Kavanaugh: How the hasty process of the GOP has failed

It is increasingly difficult to imagine anything other than an attempt to move the process forward without hearing the allegations – especially since New Yorker According to history, Senate Republicans were aware of Ramirez's allegations before they were reported.

Many Republicans believe that the allegations against Kavanaugh are purely political and unfounded. "For people to go out of carpentry 36 years ago and 30 years ago and never mentioned it, suddenly this happens – in my opinion, it's totally political. It's totally political, "said Trump. "There is a chance that this could be one of the most unjust and unfair things that can happen to a candidate." (As I wrote on Friday, Trump used the same defense to respond to allegations of sexual misconduct against him).

Despite this, the political risks of haste become great. Like my colleague Dick Polman and Jonathan Martin of Time have both reported, Kavanaugh no longer seems to be a political winner for Republicans. His support among voters has collapsed and if the GOP seems to be dealing with Kavanaugh's accusers in a peremptory manner, it risks further compromising the party's position among White voters, who have become a crucial mid-term vote. . This is not helped by comments from Senators such as Lindsey Graham, who said Sunday that, regardless of what Ford is testifying, he has already decided to support Kavanaugh's appointment.

As the new allegations materialize, Kavanaugh's confirmation resembles strangely the appointment of Clarence Thomas to the Court in 1991. In this case, there was a central accuser: Anita Hill. But once Hill was introduced, others too. The Senate Judiciary Committee, at the time, seemed reluctant to delve deeper into the allegations. President Joe Biden decided that instead of allowing a woman to testify publicly, the committee would issue a transcript of a telephone interview with her. Mayer – the same journalist who broke the story of Ramirez – and Jill Abramson wrote in a 1994 book that the committee had only conducted a superficial investigation and refused to follow other leads.

Kavanaugh's confirmation process becomes even lousier.

There are other signs of haste that also cause problems for Republicans. Although Kavanaugh's supporters have complained that these allegations are unfair because they appeared at the last minute, it's partly because the process was so fast. The White House has always failed to find weaknesses in the candidates' resumes, and a more deliberate verification process could have allowed them to prepare for the allegations against Kavanaugh. (For example, a book by Mark Judge, a friend of Kavanaugh High School, recounts the exploits of "Bart O'Kavanaugh," not the most intelligent pseudonym.) The Judiciary Committee also relied on the assistance of an assistant named Garrett Ventry. But Ventry was a temporary employee, detailed by a conservative public relations firm who helped repel Kavanaugh's false statements. In addition, he was forced to resign after NBC News revealed that he had been forced to leave a previous job after an allegation of sexual harassment.

Haste has almost worked, at least in part. New Yorker reported that Ramirez was frightened watching the fallback against Ford, but she decided to speak because she hoped her story would support Ford.

Kavanaugh can still be confirmed, but the rush has created conditions that endanger his appointment and undermine any political gain that Republicans have sought to make. The destruction left behind reminds us that the haste is wasting.