Well, Mitch McConnell won. Federal Judge Brett Kavanaugh has been sworn in as President Trump’s second Supreme Court justice after a 50-48 vote by a hyper-partisan U.S. Senate in Washington.
Yes, conservatives will dominate the Supreme Court for years to come, but there are no winners in the vicious confirmation battle that divided the nation over the past few weeks.
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The Kavanaugh confirmation battle exposed some of the worst moral divides in America and forced people to choose sides based on nothing but deception and emotion.
On Sept. 27, 2018, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee under the possibility of potential prosecution if found to be untruthful. She spoke her incredible, chilling story and moved the nation with her strength and bravery.
Kavanaugh came after her and unequivocally denied the allegations against him. Also, he made it plain that his every move from that point on would be in retaliation to what the liberals put him through for this seat.
After we heard both testimonies, it was up to America to decide. Oh wait,no it wasn’t. Even though polls found that more people believed Ford than Kavanaugh , Republicans stuck with their unpopular nominee.
The confirmation of Kavanaugh has left many people feeling ignored, especially women, and the Republicans will most likely pay for this nomination in November.
That being said, I believe the issue of how we view sexual assault in the public sphere has been forever tainted, especially in regards to people in politics.
Regardless of who you believe, the automatic side-taking that resulted in the public square is corrosive to democracy.
We must prevent the #MeToo movement from losing its credibility and becoming a partisan weapon. It takes extreme bravery and courage for women and men to come forward with their stories. Though this case was inherently political, it metamorphosed into a nasty situation detrimental to both sides.
For those who say that Democrats used this as a political ploy to obstruct the confirmation process, I say you can definitely argue that they had something to gain from the withdrawal of Kavanaugh that could have been.
To me, the Republican response was even more troubling. Some members on the right, including the president, embraced a narrative of young men being under attack. Some even going as far as to claim coming forward with sexual assault allegations that occurred before adulthood is preposterous. How crazy it is for us to expect young men to respect women at such a young age?
Fords allegation forced Republicans to finally voice how they really feel about allegations of sexual assault. More than the accuser, the accused deserve due process of law. I can agree that due process of law is a must, but it has to be assured to both sides.
The FBI attributes “unfounded” rapes, or those found to be false after investigation, to 8 percent of those reported. It is also important to note that U.S. Bureau of Justice statistics suggest only 35 percent of all sexual assaults are reported to police.
Although it might not be their intention, Republicans leave this confirmation debacle universally on the side of the accused and with a strong skepticism to any key conservative who might be accused of abusing his or her power.
Frankly speaking, I believe Dr. Ford’s courage to come forward in today’s political landscape was not only brave, but heroic. Kavanaugh’s life will never be the same. Sure, he made it to the highest court of the land, but his credibility and image has never been so low. But, that is American politics today. I guess we’ll have to see who goes the lowest.
Justin Franklin is a 19-year-old political communication sophomore from Memphis, Tennessee.
