Brett Kavanaugh represents everything wrong with America: a Supreme Court justice nominee who is not only morally questionable, but also a partisan-focused judge in a system that is meant to be unbiased. Kavanagh has been accused of sexual assault by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, his former high school classmate. He was an emotional and possibly unstable wreck at the Senate hearing. He showed very little respect to the senators, and he broke down in tears at very random times. He immediately showed off his Republican bias with his introductory speech, even though the position he is up for is supposed to be non-partisan. There are those who support Kavanaugh’s claim that his past shouldn’t affect his future, which means they would be fine with having an alleged rapist on the Supreme Court as long as they can get what they want. The Kavanaugh debate is one of morality versus partisan bias.
Morality and stability are things that Kavanaugh clearly lacks. Dr. Ford stood up to the jury on Sept. 4th, and she described the night of the assault in vivid details. Kavanaugh’s response was full of loopholes, and nervous question dodging that should have made the senators concerned. Kavanaugh repeatedly avoided questions about an FBI investigation, with long pauses and unrelated answers. Judge Kavanaugh was also unable to compose himself in the courtroom. When asked about the night of the assault, Kavanaugh tearily referred to an old calendar. He went on about working out with classmates and drinking. At one moment he said, “I like beer” about four times before asking the senator if he “liked beer.” He then told the committee that he “never attended a gathering like the one Dr. Ford described in her allegation,” but according to the calendar that he brought, he was at an event with several people mentioned in Ford’s testimony.
Kavanaugh is also a strongly partisan-focused candidate, and those who support him see this as more important than his dark past and erratic behaviour. He began his trial by slandering Democrats and the media for attacking him false allegations. His vocal political views are concerning, especially when the position he is up for is one that is supposed to be unbiased. Many senators confirmed this theory by backing Kavanaugh up, even after Dr. Ford’s testimony.
The most memorable were Senators Graham and Hatch, whom adamantly defended the alleged sexual assaulter. Senator Hatch said that Dr. Ford’s testimony was full of “uncorroborated [and] unsubstantiated claims from [Kavanaugh’s] teenage years.” They, like many of his supporters, seem to care more about party lines in anticipation of the upcoming midterm elections than his dark past.
In a debate between party loyalty and human morality, morality should always prevail. Brett Kavanaugh faces sexual assault claims that should not be tolerated on the highest court in the U.S. His erratic and disrespectful behaviour is not consistent with the composure and intelligence needed on the Supreme Court. Finally, his obvious bias would be too dangerous on a court that is meant to uphold the law. None of his obvious flaws and possibly criminal past seemed to matter, because on Oct. 6 he was confirmed to the Supreme Court. The party has officially become more important than basic morality and reason.
