In the space of three weeks, Democratic fortunes have turned in a shocking way.
In the space of three weeks, Democratic fortunes have turned in a shocking way. Just three weeks ago, on September 13, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) came forward with an allegation of sexual abuse against Brett Kavanaugh; just three days later, Christine Blasey Ford herself came forward in an interview with The Washington Post. At that time, Kavanaugh’s nomination fell into severe jeopardy. Democrats held an eight-point lead on the generic Congressional ballot according to the RealClearPolitics poll average. According to the latest Economist, Marist, and IBD polls, those numbers are now below six points. IBD has the race inside the margin of error; Rasmussen does as well. The enthusiasm gap for Democrats has essentially disappeared.
So, what happened?
Democrats woke the sleeping giant.
In 2016, Republicans showed up to vote because they were afraid of Hillary Clinton. But that concern pales next to the concern Republicans now have about the possibility of Democratic governance. Republicans have been treated to a front-row seat in a display of Democratic willingness to do anything to damage conservatives. Anything.
Republicans have known about lack of Democratic decency since at least 2012, when Mitt Romney was characterized as a potential slaver by Joe Biden and an emotionless, cruel sexist by many in the media. It’s one of the reasons so many Republicans voted for Donald Trump, a blunt instrument unwilling to back down in the face of threats, to face off against Hillary Clinton.
But Kavanaugh was one step further. Kavanaugh wasn’t up for election – he was a career judge, on one of the most prestigious circuits in America. He was a political moderate, with the support of many of his liberal colleagues. He was establishment. What’s more, he was a devout Catholic and a father of two.
And Democrats decided to ruin his life. Feinstein decided to hold back Ford’s allegations until the last minute, then drop them. Democrats decided to play up every weak, uncorroborated allegation, no matter how disgusting; they decided to promote the insane speculation of professional publicity whore Michael Avenatti. The media decided to endorse the idea that Kavanaugh, a respected federal public servant, was actually a secret gambler, alcoholic, ice-thrower, and gang rapist, throwing out their basic standards of journalism in the process.
And Republicans watched. So did independents.
What they saw scared the bejeezus out of them: a militant Left willing to ruin a man’s life based on unverifiable and uncorroborated allegations, for purely partisan purposes. And those Americans began to think: would the Democrats do that to me?
Because Democrats revealed that they have no standards. “Believe all women” isn’t a standard – it’s a call for mob justice. Allegations require evidence. “Respect my story!” isn’t a standard – it’s a call for mob justice. Just because something bad happened to you doesn’t mean that a completely separate allegation is verifiable. “This is just a job interview!” isn’t a standard – it’s an excuse for destroying a man without having to go through the legal process to do so.
We all watched. All of us. And we all hated every second of this disgusting s***show.
How else can we explain the sudden appearance of Lindsey Graham 2.0 (R-SC), the moderate-turned-firebreather, calling “bulls***” on Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and blistering Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats, shouting, “Boy, you all want power. God, I hope you never get it”? How else can we explain the utterly milquetoast, pro-choice Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), morphing into Grambo, spitting hot fire at Democrats who leaked Ford’s account to the media and indulged every idle fantasy about Kavanaugh’s supposed dark side?
I have never seen the Republican Party so united. I have never seen conservatives of all stripes so united. All the Left had to do to walk away with the House and contend for the Senate in 2018 was act like human beings. They couldn’t even do that.
