Tuesday September 26th, 2018
My Dear America:
I spent a good deal of time last Saturday afternoon and evening relearning a good bit about Anita Hill's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee many years ago during the consideration of Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court.
First of all I happened upon a C Span rerun of an interview with Ms. Hill on Book TV. Then later on I watched "Confirmation", a made for HBO Movie about Ms. Hill's Testimony featuring Kerry Washington as Anita Hill.
Certainly Ms. Hill's testimony was earth shattering at the time and surely made a substantial dent in Clarence Thomas's reputation but it did not keep Clarence Thomas from becoming a United States Supreme Court Judge. Thomas was eventually approved by the United States Senate by a very slim margin. But slim margin or not, it gave Thomas a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land.
Certainly the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas saga was an interesting story on its own.
When we contrast the Hill/Thomas story with the Ford/Kavanaugh story we find almost a Deja Vu moment in time. Neither Anita Hill nor Professor Ford initially wanted their stories told. Unfortunately for both of these ladies their stories became so important and out of control that they both felt compelled to tell their stories themselves so that their stories would be told truthfully.
It would be great to be able to say that we are in a better place now in America and be confident that the feeding frenzy that enveloped America around the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas case would never happen again. Unfortunately we cannot say that we are in a better place.
We are living in Donald Trump's America where someone as dangerously partisan and unqualified as Brett Kavanaugh can be put forth to be considered by the United States Senate for Advice and Consent on whether or not Kavanaugh might be approved for a lifetime appointment to the United States Supreme Court.
The First Clue that we had regarding Kavanaugh's questionable appropriateness for the Supreme Court occurred when he was introduced to the media and America by Trump. Kavanaugh lavished praise on Trump for his exhaustive search to find the best qualified person to fill the Supreme Court slot when it was well known that Trump had put the word out to Right Wing Republican Organizations such as The Federalist Society that he wanted a Supreme Court nominee who would meet their approval. Although Kavanaugh was not on their short lists to begin with, suddenly his name landed on that list when White House Counsel, Don McGhann (A personal friend of Kavanaugh's) made sure it got there.
Like many other possible nominees Brett Kavanaugh did have an impressive resume but in many ways he was undistinguished except for the fact that he was a proven Republican Partisan. Kavanaugh worked enthusiastically with Ken Starr in his fanatical search to hunt down and end the career of Bill Clinton when Clinton was President. It is well known that Kavanaugh now believes that while a President is in the White House as a sitting President he cannot be indicted and prosecuted for any reason.
Certainly Kavanaugh did not maintain that view when Bill Clinton was in office and Brett Kavanaugh was on the "Whitewater" Beat. Kavanaugh was one of the most enthusiastic Starr operatives who all seemed hell bent on destroying the reputation and possibly putting in jail the sitting President. Kavanaugh even went so far as to try to prove that the Clintons were behind the death of their long time good friend and White House Counsel, Vince Foster. Kavanaugh made the lives of Foster's family a living hell in his fanatical search to prove that Foster had not committed suicide but instead had been murdered by Clinton operatives. Kavanaugh had no qualms in those days about going after a sitting President when that sitting President was Bill Clinton. These days Brett Kavanaugh apparently has had an epiphany, however, and in Donald Trump's America is singing a different tune. Brett seems to feel that in Trump's America, as he felt in George W. Bush's America, that no sitting President can be charged with or convicted of a crime. If only Kavanaugh had maintained that belief in the Clinton years we would not have had to go through the expensive, disruptive and bullshit charges that resulted from the incredibly partisan "Whitewater" investigation and led to the Impeachment Charade of Bill Clinton's Presidency.
Although it has not been widely reported, both Rachel Maddow and Laurence O'Donnell showed a video that was taken following Kavanaugh's Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing clearly showing Kavanaugh turning away and refusing to shake the hand of a man who identified himself as the father of one of the murder victims of the Parkland High School shooting. Lawrence even had the Parkland victim's father on his program. The White House later on tried to spin this incident saying that Kavanaugh had accidentally turned and walked away not knowing that the man was a Parkland victim's father. The Parkland Father made clear that once he identified himself to Kavanaugh that Kavanaugh immediately turned and walked away. Clearly this incident did not show Kavanaugh to be a man of compassion or good judgement.
Another nail in the coffin of Kavanaugh's reputation is the fact that Kavanaugh's previous testimony during Senate Judiciary Committee hearings when he was previously being considered as a Judge seems to indicate that Kavanaugh lied to the Judiciary Committee. In his previous Committee testimony about his work as a Counsel in George W. Bush's White House, Kavanaugh stated that he did not have access to E Mails that were illegally hacked from Democratic Lawmakers. Kavanaugh also stated in previous Committee testimony that he did not participate in certain decisions on judicial appointments during the Bush Administration. Recently released Bush era information on these issues seem to indicate that in his testimony on these issues Kavanaugh was not telling the truth. If that is the case then Kavanaugh has shown that he has been willing to perjure himself.
In addition to these issues there seems to be at least one very serious allegation of Sexual Assault that occurred when Kavanaugh was a teenager. Kavanaugh's accuser, Christine Blasey Ford apparently has stated that Kavanaugh was drunk when he attempted to sexually assault her. Clearly Ms. Ford should should be heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee before a decision is made regarding Kavanaugh.
Clearly there seems to be a considerable amount of information which should give both Democrats and Republicans Serious Reservations as they consider whether Judge Brett Kavanaugh should be elevated to the most prestigious Court in America.
It is hard for me to understand how any Senator can, with good conscience vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court Justice. He is not only a Liar. He is a Perjurer and a Sexual Predator and is in all respects a Fanatical Republican Operative. He certainly does not belong on the Supreme Court of the United States.
Sincerely Yours
Jerry Gallagher
