We knew there would be protests at the confirmation hearing for Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. We just didn’t know what form they would take.
For example, we assumed that women would show up in costumes from “The Handmaid’s Tale” — Kavanaugh has been notoriously conservative and regardless of his answers during the confirmation process, has signaled on numerous occasions that he would end a woman’s right to choose if given a chance.
We knew that members of the “Resistance” would show up — the very consideration of Kavanaugh by Senate Republicans at a time in which the President who nominated him is both under investigation and making new statements daily that indicate he thinks the application of law should apply only his political enemies marks yet another stone for Robert Mueller to cast against this administration when his final report comes out.
What we didn’t know is that everyone would show up, and that they would almost succeed in shutting down the process.
Democracy in action is a beautiful thing, and protesting is almost its highest form. Republicans in the Senate inexplicably hold the fate of a lifetime appointment to our nation’s highest court in their hands, despite the fact that they numerically represent fewer than one in five Americans, according to the populations of the areas from which those Republicans hail.
That brings in patriots who are demanding that the GOP respects the will of the 80 percent of America that they do not stand for:
Cries of “be a hero” seemed to fall on deaf Republican ears, despite being fully aware that the process they’re overseeing now is in violation of rules that they themselves set, and despite knowing that it would take only a few brave Republicans to stand up for the rule of law.
By rights, the hearing should not have taken place today: The Senate is technically required to a have a majority in order to do business, and according to Senate rules, a majority is 50 plus one. With the passing of Senator McCain, Republicans technically do not hold enough seats to even hold the hearing. Couple that with the fact that Mike Crapo and Lindsey Graham weren’t even in attendance today, and you wonder how it is that these protesters had to be led away in cuffs:
Protesters being taken out of the Kavanaugh hearing in makeshift cuffs pic.twitter.com/GJlTOpbJ6N
— Alexandra Limon (@AlexLimonNews) September 4, 2018
Capitol cops taking Kavanaugh protesters out the side way – avoiding the network cams staking out the hearing – in plastic cuffs pic.twitter.com/K940yS09lY
— Alexandra Jaffe (@ajjaffe) September 4, 2018
Featured image via screen capture
