Kavanaugh hearing is what Washington will look like if Democrats take back power

FILE - In this Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018 file photo made with a slow shutter speed and a zoom lens, President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, for the third day of his confirmation hearing. On Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018, an attorney for Christine Blasey Ford said she would testify to the Senate next week about her accusation that Kavanaugh assaulted her when both were high school students if agreement can be reached to "terms that are fair and which ensure her safety.” (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh has taught us a lot about those on the left – namely that they seek to win at any cost, no matter the reputations destroyed, the lives forever changed, or the damage done to the constitutionally mandated confirmation process.

Make no mistake. The lives of Professor Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh will never be the same. Both of their families have received death threats. Both had to reveal intimately personal details before the American public. And both were effectively used as pawns in a sad, avoidable Democratic chess game.

In emotional testimony Thursday before the Judiciary Committee, Ford accused Kavanaugh of attempting to rape her when both were in high school some 36 years ago, and Kavanaugh denied ever sexually assaulting Ford or anyone else.

The airing of Ford’s allegations at a public hearing was entirely avoidable if only Democrats had acted in good faith.

For nearly two months, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., concealed from the Republican majority a July-dated letter from Ford alleging she was sexually assaulted, instead deciding to issue an obscure statement in September just days before the confirmation vote.

The Democrats’ delay tactics were in direct opposition to Ford’s stated reasoning for sharing this information with her Democratic representative in the U.S. House and later Feinstein.

They have forever ruined the confirmation process of the United States Senate.

“On July 6th, I had a sense of urgency to relay the information to the Senate and the president as soon as possible,”  Ford testified Thursday.

Ford’s request to reach the president and the Senate were eschewed by Democrats, who chose to engage in political manipulation with her allegations by first informing the public of her claims just days before a Senate confirmation vote.

"I have received information from an individual concerning the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court," Feinstein wrote. "That individual strongly requested confidentiality, declined to come forward or press the matter further, and I have honored that decision. I have, however, referred the matter to federal investigative authorities."

Rather than promptly providing this information to committee investigators in July, Feinstein opportunistically sat on the claim, instead recommending to Ford that she hire attorney Debra Katz – a member of the “resistance” who has called Trump supporters “miscreants.”

In other words, instead of reporting this serious claim of sexual assault, Feinstein and the Democrats weaponized it.

Feinstein claimed that her two-month delay in sharing this information was due to Ford’s confidentiality request, but that argument is a sham. Feinstein could have given the letter to the FBI immediately and shared it with the Senate Judiciary Committee to conduct a private investigation, much like in the case of Anita Hill.

Hill’s allegations of sexual harassment against then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas were investigated behind the scenes and reported to the Senate Judiciary Committee in confidence in 1991, thereby respecting her request for privacy. Hill did not lose her anonymity until her name was leaked to the press, allegedly by Democratic activist Ricki Seidman.  Curiously enough, Seidman is now an adviser to Ford – 27 years later.

Like in the case of Anita Hill, Democrats are suspected of violating the anonymity request of Ford. Democrats were, after all, the only ones privy to this information outside of Ford and her attorneys. After Feinstein’s obscure tweet surfaced, it was a matter of days before details of Ford’s story and eventually her name leaked to the press against her will.

“It was only after they had been leaked illegally, to the public and the press, that then it’s outta hand. It’s in the feeding frenzy,”  Thomas observed about the Hill proceedings.

As in the case of both Ford and Hill, once Democrats leaked the names to the press – conveniently just days before a confirmation vote – a hearing was almost a foregone conclusion and anonymity was destroyed.

Moreover, not once in Kavanaugh’s 30 hours of public testimony, 65 private meetings with senators, or 1,278 written follow-up questions did a single Democrat raise these accusations with Kavanaugh.

Why? Because it was purely about politics for Democrats, not the merit of the claim itself.

While Republicans took these allegations seriously, delaying the vote on Kavanaugh and arranging for a hearing setting that Ford would be comfortable with, Democrats have exhibited appalling behavior over the course of the Kavanaugh confirmation hearing.

This led Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to passionately expose his Democratic counterparts, saying: “What you want to do is destroy this guy’s life, hold this seat open and hope you win in 2020. You’ve said that, not me …. When you see (Supreme Court justices) Sotomayor and Kagan, tell them Lindsey said hello because I voted for them.”

Kavanaugh, for his part, rose above the smear tactics of Democrats, forcefully and articulately declaring his innocence. In an emotional moment, he said: “I intend no ill will to Dr. Ford and her family,” before noting that his 10-year-old daughter asked her mom if they could pray for Dr. Ford. “It’s a lot of wisdom from a 10-year-old,” he noted.

Democrats could certainly learn from this moment of grace, compassion and humanity from a man with a demonstrable history of character and dignity. Instead, they have forever ruined the confirmation process of the United States Senate.

“Boy, you all want power. God, I hope you never get it,” Graham admonished Democrats on the Judiciary Committee.

The Kavanaugh hearings were but a taste of what Washington will look like should Democrats take back the House and Senate. It’s a prospect that America simply cannot afford.