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Lindsey Graham’s Defense of Brett Kavanaugh Told Us Everything

The senator’s infamous cry of rage spoke not only to his cruelty but also to his larger role in changing the court.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham passed away this weekend. I imagine most people will remember him as the guy who was always willing to put the final lick-polish on Donald Trump’s jackboots. But for me, the image of him screaming, gesticulating, and spitting in defense of an alleged attempted rapist is the one that will always be indelible in my hippocampus.

On the morning of September 27, 2018, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee about the time Brett Kavanaugh, then a nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States, tried to rape her. Ford was brave, compelling, and, most important, credible.

The Republicans on the Judiciary Committee did not question Ford. They didn’t have the guts to tell a survivor of an attempted assault that she was lying to her face. Instead, the Republicans outsourced their time for questions to an experienced state prosecutor from Arizona, Rachel Mitchell, who tried to poke holes in Ford’s story. But Mitchell was largely ineffective. Ford, though speaking meekly, never wavered. She was consistent about what she remembered, who she told, and what Kavanaugh did to her. When asked about her strongest memory of the event, Ford said: “Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter. The uproarious laughter between the two [Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge], and their having fun at my expense.”

By the time Ford was finished with her testimony, the Kavanaugh nomination appeared cooked. Most people watching believed Ford.

In the afternoon, Kavanaugh was hauled back in front of the committee to respond. His histrionics during his opening statement are now famous. He ranted; he raved; he cried. He professed a love for beer and promised that his enemies would “reap the whirlwind” for questioning him. Kavanaugh’s statement was so unhinged and so unbecoming of a future Supreme Court justice, it would have gone down in history as the last gasps of a drowning man if not for one person: Lindsey Graham.

You see, to justify their cowardice, the Republicans planned to let Mitchell question both Ford and Kavanaugh. Republican chairman Charles Grassley allowed her to question Kavanaugh during his time, but when Graham’s turn arrived next, he refused to let Mitchell continue her questioning (which was not helping Kavanaugh in the slightest). Instead, he butted in, dispensed with Mitchell, and unleashed a tirade. He........

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