Last week the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on allegations that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually attacked Dr. Christine Blasey Ford when they were in high school. Prior to the hearing three other women accused him of sexual attacks. Their claims were ignored.
The hearing took place in a highly charged atmosphere – Democrats vs. Republicans. Ford was asked to prove her accusations. She answered all the questions, though obviously upset and frightened at having her life and credibility on trial. Kavanaugh opened his statements, yelling about the Democrats ruining his life and then proceeded to deny the charges and avoid answering most of the questions asked of him.
Despite doubts about whether Kavanaugh is a sexual predator, the Republicans pushed to get him confirmed immediately. Obviously the accusations of sexual assault were not enough to make them reconsider. But in the current context of the #MeToo movement, they couldn’t get away with this. Outrage and protests by women around the country forced some senators to ask for a one week FBI investigation before voting on confirmation. This is just a small concession and does not mean any real investigations will be conducted or that Kavanaugh won’t be confirmed.
Kavanaugh is the perfect candidate for Trump and the Republicans. His court rulings and writings show he is against the right of women to control their own bodies, and he would be the swing vote to overturn Roe vs. Wade. He is against the protection of voting rights for minorities and immigrant rights. He is anti-worker and pro-business and against regulations to protect the environment.
The confirmation of a Supreme Court nominee is based on which party holds the majority. The president nominates and the senate votes for the candidate. Since the Republicans hold both the presidency and the majority in Congress they want to make sure that Kavanaugh, is quickly confirmed. They are afraid that the November mid-term elections might make the Democrats the majority in Congress and therefore change who can get their Supreme Court nominee confirmed.
Regardless of which of the two parties is in the majority and who gets to appoint to the Supreme Court, how could we believe that nine people chosen by this government could possibly be fair in ruling on legal questions that affect the majority of us? How could we believe that nine people appointed for life, accountable to no one would be fair to the majority of us?
The Supreme Court exists to protect the interests of the 1%. It has nothing to do with what we are taught in school about so-called checks and balances and democratic processes. It is there to guarantee the freedom and liberty for those who run and control the society to exploit the majority and amass as much profit as they can.
Every once in a while the pressure from social movements or a big shift in popular consciousness forces the Supreme Court to make a decision that is in our interests like Brown vs. the Board of Education. But this is a rare exception.
The three ring circus in Washington D.C. has nothing to do with justice, or with defending the interests of most of us. It is just business as usual.
