Kavanaugh’s confirmation is using the wrong standards.
Brett Kavanaugh is up for confirmation to the Supreme Court. There is a fair amount of evidence that he was essentially a drunken frat boy in high school and at Yale. There are at least three accusations of sexual misconduct against him from those days.
The democrats, if I may paraphrase, are saying they don’t think a drunken rapist should be on the court. Or a conservative, but let’s set that aside. The republicans are saying, well it isn’t true, and anyway, it was a long time ago, and boys will be boys. Besides, it is unfair that these issues weren’t raised 30 years ago or at least two months ago.
You know what? Fair is the wrong question. There are plenty of qualified people who could be appointed. There are plenty of people who would likely support the president’s agenda when on the court. There are plenty of people who have not even the suggestion they spent high school and college in a predatory haze. I think it is good that Kavanaugh pulled his life together, if he did, but redemption is not qualification. Let the president propose someone equally or better qualified who does not have this baggage.
I keep thinking about the early astronauts. There were plenty of applicants, but only a few spots. The least taint of weakness would wash out a candidate even one unrelated to flying. The process was manifestly not fair but fair was not the point.