It is theoretically possible that Senate Republicans are acting in good faith in their handling of a sexual assault allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Perhaps they really would like to fairly consider his accuser's story. Maybe they do want to get to the bottom of it before they seat Kavanaugh for life.
But if so, why are they so blatantly misleading the American public about the deadlines, procedures and history surrounding Supreme Court confirmations?
Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are proffering transparently false claims that the FBI can't possibly investigate the allegations leveled by Christine Blasey Ford, and that she must testify right now if she wants to at all. Their orchestrated presentation of a necessarily rushed, unavoidably abbreviated process is a charade. GOP senators of conscience — perhaps especially Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — should force them to drop the act.
Ford claims Kavanaugh attempted to rape her while they were in high school 36 years ago. Kavanaugh categorically denies it. If it's true, no rationalizing about drunkenness or youth makes it acceptable to put him on the nation's highest court. If it's false, it's one of the most abominable smears imaginable. Either way, a good-faith effort to get at the truth is crucial.
Ford understandably wants an FBI investigation so the hearings aren't just "he said/she said." Her request has precedent. In 1991, when Anita Hill accused then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment, the FBI reopened its earlier background check, and completed it in days.
Why is committee Chairman Chuck Grassley resisting such an investigation now? He claims the FBI doesn't do this reasonable thing that it has, in fact, done before, under similar circumstances.
Grassley insists the committee needs to rush the vote, as if he's under some calendar he doesn't control. We're not naive — Republicans want this behind them because the November midterms are looming — but there's no urgency other than political self-interest. Certainly, they didn't heed the ticking clock for almost a year as they ignored Barack Obama's final Supreme Court nominee.
The cynical, dismissive handling of this issue by Grassley and others denigrates a nation of women who are finally starting to be heard on sexual misconduct issues. Except, apparently, in that ultimate ol' boys' club, the United States Senate.
Collins and Murkowski are beneficiaries of the women's movement that broke so many political glass ceilings. This is their moment to honor the cause of women's empowerment — a cause that should transcend party politics.
Kavanaugh likely can't be confirmed without their two votes, which gives them the leverage to insist that this matter get the time and scrutiny it deserves. If there was ever an opportunity for them to stand up for both the responsibility of their offices and the dignity of women everywhere, it's now.
REPRINTED FROM THE ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
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