Analysis: The Mob Defeated, Justice Prevails
Guy Benson
@guypbenson
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Posted: Oct 06, 2018 4:30 PM
Following a disgracefully hideous confirmation brawl, Judge Brett Kavanaugh has been confirmed by the United States Senate, and will soon be sworn in as the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. All Republicans voted 'aye,' except for Alaska's Lisa Murkowski, who cast a 'present vote' in order to effectively cancel out the absence of a Kavanaugh-supporting colleague who is attending his daughter's wedding. All Democrats voted nay, except for West Virginia's Joe Manchin, who respected the strong sentiments of his constituents and likely solidified his re-election in the process. A brutal, draining fight is over. Justice has prevailed.
I made my closing argument for Kavanaugh last Friday. If anything, the charges against him only grew weaker and more dubious over the course of the ensuing week. In my advocacy of a brief FBI probe into the less ludicrous accusations against him -- both of which remain uncorroborated and lacking any verifiable credibility -- I reasoned that such a course of action could help provide some added legitimacy and closure in the eyes of non-hardcore partisans, many of whom have been undecided or ambivalent on the Kavanaugh nomination. The goal was never to satisfy implacable hacks; it was to mitigate broader public bitterness and suspicion about the process. At the Weekly Standard, John McCormack makes a strong case that the resulting discrete, limited FBI foray achieved the outcome of helping Kavanaugh's confirmation.
He argues that the probe (a) produced no new incriminating information against the nominee (although it did apparently turn up questionable conduct by Dr. Ford's allies), (b) allowed additional time for the sensational 'gang rape ring' claim to collapse, (c) gave space for Ms. Ramirez's "corroborating" (anonymous hearsay) witness to be refuted, (d) bought time for Dr. Ford's inconsistencies to be thoroughly examined, and (e) let allies slap down various "perjury" attacks. Thanks to the Left's endless, media-aided smears and hyperventilation, there will always be something of a cloud over Kavanaugh in some Americans' minds. But the FBI's involvement, and the slight prolonging of this process, assisted in dissipating that cloud for many fair-minded people. One of those people is Sen. Susan Collins, whose lengthy, careful Friday floor speech laid out the reasons why the evidence against Kavanaugh was extremely flimsy (not coming close to meeting her 'preponderance of evidence' standard), and why the presumption of innocence is a bedrock American value:
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https://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2018/10/06/justice-gorsuch-justice-prevails-n2526063
