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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsEzra Klein: The allegations against Brett Kavanaugh are about the present, not just the past
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/9/17/17869092/brett-kavanaugh-christine-ford-sexual-assault-supreme-courtThe allegations against Brett Kavanaugh are about the present, not just the past
Kavanaughs denial raises a question that must be answered.
By Ezra Klein@ezraklein Sep 17, 2018, 9:40am EDT
snip//
There are a few possibilities here. One is that Ford, a professor who teaches clinical psychology at Palo Alto University, is a fabulist. But given that her therapists notes show she was talking privately about the alleged assault in 2012, and that she decided not to come forward in Kavanaughs hearings until her identity leaked to reporters and she had no choice, it seems unlikely.
Another is that one or all of the participants in this story have misremembered what happened. Our memory is not like a videotape, wrote Voxs Brian Resnick in a superb piece on the ubiquity of false memories. A more helpful metaphor is that its like a video editor working on a millisecond deadline. In its mad rush, the editor splices in bits of truth with whatever filler is handy. And whats handy is often our biases, or new information altogether.
The alleged assault happened decades ago. According to Ford, Kavanaugh and Judge were extremely drunk at the time it happened. Its possible both men truly believe they never did anything like what Ford alleges even as they did exactly what Ford alleges. Its possible that Fords memory of the event has warped over time. Its possible that all three have misremembered the event in important ways. Its possible the truth lies somewhere else entirely.
A third possibility is that Kavanaugh and Judge are lying. Its their word against hers. They may know that everything Ford is saying is true but that she has no way to prove it.
If Fords allegations are true, though, then the question isnt just about what Kavanaugh did 35 years ago; its about what hes done since, and is doing now. Kavanaugh is alleged to have committed an awful act as a young man, to have never taken responsibility for that act or its consequences, and to be lying about what happened now. And if that is the case if hes lying about it now, or even if his memory is fuzzy but rather than find the truth, hes tried to publicly discredit a woman he may have assaulted and traumatized then that bears on his honesty, decency, and fitness today.
I agree with Kavanaughs defenders who say that none of us deserve to be defined by the worst thing we did as teenagers. But none of us are entitled to a Supreme Court seat, either. Deciding whether Kavanaugh deserves the highest position in American law requires investigating Fords claims, knowing whether Kavanaugh did what he is alleged to have done, and, if so, judging whether his subsequent treatment of his victim and the truth proves him worthy of the office he seeks.
Senate Republicans have sought to rush Kavanaugh toward confirmation even as these allegations have emerged. Thats a disgrace. This is the same party that held Antonin Scalias Supreme Court seat vacant for more than 400 days on the argument that voters deserved a voice. Theres a midterm election 49 days from now. Shouldnt voters get as much information as possible about what Kavanaugh did or didnt do, and a chance to weigh in here too?
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Ezra Klein: The allegations against Brett Kavanaugh are about the present, not just the past (Original Post)
babylonsister
Sep 2018
OP
aeromanKC
(3,327 posts)1. Dr. Ford passed a polygraph
Let's let Kavanaugh get back to with his results.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)2. K&R
Power 2 the People
(2,437 posts)3. K&R
malaise
(269,157 posts)4. Well given his lies to the Senate in the past
I'm with Dr. Christine Ford
RetHUGs would willingly promote a gambler and attempted rapist to the SC.
Docreed2003
(16,875 posts)5. Klein brings up interesting points...
These "allegations" aren't an attempt to "ruin a man's career". Kavanaugh has had and will have a career. This is about the concept of how we as a country view our SC Justices. Should SC justices, a lifetime appointment, be required to meet a higher standard, and to that I say yes!!
matt819
(10,749 posts)6. I just posted this on another thread
I can't help but wonder whether his failure to complete his rape of Dr. Ford some 30+ years ago formed the basis of his misogyny since then.
So, considering Ezra Klein's commentary, this incident is very much about the present.