The only one who cares if Kavanaugh is appointed is Kavanaugh himself, who has wanted this job all his life. For everyone else, he’s just a pawn in what the others — Republicans and Democrats alike — really care about, which is the Senatorial elections this coming November.
The crucial thing is to have a majority in the Senate in order to appoint or not appoint a right-wing Republican to this lifelong job. If Trump or the Republicans in the Senate have to sacrifice Kavanaugh to achieve this, they will do it. What everyone is trying to figure out is what will swing a small number of voters in a small number of states, such that their party’s candidate will win a majority in the Senate. There is no consensus on the tactics required to do this.
I know everyone says that a defeat of Kavanaugh will be a great victory for the Democrats, and so it seems. But if they don’t gain the majority in the fall elections, Trump will simply nominate another ultra-rightist person. And if they do win the majority, Trump will have to appoint a more “moderate” person or he will not pass.
Kavanaugh knows this, which is why he’s so angry. And Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer knows it too, which is why he’s being so cautious. In the meantime, everyone is shouting loudly with rhetoric in which they half believe. But behind rhetoric there is always reality. And the reality is that Kavanaugh is just a pawn.
Did he engage in drunken attempted rape when he was 17, and did he then lie about it? The evidence that he did seems to me pretty strong.
But so what? If Trump appoints another ultra-rightist who is pure as the driven snow, will that be better? I don’t think so. So, as always, let us keep our eyes on the ball and not on the diversions.
Immanuel Wallerstein, Senior Research Scholar at Yale University, is the author of The Decline of American Power: The U.S. in a Chaotic World (New Press).
Copyright ©2018 Immanuel Wallerstein — distributed by Agence Global
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Released: 01 October 2018
Word Count: 318
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