Knew it was coming.
Hurt more than I thought it would. Maybe because the swing vote came from a woman? Dudes have the luxury of doubt when women come forward. They have the luxury of doubt when they're faced with the idea that 50% or more of the women they love have been assaulted. But, Susan Collins has lived life as a woman. If she has any close friends, she's heard their stories. Daughters. Granddaughters. She knows what she's done without that doubt. She did it anyway. Hope she retires to good ol' Florida someday. I'd love to run into her.
After reading her entire speech
here. I think Sen. Collins is a thoughtful, intelligent Senator trying to make the best of an awful situation. It is obvious she has spent a lot of time reading Judge K opinions and reviewing the evidence about the allegations. I think we get an example of Sen. Collins fair-mindedness in that she goes out of her way to clear Sen. Feinstein from leaking Dr. Ford letter.
I think a little humility is in order. The only thing I know for a fact is that none us know for fact what happened 36 years ago to Dr. Ford. I think it is reasonably likely that both Dr. Ford and Jude Kavanaugh are telling the truth as they believe it. I've been reading a lot about human memory in the last couple months. It is been an educational experience. This
article is probably the best I've seen but there are pages on the subject on Wiki and score of journal articles. It is far from settled science, but as best I can deal, human memory is pretty bad, there is a reason that 70% is considered passing on many tests, cause that's about limit to accuracy of memory is without training. Even though we believe we have photographs of certain events, it is more like an impressionistic painting. Memory is malleable and degrades over time. Out gut-level beliefs about memory, are odds with the science, so trauma and adrenaline make our memory of an event move vivid but less accurate. Constantly recalling a memory makes it less accurate not more. The range of things that could have happened that night 36 years ago is immense, everything from Judge Kavanaugh attacking Dr. Ford and him not remembering because of booze, to him lying about it. Dr. Ford misidentify him, to her confusing dreams with real memories
I suspect for more than 90 of the Senators this was purely partisan the facts were unimportant. I'd like to the think for Sen. Collins, Murkowski, Flake and Manchin that wasn't the case. But perhaps I'm wrong and it is all part of the Kabuki theater.
But the Supreme Court is far less partisan than people believe. 50 years ago less than one of out 200 SCOTUS was partisan, yes that number has increased but it still small only 3-5% of cases are partisan now. As Senator Collins points out.
That Judge Kavanaugh is more of a centrist than some of his critics maintain is reflected in the fact that he and Chief Judge Merrick Garland voted the same way in 93 percent of the cases that they heard together. Indeed, Chief Judge Garland joined in more than 96 percent of the majority opinions authored by Judge Kavanaugh, dissenting only once.
Perhaps more importantly, Judges especially ones appoint by Republicans, have a way of disappointing the President who appointed them. Certainly, Justice Kennedy, appointed by Reagan, pissed off conservatives during much of his career. Chief Justice Roberts has outraged conservatives on issues from gay marriage to ACA. I'll bet Justice Kavanaugh will do the same.
