Courts

Let’s Talk About The Brett Kavanaugh Op-Ed

The parallels to the language and tactics of abusers are unsettling.

By Kathryn Rubino on October 05, 2018 9:46 am

(Photo By Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)

Did you tune out after work last night? Maybe you shut off your Twitter notifications and settled down for an evening of guilty pleasure TV, all without finding out the latest in the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation saga. Well, you missed a doozy.

At 7:30 last night, Kavanaugh published a Wall Street Journal op-ed, entitled I Am an Independent, Impartial Judge in an effort to save his controversial nomination and undo the damage of his angry and unhinged testimony from last week. In a move that would be deemed utterly unacceptable if Kavanaugh were a woman, he acknowledged he was “too emotional” when he appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee, but stopped short of offering an actual apology.

It’s not entirely surprising — though completely unprecedented — that Kavanaugh felt the need to save face. After all, when you’ve lost the support of lifelong Republican and former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens over the highly inappropriate demeanor during your testimony, well, it’s time to do some damage control.

But with the confirmation vote looming, one has to wonder if it is the proverbial day late and a dollar short. At this point, the fate of Kavanaugh’s career is in the the hands of only a few undecided senators, and it’s unclear if the ploy changed their minds.

And the op-ed was definitely a move to try and shore up 50 votes. As Maya Wiley notes on Twitter, the non-apology only came after an FBI investigation and former supporters started questioning his behavior:

As folks were quick to call out, it had the smack of a public relations move and not an authentic apology.

https://twitter.com/MollyJongFast/status/1048162751942742016

And then there were the disturbing similarities between Kavanaugh’s op-ed and the language of abusers. This is a man accused by multiple people of sexual assault, and the parallels to the language and tactics of abusers are unsettling.

There was definitely a reason for Kavanaugh’s performance and he may have gotten exactly what he needed from the display of anger, and now, in the cold light of day, he is offering acknowledgement, if not actual sorrow, over the tactics he used to get his dream job.

But did it work? Axios is reporting that as of late last night, the GOP did not have 50 yes votes. With the first procedural vote scheduled for 10:30 a.m. this morning, we’ll find out soon enough if this performance was enough.

headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).