Ezra Klein: The allegations against Brett Kavanaugh are about the present, not just the past

[babylonsister]

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/9/17/17869092/brett-kavanaugh-christine-ford-sexual-assault-supreme-court

The allegations against Brett Kavanaugh are about the present, not just the past
Kavanaugh’s 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 therapist’s notes show she was talking privately about the alleged assault in 2012, and that she decided not to come forward in Kavanaugh’s 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 Vox’s Brian Resnick in a superb piece on the ubiquity of false memories. “A more helpful metaphor is that it’s 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 what’s 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. It’s possible both men truly believe they never did anything like what Ford alleges even as they did exactly what Ford alleges. It’s possible that Ford’s memory of the event has warped over time. It’s possible that all three have misremembered the event in important ways. It’s possible the truth lies somewhere else entirely.

A third possibility is that Kavanaugh and Judge are lying. It’s their word against hers. They may know that everything Ford is saying is true but that she has no way to prove it.

If Ford’s allegations are true, though, then the question isn’t just about what Kavanaugh did 35 years ago; it’s about what he’s 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 he’s lying about it now, or even if his memory is fuzzy but rather than find the truth, he’s 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 Kavanaugh’s 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 Ford’s 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. That’s a disgrace. This is the same party that held Antonin Scalia’s Supreme Court seat vacant for more than 400 days on the argument that voters deserved a voice. There’s a midterm election 49 days from now. Shouldn’t voters get as much information as possible about what Kavanaugh did or didn’t do, and a chance to weigh in here too?

[aeromanKC]

1. Dr. Ford passed a polygraph

Let's let Kavanaugh get back to with his results.

[smirkymonkey]

2. K&R

[Power 2 the People]

3. K&R

[malaise]

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]

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]

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.