Kavanaugh Hearings: An Exercise in Republican Framing

By in Politics

If you’re a Republican commentator right now you’re probably pissed off.

Ever since California professor Christine Blasey Ford publicly came forward with sexual assault allegations against Federalist Society-vetted Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, the media and general public have been carefully following the drama unfold.

With what seems to be a brazen Democratic constructed witch-hunt on your hands your best bet is to take control of the narrative or enough control to keep those moderate Senate Republicans in line.

The timing of this is questionable. Be sure to harp on that. Feinstein had the letters and sat on them for weeks while the original Kavanaugh hearings were unfolding. It seems like a last ditch attempt to obstruct a conservative justice from the seat.

Corroboration. Noun. It means actually having another witness verify an accusation. Sure, Ford may seem credible but the Democrats don’t have that. Why should Brett Kavanaugh lose his seat over a claim without any corroboration?

It was loathsome enough when Senate Republicans announced the vote delay a move seen by many of your peers as granting obstructionist Democrats a victory.

Now Democrats call for an FBI investigation, a move that would just provide more time for Democrats wanting to push this vote back passed the 2018 midterms.

Sure, “reputable” agencies like the American Bar Association want the FBI to look into all of this, but the ABA is a liberal agency sabotaging potential conservative justices anyway.

Also, they’re hypocrites.

On Thursday, Ford and Kavanaugh both testified and were questioned under oath on the Senate floor; an event less like a hearing and more like a media spectacle.

Before either the accuser or accused spoke there was partisan bickering and senator grandstanding. Senator Grassley used his opening statement to question Feinstein’s conduct, Feinstein used hers to comment on sexual assault as general problem, prompting Grassley to interrupt her.

This hearing is tricky stuff as a Republican Senator. Again, Ford seems credible. And in the age of #MeToo, it’s not the most politically savvy thing to call the woman a liar. Something probably happened to her and that’s tragic. But did Kavanaugh do it? You’re not convinced.

Luckily, Ed Whelan and his Comm shop crafted the perfect Tweet thread to latch onto. If you appeal to doppleganger and are sure to not question Ford’s trauma you’ll be politically correct, get your justice in and may just get re-elected in 2018.

But when Ford testified, it was over. She was compelling and believable. As per usual, Ben Shapiro put it best: “It would take a minor political miracle for Kavanaugh to gain a Supreme Court seat after today’s hearing.”

But when Kavanaugh was up it was pointedly not over. He played hard ball in his opening statement. He was outraged over unsubstantiated accusations threatening his rightful Supreme Court seat.

The questions that followed were a circus. Democrats successfully discovered that Kavanaugh did, in fact, drink, party and write immature things in his high school yearbook as a teenager.  

The highlight was Lindsey Graham.

The GOP Senator praised for his record bipartisanship shocked the country by forcefully defending Kavanaugh, telling Democrats they want to “destroy this guy’s life.”

When the Senate Republican base and swing votes swore their allegiance to Kavanaugh, it seemed like it was going to come to a vote at a moment’s notice. But Flake complained about process, asking a week delay to investigate Ford’s claims.

Now, despite their lack of corroborated evidence, Democrats have their week, but knowing their political tricks, this tactic will probably delay the vote until after the midterms.

But only time will unravel the rest of this political melodrama the Democrats have made out of appointing a conservative justice to the Supreme Court. And the rest of the saga will surely be just as,if not more, dramatic than what’s already played out.

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