It wasn't Kavanaugh vs. Blasey Ford

It was riveting reality TV. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh made impressive appearances in today's congressional hearing. There are culprits in this story, but I'll get to that later.

Let me set some ground rules in this story. This is not a case of women who are sexually abused against the system. Yes, there are numerous cases of abuse that go unreported for a number of reasons, and often the system is to blame. But this case is simply a matter of whether Judge Kavanaugh abused Dr. Ford when they were teenagers. All the other cases of abuse must be put to the side as we weigh the truth of today's testimony. (By the way, I know the powerful impact of sexual abuse because I dealt with that issue within my own house. My wife was abused as a teenager, and she opened up about that incident through therapy, just as Dr. Ford did.)

Dr. Ford was more than a credible witness. She was calm and believable. She stood up against her own fears of going public about her story, and did well in handling all questions aimed at her by the Republicans' experienced prosecutor. She didn't have to face any questions from the Republican members of the committee, which is good for both her and the committee members. Politicians tend to pontificate in such situations, which the Democrats often did when individual committee members got their chance to confront the witness. I kept waiting for questions from the Democratic committee members to Dr. Ford, but few took the opportunity. They made speeches instead. (The Republicans fell into the same bad tendency when they abandoned use of the prosecutor while Judge Kavanaugh was facing questions.)

Judge Kavanaugh was a passionate defender of his reputation and his family's well-being. Yes, he got heated in his wording. I found that believable and even laudatory. I would have been passionate in defense of my career and personal integrity if I dealt with the parade of charges brought against him in the past few days. I mean, charging him with pulling down his pants and exposing himself, or getting women inebriated so they could be gang raped? Only a case of child abuse ranks higher on my list of hideous sex crimes.

Here's my overriding assessment: Both key witnesses were victims in this situation.

Now to my list of culprits. Republicans blasted Democrats on the timing issue, and with good right. The timeline is ridiculous. Democrats knew about Dr. Ford's charges since early July. So did The Washington Post, but I'll get to them later. No Democrat mentioned the existence of Ford's testimony prior to Kavanaugh's initial hearings, and there was no word to anyone else on the committee about the allegations during the hearings. Then, with the approval of Kavanaugh as a member of the Supreme Court a seemingly done deal, they let the story out into the open. I agree with those Republicans who ripped the Democrats for such an obvious political trick.

My harshest reaction is saved for The Washington Post. They knew about Dr. Ford's charges since mid-July. They had a reporter contact her at about the same time. They sat on the story, finally publishing the information on Sept. 16, two months after receiving it but within days of Kavanaugh's almost-assured approval. That move is politically motivated. That cements my belief that news organizations aren't spectators in political campaigns anymore, but active participants on one side of the battle or another. Our democracy loses in the process, and America suffered severe losses today.


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