I think . . . if it were me, I’d have said, “I’m not guilty but I’m not going to put my family through the fight,” and withdraw.
Which is precisely what the progressive left wants and why they will use this tactic to remove anyone they do not want holding public office from consideration.
It is the standard MO of the Dems to use allegations to attack their opponents. If the person does not back down, then they repeat the allegations or bring others on board until it wears the individual down.
In fact, it works as a preventative against anyone who might have something in their past but has been clean and been trying to accomplish much needed change. Good and decent individuals will be dissuaded from trying for public office or implementing change for the better by threat of takedown and ruin.
The fact that you would tacitly endorse this kind of tactic by accepting it as permissible is disturbing, really.
This is one very good reason for thinking Kavanaugh is, in fact, innocent. He is not ignorant of how Supreme Court nominees in the past have been viciously attacked. And he knew full-well that the viciousness of the attack would be far worse with Trump backing his candidacy.
Kavanaugh would have looked very carefully and completely into his own background for anything that could have been brought foreword and would not have permitted himself and his family to have to be put through this if there was something, anything, in his background.
Even more to the point, he had his detailed calendars to prompt his memories of anything that could have been turned up, which is the reason I think he had them so accessible. He would also have been very aware that anything of any grave concern would have certainly ended not just his candidacy for Supreme Court, but his career, and his personal and family life.
Kavanaugh is no fool and there is every reason to think he would have passed on the nomination and sat comfortable as circuit court judge with almost the same salary and benefits had there been anything at all in his background. Why would he have risked it all unless he was fully cognizant of his absolute innocence in the past? That is the only thing that could explain his willingness to go forward when he was picked by Trump.
I am also certain that Trump and his people would have delved very deeply into Kavanaugh’s past before coming up with his name, knowing ahead of time what to expect from the Dems. He has had on-the-job experience, so to speak – Manafort, Cohen, the Mueller Inquisition, Comey, Brennan, the Clinton Mob, etc., etc. – who would leave no stone unturned to come up with something, anything; and roughly half the population very willing to eat up any salaciousness to bring down anyone Trump had nominated.
There is every reason to believe Kavanaugh is clean, and virtually none to think he is guilty.
