The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to confirm Appellate Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh went beyond partisan charades. It was a downright circus.
So, here are the dumbest things that happened in the Kavanaugh confirmation hearing:
1.) Kamala Harris
The Kavanaugh hearings were less a study of the Supreme Court nominee than an audition for the 2020 Democratic nomination. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., stood out — and not in a good way.
Kamala Harris asks if Kavanaugh discussed Mueller with anyone at the law firm of Trump’s personal lawyer.
Kavanaugh: “I would like to know the person you’re thinking of.”
Harris: “I think you’re thinking of someone and you don’t want to tell us.” (CSPAN) pic.twitter.com/SrkKxiuS3J
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 6, 2018
After this exchange and away from the hearing room, Harris assured and reassured reporters that she had “reliable” evidence Kavanaugh had had the potentially unethical conversation she was referring to.
Like a bad prosecutor trying to prejudice a jury, she even cited Kavanaugh’s initial hesitation to answer as further evidence of her assertion. But it turned out she was just plain bluffing — and lying. She had no evidence of any such conversation. Kavanaugh subsequently had a chance to inspect the roster of the law firm in question. The moment he unequivocally denied her charge, she folded her bluff.
2.) Cory Booker
If you thought Harris’ line of questioning was propelling her to the top spot of the Democratic primary, wait until you get a load of New Jersey’s Cory Booker.
Cory Booker says he’s going to violate Senate rules and release an email kept confidential on “racial profiling” to “expose” that docs being withheld “have nothing to do with national security.”
“I understand that the penalty comes with potential ousting from the Senate.” (ABC) pic.twitter.com/fzAEM4J8Ej
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 6, 2018
Booker claims this to be his “Spartacus” moment, hoping to be punished by the Senate. But it was literally all theatrics. The documents dubbed “committee confidential” were cleared for release just a few hours before Booker made a scene. The documents that Booker had released weren’t even a bombshell. He was hoping to paint Kavanaugh as someone who was sympathetic to racial profiling, but all it said was that Kavanaugh actually opposed racial profiling.
3.) John Cornyn
If the documents that Cory Booker “courageously” released were cleared hours before, Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn clearly didn’t get the memo.
Sen. @CoryBooker: “I’m knowingly violating the rules. Sen Cornyn has called me out for it. I’m saying right now that I’m releasing committee confidential documents.”
Senator @JohnCornyn: “Running for president is no excuse for violating the rules of the Senate…” pic.twitter.com/A2pB19ENPP
— CSPAN (@cspan) September 6, 2018
With Booker willing to look like a fool, it could have been an easy win for the GOP. However, Cornyn got sucked right into Booker’s game and gave him the attention and opposition he was craving. Cornyn should’ve known about the documents being cleared for release.
4.) Handshake Gate
This is one of those confusing moments in politics that you’re not entirely sure what happened, but because the person being rebuffed was a parent of a Parkland shooting victim, the media lost its mind.
When people show you who they are:
BELIEVE THEM THE FIRST TIME.
And Brett Kavanaugh just showed America who he is—a COWARD—when he refused to shake the hand of @fred_guttenberg who lost his daughter in the Parkland school shooting.pic.twitter.com/DfcAruD9Zq
— Ryan Knight ? (@ProudResister) September 4, 2018
It’s tough to say what was heard in the exchange or what Kavanaugh thought in his head, but it’s difficult to say he’s a man lacking empathy for a grieving father, especially when he’s in such a hostile setting.
If a man you didn’t know came up to you while your guard was up and offered to shake your hand, knowing that everyone’s watching you, would you play it safe and just walk away? That’s what Kavanaugh seemed to do here, and he got pummeled by the media for it.
On top of that, this tweet from Guttenberg before the hearing shows you that the whole incident was staged. He was looking to create a scene.
I will be at Kavanaugh hearings and I hope to play a role in ensuring that this man does not become the next Supreme Court Justice. https://t.co/6oC7OPlyB8
— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) September 3, 2018
5.) White Power Gate
This is the type of conspiracy theory that makes you ponder if President Trump truly broke people’s brains.
Speaking of Nazis, this is the second time Zina Bash sat behind Kavanaugh and flashed the white power hand signal. The fact that the msm is silent on the fact that this woman is repeatedly flashing white power hand signals is very telling pic.twitter.com/F7Zb4zEP7H
— Tariq Nasheed (@tariqnasheed) September 7, 2018
That’s Zina Bash, a Republican attorney and operative. She moved her hand, and the Left literally thought she was flashing the white power hand symbol. Never mind that she’s a Mexican-American descendant of Holocaust survivors; many on the Left were convinced that she was flashing a white power sign before mainstream media outlets began correcting the record.
Between dressing like you’re in “The Handmaid’s Tale” to thinking every hand gesture is a sign of white power, it’s safe to say that we’ve reached a new level of stupidity here in Washington.
