanaugh episode has been awash in passionate display…
…the vulnerable woman haunted by a shocking experience…
…the upright man whose virtuous life is thrown into question…
It’s a real opera. And reactions to it have been just as emotional.
I suppose human nature disposes us to respond emotionally to such an emotion-provoking issue as sexual assault. One would even say that it’s a good thing people can feel empathy for either of the parties whose lives have collided so dramatically.
But emotion hasn’t just been present, it’s been the predominant aspect of this situation. In fact, it’s the key element driving many people’s judgment.
Those who empathize with the trauma Ford may have suffered tend to think Kavanaugh should not be confirmed. Those who empathize with the damage done to Kavanaugh’s reputation and family life tend to support his confirmation.
The question of whether or not he actually did what she alleges is pretty much irrelevant, compared to the feelings people have about her claim.
My own view is that Ford’s story is transparently false. If nothing else, it’s discredited by the timeline of how the Democrats brought her charges to light — at almost the very end of the confirmation process, just when it could do the most damage.
Ford probably does bear some emotional scars, either from one shattering incident or from a series of debilitating environmental factors. Either way, I think her experiences have formed her into a person who can be manipulated. In that, she fits the profile of many who are attracted to the “compassionate” declarations of the Left (the “social justice warriors” on our college campuses come to mind).
And so I think she believes that she’s been called to strike a blow against someone whose “privileged” life exemplifies the “cold-heartedness” of the Right. She’s become convinced — or somebody has convinced her — that Brett Kavanaugh is the cause of the hurt she’s borne all these years.
His actual guilt or innocence is as irrelevant to her memory of events as it is to many people who empathize with her pain.
Add a bit of political motivation, along with the requisite book deal and the prospect of being hailed as a feminist icon to vindicate her life’s struggle, and Ford’s path to that confirmation hearing room was predictable. (Now she has the additional benefit of money raised in a GoFundMe campaign, more than $700 thousand at last count.)
There are plenty of people, some close to me, who dismiss Ford merely as a paid operative lying through her teeth. And indeed, some facts about her life do tend toward that interpretation — not least her hazy involvement with a pharmaceutical company that makes a chemical ingredient of the abortion pill.
I don’t take quite so hard a stance. I’m still looking for psychological aspects that might explain her behavior. But I do recognize that there’s a profound moral question involved…
How much responsibility does an emotionally compromised individual bear for inflicting hurt upon another person?
Brett Kavanaugh has surely been hurt. Whether or not he’s ultimately confirmed, you could call him an unwilling martyr to the defense of abortion.
At some point in her life Christine Ford will have to address the question of her culpability in that. No amount of Democrat planning will let her avoid it.
Pray that she doesn’t address it too late.
____________
Naturally, the memes and tweets are flying. Some samples…
Re Kavanaugh’s alleged emotionalism (I’m sure Hillary’s lovin’ it)…
____________
Here’s a link to the Breitbart story — including an ABC video clip — that quotes Terry Moran’s take on the supposed illegitimacy of Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas voting to overturn Roe v. Wade…
The Wall Street Journal is right on target in characterizing the Democrats’ tactic as “A Late Hit on Kavanaugh”…
“News reports also say that [Senator Diane] Feinstein has had the letter [from Ford] since the summer, and that it was first sent to the office of Rep. Anna Eshoo, a Democrat from Silicon Valley. But if the ‘information’ is worrying enough to send to the FBI, why did Sen. Feinstein wait so long? She didn’t bring it up during the summer in the run-up to the hearings, didn’t mention it when she met with Judge Kavanaugh, and didn’t think it was important enough to tell her colleagues.”
Yeah, why didn’t she? You take a guess…
https://www.investorvillage.com/smbd.asp?mb=296&mn=22640&pt=msg&mid=18647315
Sandra Newman of the Washington Post sees the airing of Christine Ford’s claims as a teachable moment…
“perverse though it may seem, the nomination of an accused sex offender [Kavanaugh] is a great opportunity.”
Why?…
“making a show of just how terrible [rape] is on the world stage might help stop other men from perpetrating similar abuses.”
That’s because rapists see their actions as…
“‘a rewarding, low-risk act’ they could engage in safely and for which no reasonable person would blame them.”
Oh…really…well…
Barbara Ellen says
September 30, 2018 at 6:40 pmFrom Facebook…
This indeed does prove, women are not fit to be like men. Radical feminism has brain-damaged most women and girls.
If I had a young teenaged son, I would have my husband sit down and warn him about the dangers of many girls. Women and girls are very aggressive nowadays. They actually stalk boys for sex.
Let’s be honest with ourselves: Women are not designed by the Almighty to be just like men! Women are emotional because they are created to be mothers, and that takes emotion to be the heart of the home.
Many women would scoff at this. But, their lives are so erratic, they can’t even think for themselves, even though they actually believe they can. Instead of feminizing men, crying rape, using sex to get what they want, why not embrace being a woman? Otherwise, you are a silly embarrassment to womanhood.
Adam says
September 30, 2018 at 7:52 pmFrom Facebook…
The use of emotion is an attempt at evoking emotions on the part of the audience (the committee as well as the country looking on) to establish credibility. But the hearing was not about credibility, but about evidence, and Ford had NONE.
Elise says
October 1, 2018 at 8:24 amFrom Facebook…
Why would you send me something so hateful? As a victim of multiple sexual assaults in my lifetime, I’m offended beyond words at the lack of compassion or love of Christ these attacks on victims portray. God will certainly judge the religious right for selling their souls in order to gain the world.
Kathy says
October 1, 2018 at 9:00 amI have total sympathy for women who have been assaulted. However, we cannot condemn any man without evidence of his guilt.
If the evidence supported the claim of Ms. Ford, then Judge Kavanaugh should be held accountable. So far, there is no evidence this is the case. We cannot make him the scapegoat for all women who may have been assaulted.
I believe something did happen to Ms. Ford at some time. Who actually did it and when it happened, may remain a mystery. But The facts are that decades have passed since the event, there is no substantiating evidence it was the Judge, and Ms. Ford’s obvious political affiliations weigh against her.