Let’s not forget what’s really happening here.
This is not a theater competition. It is not a debate. It not even a he-said-she-said. We’re dealing with devastatingly serious allegations against a man, by a woman who has only her memory to back up what she claims happened 36 years ago. A man accused of such things is entitled to the opportunity to offer facts that refute the accusations.
Yesterday Brett Kavanaugh did so in powerful and convincing fashion. He pointed out that he has detailed calendar records that indicate he couldn’t possibly have been where Christine Blasey Ford claims he was at the time she says it happened. He referenced a fact that Democrats on the committee want everyone to forget – that everyone Blasey Ford claims was at this event refutes that it ever happened.
He left her story in tatters. He mounted the most effective defense of himself that an accused person can possibly mount, particularly of an allegation this old, when the specifics of dates and places are so hard to pin down.
I heard panicky conservatives yesterday talking about how “convincing” Blasey Ford came off as, and how this meant the left was going to win the PR war and get the public on her side.
None of this matters. The only thing that matters is the facts and Kavanaugh’s substantive refutation of the accusations. Christine Blasey Ford may well have told a very convincing story, but that’s all she did. She told a story. She offered absolutely nothing to back up a word of it, and no one else has either. Oh, people have declared that they believe her, but no one has offered any facts or eyewitness accounts to lend credence to her claims.
By contrast, Judge Kavanaugh offered a mountain of facts to cast doubt on her claims.
The fact that his presentation was so heartfelt and emotional is well and good. He too was convincing. But more importantly, the facts that can be documented were on his side – and none were on hers.
As a factual matter, this is over. Brett Kavanaugh has never sexually assaulted anyone.
Whether that will convince Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Jeff Flake to vote for his confirmation, I have no idea. But if they are driven by anything but cowardice, they will vote to confirm. Any fair-minded person would.
And anything other than this that happens at this point is an utter disgrace. Then again, that’s what this whole thing has been.
Let’s not forget what’s really happening here.
This is not a theater competition. It is not a debate. It not even a he-said-she-said. We’re dealing with devastatingly serious allegations against a man, by a woman who has only her memory to back up what she claims happened 36 years ago. A man accused of such things is entitled to the opportunity to offer facts that refute the accusations.
