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On September 4, Supreme Court candidate Brett M. Kavanaugh is invested in Capitol Hill, Washington. (Melina Mara / The Washington Post)
"It is imperative that the Judiciary Committee advance on the appointment of Kavanaugh and a vote in committee be taken as soon as possible." Sen.. Lindsey O.Graham (R-S.C.), September 19
On Sunday night, Ronan Farrow and Jane Mayer of the New Yorker published an article detailing a new allegation of sexual misconduct against Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, a candidate of the Supreme Court of the Republic. Deborah Ramirez, a Yale classmate from Kavanaugh's undergraduate program, described a drunk first-class dormitory during which she claimed to have exposed herself and pushed her penis into her face, causing her to touch him. None of this, she says, took place with her consent.
"I would think a F.B.I. an investigation would be warranted, "she said, acknowledging that she too was intoxicated during the party and that there were gaps in her memory.
The article offers troubling details about the alleged event at Yale, and against the alcohol-soaked backdrop of Ivy League and the preparatory party culture when Kavanaugh was a student in the 1980s. But in the New Yorker article, there is a particularly appalling revelation that speaks less of the character of the Supreme Court candidate himself than of the Republicans who continued to plead his case:
The offices of at least four Democratic senators have received information about this allegation and at least two of them have begun to investigate. Senior Republican officials also saw the allegation last week and, in conversations with the New Yorker, expressed concern over its potential impact on Kavanaugh's appointment. Shortly after, the Senate Republicans renewed their calls to speed up the vote in committee. [Emphasis mine.]
Ah! We wondered what was pressing us and now everything makes sense. It turns out that Graham and other well-known Republicans were probably in a hurry because they were hoping to get ahead of a second accuser, to get a confirmation vote before new potential hurdles could be unearthed. It was "imperative".
They "expressed their concern" – not about the veracity of the allegation or impact that such an incident might have had on the accuser, or whether it illuminates the existing claims of research psychologist Christine Blasey Ford. No, they were concerned about the potential impact on Kavanaugh's appointment – and whether that would hinder their ability to install their favorite candidate in a lifetime commitment, where his decisions could affect the lives of millions of people.
If you were wondering whether the main Republicans wanted to know the truth about their candidate or the allegations against him – Ford, Ramirez or any other case – you have your answer.
If you have assumed that these Republicans were concerned about character, or that women's concerns matter in one way or another, it is time to revisit this hypothesis.
If you had hoped that Kavanaugh's defenders would set aside their partisan goals for the country, for justice, or even to preserve the legitimacy of the country's highest court, it should be extinguished.
And if there was any doubt that Kavanaugh was to withdraw from the appointment, it was resolved.
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