In the Late Notes of our last post,  we advised the Democrats to be careful what they wished for.  They wished and indeed demanded yet another FBI  Judge Bret Kavanaugh background check.   Well they got it, making it the seventh in the series.  We warned it was unlikely to find anything further negative about the Judge given the microscope he’s been under.  On the other hand, the accusers were near virgin territory.  The results are in and as we predicted absolutely nothing supporting the accusers was found.  Without any corroborating evidence, the accusers were left naked for all to see.  Vindicated, Judge Kavanaugh is now a Supreme Court Justice.  What were the Democrats thinking?

Going into the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, the Democrats enjoyed a double-digit edge on congressional generic ballot polling.  This pointed to a strong possibility of  a blue wave rolling over not only the house but even the Senate.  Polls showed far greater enthusiasm to vote among Democrats.  They were united in their disgust with President Trump while Republicans had mixed feelings about their President. Many were happy with the tax cuts, and regulatory reform but distrusted him on such things as trade,  immigration and temperament.  What all Republicans agreed on was the appointment of conservative judges and it appeared they already had their wish with two Supreme court justices and a host of other federal judges. If the Democrats avoided a major mistake, they were on their way to regaining some measure of power.  Today, the generic ballot is a statistical dead heat and the enthusiasm gap has disappeared.  All this happened in just a few weeks.

How did the Democrats manage this for them unwelcome turnaround?  They made a horrible miscalculation.  The Republicans won the election and had the votes to appoint federal judges up through the Supreme court.  They put forth well qualified candidates including Bret Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court . As Former President Obama said”elections have consequences.”   Bret Kavanaugh was going to be confirmed but that in turn would further energize the Democrat base. They were on the way to again winning elections.  Suddenly just before the final votes on the judge a charge of teenage sexual misconduct was leaked and confirmed in an article in the Washington post. Democrats on the senate Judiciary committee led by Senator Dianne Feinstien pounced  Though the senator had the information for six weeks, she hadn’t shared it with her committee chairman.  She did nothing to seek any supporting evidence for the accuser’s charges.  This all flew in the face of normal committee procedures.  Why this 11th hour play?  It seemed right out of the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas conflict playbook.  To Democrats Anita Hill was a saint for exposing Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas as a sexual harasser.  She too came forward reluctantly with “credible accusations.”  Surely in the age of the # me too movement the nomination would now be doomed.  The Democrats would get two wins.  They would derail Kavanaugh preventing an ideological shift on the court and energize women to vote for Democrats.  At least this must have been their thinking.  All the Democrats were onboard with the strategy.

Apparently the left forgot the real lessons of Hill-Thomas.  There was no real evidence against Thomas. Her salacious charges weren’t widely believed. After the confrontational hearing, the polling in favor of Clarence Thomas actually went up.  He went on to be confirmed and is still there on a solid conservative vote on the court.  A  more women were elected in the next election but Thomas is still there to contribute to a now solid conservative majority.  In the present circumstance as with Hill, facts and evidence do matter and the accuser had none.  A couple of  woman came forward  with outlandish claims, but with  zero evidence and were if that was even possible less credible

With no evidence what were the Democrats counting on to prevail? The mantra by many in the # me too movement a woman must be believed under any circumstance. The Democrats seem to have simply forgotten about such basic American values as due process and innocent till proven guilty.  While the Democrats claimed this wasn’t a trial so these principles shouldn’t apply, most people think fairness dictates they apply in all phases of our lives  After all, woman have Fathers and many have husbands, sons and grandsons.  The idea someone could make an collaborated accusation against them just doesn’t fly.  They are well aware of the fact that these accusations can be false.

Without any supporting evidence, the Democrats doubled down on a losing hand.  They demanded a seventh Kavanaugh background check.  Senator Jeff Flake made sure they got their wish.  It not only found nothing to help them,but might have cast even more doubt if possible on the accusers.  They managed not only to lose but rally all Republicans against their ugly unfair actions.  Remember the one thing all Republicans agree on are conservative judges and the they saw their guy being treated very unfairly and predictably got mad.  They managed to do something Trump and all the Republican leaders had been unable to do  As Mitch McConnell said “thanks for the Gift.”

One would think this major faux pah was done at the lower levels of the party, but no all if its leaders signed on mightily including almost all of the known presidential hopefuls.  The only one who kept some distance was Joe Biden, but only because he was shunned as the head of the Judiciary Committee when their Saint Anita wasn’t believed.  Amazingly they repeated the 2016 mistake with an even worse case now. It isn’t that  Republicans always deserve to win, it’s the Democrats find a way to lose.  As we’ve said before, we need better choices.

Our next post will continue with where we should go from here.

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