In the midst of the debacle over the Senate confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, delivered a speech on the Senate floor Friday that reminded us of the potential of political discourse there.
As a supporter of President Trump and critic of the establishment swamp, I can say these last few weeks of the Kavanaugh confirmation hearing have delivered more than one surprise for all of us.
Watching the Republican Party come together – and seeing senators who have personified the weakness of the GOP stand up for what’s right – has been a revelation.
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If you had told me last month I would be praising Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Collins, I would have thought you were crazy. Yet here we are and all three have been beacons during this fight, and delivered when under extraordinary pressure.
Watching Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., sulk into an elevator, refusing to stand up to partisan hecklers, was dispiriting.
But Collins’ speech Friday was an inspiring reminder of what the Senate is supposed to embody – a place where lawmakers give a thoughtful and reasoned presentation of the facts before us – in this case regarding Judge Kavanaugh.
Collins spoke of Kavanaugh’s judicial record – not his high school yearbook. She discussed her extended personal conversations with him.
And Collins addressed Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted Ford when the two were high schools students some 36 years ago.
While Collins said she believes Ford was assaulted by someone and respected her testimony, the senator detailed how the resulting investigations caused her to conclude that the allegations against Kavanaugh failed to meet the “more likely than not” minimum standard to keep him off the Supreme Court.
Collins also called the separate accusation by another woman that Kavanaugh had been present at a party where girls had allegedly been gang-raped “outlandish.”
All of the specious arguments made by Democrats and their various allied “resistance” groups were dismantled by the Maine senator, leaving the hysterical claims that Kavanaugh would be an ideological nuclear bomb on the court tattered on the floor like a piece of toilet paper dragged on someone’s heel.
And Collins spoke with a tone conveying a confident and heartfelt sincerity worthy of the moment.
In other words, the Democrats who had hoped that harassment and intimidation would frighten Senate Republicans into abandoning all sense of fairness had a very, very bad day. They will have an even worse weekend, since Kavanaugh now has enough support to make his Senate confirmation for a seat on the Supreme Court a virtual certainty.
Addressing the absurd gang-rape allegation, Collins said: “That such an allegation can find its way into the SCOTUS confirmation process is a stark reminder of why the presumption of innocence is so ingrained in our consciousness.”
It is likely unbelievable to Collins why some find the presumption of innocence and due process of law so pesky, because these vital standards make malevolent political attempts to destroy people much more difficult. When dealing in false allegations, due process is your enemy.
At one point, Collins said that “we have forgotten the common values that bind us together.” On that, she can speak only of Washington and the legacy media, as the American people have not forgotten a thing.
Donald Trump is president because we noticed what was happening in Washington and we did not like what we saw.
The political class likes theater, as it continues to try to gaslight Americans into thinking the contrived demonstrations at the Capitol against Kavanaugh represent a “deep divide of the country.”
Sorry, we’re not buying it.
As the Kavanaugh confirmation process and Democratic attacks unfolded, the American people found common ground in our disgust for what was happening.
A CAPS Harris poll found that “a majority of voters believe that Kavanaugh’s confirmation process was politicized and mishandled, with 69% calling it a ‘national disgrace’…. Further, 75% of voters believe that Senator Dianne Feinstein should have immediately turned over the letter from Christine Ford to the Senate Judiciary committee in July, when she received it.”
It looks like Americans aren’t divided at all on our rejection of what the political class has tried to unleash. Public remarks by senators rebuking the presumption of innocence – and most of the
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee calling the patently absurd gang-rape allegations “credible” – were appalling.
Supporting our bedrock principles isn’t a partisan position. It’s an American position.
Collins’ speech was important and valuable. And for those of us who support President Trump and have been extremely critical of the GOP establishment, it was a reminder of what we can accomplish working together.
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President George W. Bush and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were very active calling senators urging them to confirm Kavanaugh’s nomination, which likely made a big difference.
After barely escaping the Democrats’ effort to set this nation on fire using Kavanaugh and his family as kindling, it would be terrific if the GOP establishment put down its fists so we can continue working together to keep America great.
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