In-judicial Temprament

After Blasey-Ford's compelling testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, Bret Kavanaugh stepped into the spotlight seething with anger and self-pity.

His strong emotions, alternating between anger and self-pity, suggest one of two things. Either his guilt is manifesting as hostility, or his sense of entitlement is turning out outrage when, perhaps for the first time in his life, something he badly wants is being denied him. Paradoxically, perhaps, the latter affords support for the former; his sense of male entitlement might, at age 17, have extended to "getting his way" with women.

Whether Blasey-Ford's recollection that Kavanaugh was the perpetrator is accurate or not (and I happen to believe that it is), his reaction and the ensuing deeper dive into his past, raises four troubling question as to his suitability for a Supreme Court Justice.

First, he seems to lack the cerebral calmness that one should rightly expect of a Supreme Court justice. Anger, however understandable it may seem to some,  is only serves to cloud his judgement, and calls into question his ability to decide impartially. Some cases that come before the Court will evoke strong emotions; an inability to control them is problematic.

This is of particular concern given his evident political bias. While some who serve in a political capacity, in Kavanaugh's case in the Bush administration, but are themselves relative politically independent, that is clearly not the case here. Kavanaugh has nailed his colors very clearly to the mast. At a time when the legitimacy of institutions of all kinds (SCOTUS, Congress, academia to name but three) are increasingly being questioned, this only serves to further undermine public confidence in the Court.

His testimony also revealed a troubling lack of respect for the institution that is hiring him for the position. While it might be argued that one quality in a Supreme Court justice is not being supplicant to the other branches of government, a degree of civility and decorum is called for and Kavanaugh proved unable to muster either. That was poor political judgement.   

Kavanaugh's nauseating self pity suggest something else; an inability to empathize with Blasey-Ford and sexual assault victims more generally. Were he indeed innocent of the accusations leveled  against him he would be able to be much less strident in his denials and more sympathetic to the pain of his accuser. 

Finally, veracity; questions are being raised about his shading of the truth. His self-proclaimed choir-boy image is being called into question from all sides. People who knew him say he drank heavily in college and was often incoherently drunk. If he is willing to dissemble about his drinking how much store can one place in his statements concerning Blasey-Ford?

Whichever way the final vote goes, and I hope, though I don't expect it will, that the decision does not go in his favor, the incident has been another black eye for Congress, and for the GOP and the Administration in particular.