They Were Always Going to Confirm Kavanaugh — His Outburst Was to Rally the Base Ahead of the Midterms on Trump’s Behalf
By Sasha Stone and Ryan Adams
The New York Times and other media outlets have depicted the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings as though the outcome were ever in question. Yesterday’s Page One post-mortem tells us that the judge had been instructed to put on an angry emotional display. Even for those who saw through his scripted theatrics, it was thought that Kavanaugh’s pretense of righteous indignation was calculated to serve as a “turning point” for any senators who needed to pretend they hadn’t already made up their minds.
Now that the dust has settled, another larger scheme has become clear. Kavanaugh’s performance wasn’t aimed at senators, it was staged for millions of spectators watching at home. Kavanaugh was always going to be confirmed. Of that, there was never a question. The GOP’s game of SCOTUS musical chairs had been planned since in November of 2016. As soon as this slow-motion coup had successfully subverted America’s government, the majority of citizens and the Democrats we voted for were shut out. With the Republicans grip on every check and balance now firmly in place, Trump and his minions could do whatever they wanted.
That, of course, is why McConnell blocked Merrick Garland’s confirmation. The math was simple. They needed five Supreme Court seats. They couldn’t even risk a swing-vote judge, so they had to swap Kennedy for Kavanaugh. Republicans knew Dr. Christine Ford’s account of sexual assault could derail their long-festering plans. If it hadn’t been for Jeff Flake’s decoy delay there wouldn’t have been time to rewrite the narrative, to convince enough average Americans of the perverse reversal that Kavanaugh was the real victim.
What keeps this pervasive farce afloat is keep Trump’s white male base in a continual state of infuriated fear. Anyone who hasn’t got that by now hasn’t been paying attention. The people who constitute the Republican’s most devoted followers are the hoards of angry white men who feel that social progress and diversity is at the root of their imagined oppression.
This is how Trump won in the first place and so far formula never fails. Seeing that Democrats were starting to gain momentum, as Mueller’s probe kicked into high gear, as the New York Times broke the story about decades of Trump family financial fraud, Republicans needed to remind the base that they had to come out and stop the “shrieking women, dangerous mobs, and angry minorities” from taking back the slightest shred of power.
Last week’s ostensible last-ditch surge in sympathy for Kavanaugh was as much a charade as the rest of the process. It was always part of the grand plan. When the final gambit was set in motion, It wasn’t Avanatti’s fault. It wasn’t the protesters’ fault. It wasn’t Dr. Ford’s fault. And it wasn’t the Democrats’ fault. Republicans were never going to let this once-in-generation opportunity to install an obedient Supreme Court figurine like Kavanaugh slip through their fingers. With so many ominous court battles looming, they desperately needed a malleable pawn they could rely on. They needed Kavanaugh’s rage displayed as loud and publicly as possible to reawaken the white men. They did that. The day of his confirmation, men were toasting him with bottles of beer.
