For the most part, the formal Kavanaugh hearings were a poor example of our democracy at work. Judge Kavanaugh was magnificently evasive: bobbing and weaving; saying little of importance, but saying it well and at length. His supporters seemed to delight in running the game and running out the clock – demonstrating a cynical mastery of Congressional procedure; and reminding many that Justice Neil Gorsuch got his seat because then-President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland was denied his confirmation hearing.
The frustrated opposition engaged in largely pointless debate about process and documents, occasionally livened up by previews of the upcoming presidential campaigns of Cory Booker and Kamala Harris. While some might argue that the hearings at least gave us an opportunity to consider the changes a newly-reconfigured conservative court will bring, many found that cold comfort.
I found myself mostly watching the protesters, who were present in surprisingly large numbers: more than 200 were removed by the Capitol Police. Both sides tried to ignore them, and some of what they shouted had little to do with what was actually happening in the hearing, but I thought they brought a legitimate sense of authenticity to the whole dispiriting enterprise. If anyone was trying to let a little daylight into the Washington swamp, they were.
There’s an ancient proverb that says the voice of the people is the voice of God but as an historian, I tend to prefer the wisdom of the 8th century monk Alcuin, who in 798 advised the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne “[T]hose people should not be listened to who keep saying the voice of the people is the voice of God, since the riotousness of the crowd is always very close to madness.”
And this, in turn, reminds me of Alexander Hamilton, who once famously responded to a man claiming to be “a friend of the people” with “Your people, sir – your people is a great beast!” But even Hamilton understood that – beast or not - it was wise to listen closely to what they had to say.
That didn’t happen in the official Kavanaugh hearings, but more recent events have provided a new opportunity for all of us to listen very carefully indeed.
