The deep wounds of the Senate caused by an ugly Kavanaugh fight

WASHINGTON – Brett M. Kavanaugh is now an Associate Justice at the Supreme Court, leaving the Senate exhausted with the aftermath of his vitriolic confirmation fight, which worries members of both parties for causing lasting institutional damage .

Charges of conduct contrary to the ethic. Personal attacks. Threats of new leak investigations. Greetings of future retribution. Suggestions of bad faith. The Republicans' decision in 2016 to block President Barack Obama's candidacy for a vacancy on the Supreme Court was suspended 11 months before the end of his term.

"This has not been good for the Senate, none of this," said Senator Richard C. Shelby, Republican of Alabama, a member of the House of Representatives for more than three decades. "Too far from both sides. In the Senate, we must understand that we have differences. It should not be personal. "

Confirmation struggles tend to point to the worst in the Senate, as both parties focus on the courts, which play an increasingly important role in resolving legislative and societal disputes. However, for years the institution has struggled with increasing polarization and partisanship, prompting both parties to make the decision to break the stalemate by essentially making rule changes to applications.

"I have seen this institution change so drastically in a 20-year career," said Senator Richard J. Durbin, of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat. "Fundamentals, debate on the ground. It was once the hallmark of this institution, but it is now virtually unheard of to have a controversial amendment. Both sides are to blame. People are just afraid to debate and vote on a controversial amendment. "

The Kavanaugh's struggle has entered a new territory from the beginning. Sen. Bob Casey, Democrat of Pennsylvania, announced his opposition even before knowing who the candidate was, citing President Trump's promise to choose a list drawn up with the help of conservative defense groups.

Many other Democrats have spoken against Judge Kavanaugh, a former Republican political officer, well before his hearing. Then, just as the confirmation hearing was called, the Democrats raised bitter objections to expressing anger at the partisan decision-making about the documents leaked to Justice Kavanaugh's White House.

Republicans accused the Democrats of fomenting "crowd rule" by leaning on protesters. Senator Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican and Majority Leader, has repeatedly criticized the Democrats for causing a "landslide" of personal defamation against Judge Kavanaugh.

Republicans also accused California senator Dianne Feinstein, the highest-ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, of hitting them with sandbags, as well as Judge Kavanaugh, accused of sexually assaulting a letter from Christine Blasey Ford. .

Democrats regarded this as a scandalous attack on the integrity of one of the key members of the Senate – one of his longtime colleagues with Republicans – and even Senator Susan Collins, the Republican from Maine who had sealed the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh, was in defense of Ms. Feinstein. speech on the ground.

Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, nevertheless indicated that she wanted a more in-depth investigation into the publication of the letter, an investigation likely to prolong the fierce struggle. During the hearings, Mr. Graham also indicated that he could become Chair of the Judiciary Committee next year and that he did not intend to tolerate what was going on. He considered it an unfair democratic tactic.

On Sunday, he said in Fox News that he would campaign against some of his fellow Democrats, a step that senators are often reluctant to take because they may have to work together later.

Obviously, the emotions were broken by the Kavanaugh's struggle. "Some of the relationships that have been built over the aisle have been twisted, if not broken," said Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, a member of the Republican leadership.

The very illustrious judicial commission may have suffered the greatest prejudice. Even before the Supreme Court hearing, tensions were high, as the Republicans had changed their long-standing practices by giving senators from countries of origin influence over the selection of federal judges, regardless of their left. The procedural clashes at the Kavanaugh hearings only exacerbated these deep divisions.

After the confirmation was sealed Saturday afternoon, Mr. McConnell sought to downplay the idea that the process he oversaw had caused lasting harm. He said he did not think the experience would come close to some previous national nadirs, mentioning McCarthy's communist witch hunt and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s.

"It's nowhere as difficult as some of the experiences we've had in the past in our history," he said. "The Senate and the country will go beyond that. We always do. "

He also noted that the Senate had just completed its management of annual spending bills in 20 years on a decidedly bipartite basis, and had also adopted a bipartite measure to combat opioid abuse, although the law had little attention in the middle of the debate. showdown in court.

"Both of us have been able to fight a big and vigorous fight and we are still working together on other issues at the same time," he said. "These things always end up falling."

Sen. Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware, suggested to the Senate a way to heal: find more issues to work on cooperatively. "We have already gone through difficult times," he said. "The way you recover is to find other things to work on together."

Democrats have also increasingly stated that they would like the Senate to reinstate the 60-vote threshold to eliminate filibusters from candidates for the judiciary – a goal eliminated by Democrats for the judges of the courts of the United States. lower instance and Republicans for the Supreme Court – in order to force more consensus on the candidates. But it seems very unlikely that it will happen any time soon, if ever.

Instead, Kavanaugh's candidacy will now join Supreme Court debates on the Robert H. Bork, Clarence Thomas and Merrick B. Garland appointments, landmarks in the Senate's history, leaving deep wounds and persistent bitterness.