Now that Amy Coney Barrett has been nominated to the Supreme Court, the Republican Senate should declare and enforce a zero-tolerance policy concerning character assassination of the nominee. It's the least the Senate owes the American public after the spectacular debacle that was Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation.
We the People all remember the Democrats' baseless accusations, the parade of faux witnesses, the Democrats' faux indignation, insults and lies. We remember their witness protection schemes, their guilty until proven innocent approach, and all the rest. We the People have had enough of that sort of thing and we will not look kindly upon the Republican Senate if there is even the slightest hint that a similar spectacle is about to unfold.
But judging from the Twitterverse and mainstream propaganda networks, a repeat of the Kavanaugh debacle is exactly what is about to unfold in the Senate, because the repeat performance is already underway outside of the Senate.
And this is exactly why Senate Republicans must immediately implement a zero-tolerance policy toward these sorts of things. We the People gave Republicans the votes to deal with this, and after the Kavanaugh hearings we expect Republicans to use their votes accordingly. They owe us.
If Republicans want to be shrewd about all of this, they could craft a Senate rule of zero-tolerance and force a vote. They'd put Democrats on record either supporting the tactics they used in the Kavanaugh hearings, or they would secure the public disavowal of the use of those tactics by each Democrat that votes in favor of the rule.
Regardless of the outcome of such a vote, Senate Republicans should publicly declare that a single violation (zero tolerance) will result in an immediate vote for confirmation. No more debate, no more smears, no more character assassination, just a vote for confirmation that will in turn put an end to the proceedings.
It's not like these hearings are going to change anyone's vote in the Senate anyway. Barrett is a well-known quantity from her 2017 confirmation hearings, and everyone knows that she hasn't made any rulings since that time that are going to magically be uncovered in hearings today and cause anyone in the Senate to change his or her vote.
In fact, she is such a known quantity, both We the People and the Senate would be best served by simply calling for a vote immediately. Because not doing so will just result in Democrats trashing Barrett just like they trashed Kavanaugh. So why even allow Democrats to speak? Why not just cut all of that off before it happens, and just vote and be done with it?
Sadly, I expect Republicans will reject both an immediate vote and reject enforcing decorum and order. And they will trot out variants of the same three capitulative arguments they've always used.
First, Republicans will balk at forcing an immediate vote when Democrats claim such a vote is unfair. It doesn't matter to them that not a single Democrat will vote for Barrett, nor will they change their mind about their vote if hearings lasted an entire century. Democrats want a public platform so they can trash this lady, and Republicans are likely to go along so they won't be seen as being "unfair."
Second, Republicans will buckle when Democrats argue that a zero-tolerance policy is unenforceable, since there is no way to concisely define what constitutes character assassination. My reply to that utter nonsense is that everyone knows exactly what character assassination looks like, because We the People and the Senate saw it ad nauseam during the Kavanaugh hearings.
This means Republicans are in the enviable position of telling their Democratic colleagues, "character assassination is whatever we say it is at the time we deem that you did it" and having full support of We the People, sans the Bolsheviks in the streets. But Republicans will likely capitulate and agree that character assassination is too difficult to define and that calling Democrats out for doing it would be too "mean-spirited."
But the ultimate Republican objection against such a stringent rule will come in the form of their age-old "but what about when the tables are turned and they are in power?" capitulation, er, argument.
Never mind that Democrats have already declared a scorched earth policy. They've threatened to impeach the president in an attempt to halt the confirmation. They're threatening to shut down the government by refusing to pass the upcoming funding bill. They're threatening to end the Senate filibuster. They've vowed to expand and pack the Supreme Court with radical judicial activists. And now they're threatening to impeach Attorney General William Barr. And then there's deploying rioters. For Democrats, there is literally no damage too great to inflict upon the nation in pursuit of getting their way.
So, for Republicans to show any sort of restraint today under the guise of looking forward to some imaginary reciprocity is completely beyond irrational and insane. In fact, one can make a very compelling argument that past episodes of such foolishness on the part of Republicans is precisely what has led to the postures we see in Democrats today.
So, Senate Republicans should either call for an immediate vote, arguing correctly that Barrett is a well-known quantity not requiring further scrutiny, or Republicans should craft a Senate rule of zero-tolerance concerning character assassination of the nominee and force Democrats to be on record with their votes – and then vow to immediately call for a vote upon even the slightest hint of a smear of the nominee's character.
But Senate Republicans are signaling that total capitulation is their game plan. Add in a little voluntary one-on-one inquisition from hostile mainstream propaganda outlets, and Republicans are close to being perfectly positioned to fold before the hearings even begin.
We the People gave Senate Republicans the votes to deal with this situation, so it's high time for them to put their big-boy and big-girl pants on and do their jobs. It's a debt they owe to the American people after the Kavanaugh debacle.
But history shows us that history usually repeats itself. And my guess is that Senate Republicans will let this spin out of control at least as bad as they did the Kavanaugh hearings. Hopefully, I'm wrong, but I'm going with history on this one.
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