Much is good about Senator Hatch, but this moment in history is not among them. Unfortunately for him, the Brett Kavanaugh hearing might define his legacy as much as anything -- and not in a good way.
Bless him, but I would have questions of him.
Have you (along with other of our leaders) set to "plow right through"? And, what if what Christine Blasey Ford is saying is the truth? Does that mean you are going to "plow right through" the truth?
What happened at the hearing was "a national disgrace," you say? Senator, what happened was someone accused Kavanaugh of a sexual attack, and others asked him questions such as, Are you afraid an FBI investigation would show you are lying? to which you over the microphone were heard to utter, "Gee whiz." The question on why there is no FBI investigation is a valid one. The question is, is it part of what you were referring to when you said the way Kavanaugh was being treated was "a national disgrace"?
How so, Senator? If Dr. Ford truly was assaulted, no, it is not a national disgrace for her to say so. Nor is it a national disgrace for your fellow senators to wonder why there is no FBI investigation.
And, just why is there no FBI investigation? Why did you say to all those who are calling for an investigation, then by all that is holy, they should ask their questions right there and then while they had Kavanaugh before them? It was as if you were saying, Forget your FBI investigation. You have your chance right now. Anything that needs to be taken care of can be taken care of right here and now.
And, therein touches the problem. Therein lies the reason this hearing might define Hatch's legacy. If the committee votes in favor of Kavanaugh on Friday -- just one day after the hearing in which he came out looking badly -- then it will be seen that the committee had already made up its mind. It was going to have a perfunctory hearing, but whatever happened in that hearing was not going to be allowed to derail the nomination.
The hearing was but for show. The process was but for show. You even brought in a woman expert to ask questions for you -- to sidestep the appearance that a committee composed only of men was grilling and diminishing a female for saying she was assaulted. So, bringing in a female questioner -- that, too, was for show.
You make a mockery of the system when you carry it out just for show, with no intention of having it be the basis for whether you endorse the nominee. "Plow right through"? This does not speak to the hope that you were there to find the truth and to be fair. It has been said the hearing was not a court of law. Well, it certainly shouldn't be compared to a real American court of law, what with you as judges deciding the verdict before the case was even heard, and refusing to have an investigation before the case was heard, and refusing to bring in all the witnesses so they could testify.
Is that not a sham? Is that not a farce? This is not the way American justice was made. Instead, it bears resemblance to how a dictatorship might function while pawning itself off as a democracy. There, they have an election, but the election is fixed; It is meaningless.
Is this so different? You have a hearing, but the hearing means nothing. Justice mean nothing. You subvert the American system with tactics better suited for Russia or Iran.
If the committee votes to endorse Kavanaugh on Friday, and then the full Senate approves the nomination quickly, instead of calling to hear from the other witnesses first, and if there is no FBI investigation, it is possible there will be a public backlash. If so, history might remember Hatch for his lead role in "plowing right through" and subverting justice.
(Note: This blog was written after reading a Deseret News article.)
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