The Very Public Indignities that were the Kavanaugh/Ford Hearings

A few short thoughts on yesterday's Kavanaugh hearings...

That shame and discredit this brought on the Senate chamber is undeniable. If there was any truth to Ford's charges they should have been brought up far earlier in the process. And they would have required *some* level of corroboration beyond a women's rather confused and contradictory statements.

The political aspect, however, was consistent and obvious beyond words. Thus the amazing power of Lindsey Graham's cold and righteous anger.

It now appears that Judge Kavanaugh will be approved, first, tomorrow morning, in committee. Then later by the entire Senate.

Assuming that proves true was all of this just another quick-to-pass-from-the-collective-memory senate happening?

I think not.

The hurt done to the people involved will last. The Kavanagh family. The reputation of Professor Ford -- a sad thing to the extent that whatever her personal experience she was used for political gain and abused by Sen. Feinstein and others. But more important than even those personal stories is the damage done to the Senate as an institution, and the loss of stature of the government as a whole.

Connected to the later is this question: What honest and conscientious person who saw this horror will consider putting themselves forward for high public office? And that means the nation will be limited to at best 2nd tier candidates, and at worst to the type of bloviating charlatans we repeatedly saw on display over the last several days .

Could any good come from all this? I think yes. For it put on display what in fact the Democratic Party has become. Shallow. Power hungry. And ineffective to the point of incompetence.

That the nation is so closely divided politically makes even a small shift in public thinking here -- how each party is viewed -- important. And in that respect the Democrats truly blew it for themselves.

If even one percent of the voting public saw with understanding what was on public display these last few days the nation will benefit. And frankly I expect the percentage who "saw," and who will be influenced by what they saw, quite a bit higher.

As for those who did not see because they could not see -- well their craziness is likely to be on even greater display in the weeks and months to come. And that will swing yet more people towards the president and his party.

That these affairs have been ugly goes without saying. But, sad to say, that is the way democracy sometimes works. One group of people work against even their own selfish interests. And from that 'negative' comes a positive that moves things ahead for the greater number and the greater good.

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Hillary's 'Magic Mirror'

In the centuries-old Brothers Grimm fairy tale, "Snow White," we are introduced to an evil witch who expects the world to see her as fair and beautiful no matter what the mirror shows.  So fixated is she on her own self-seen beauty that she even expects her mirror to lie for her. Yes, lie to her, to hide her haggish appearance and make her look radiant, beautiful and bright.

Fairy tales catch hold on the human imagination because they often, in a truly magical way, reflect back truths with a disarming honesty. All this in the form of a story. And thus the idea of a mirror lying -- presenting a total falsehood as "truth" -- makes for an especially powerful tale.  It's a tale being told once again in the latest web edition of The Atlantic, penned by Hillary Clinton,  where many people's favorite witch reveals her own lying mirror.

The cover piece, titled "American Democracy Is in Crisis," was initially written by Mrs. Clinton as an afterward for the paperback edition to her post election fantasy novelette  (as at least some of its readers saw it), "What Happened," and then edited a bit for the The Atlantic's short story/essay format.

In her story, Hillary's "magic mirror" obeys her command -- at least to her own eyes.  But its lies are not seen by anyone who is not themselves bewitched. Anyone with clear and honest eyes will quickly see the truth.

Let us then look into her magic mirror, at the tale she tells, together, first through Hillary's eyes as revealed in her Atlantic piece. Then again, with eyes like that of youth -- eyes that are honest and of innocent intent.

Hillary's first "vision," as does any good fairy tale, has an evil monster at the heart of its story. And here that monster is -- surprise! -- President Trump. And her story is truly a tale. One that presents a picture of "unspeakable cruelty" that the Trump monster has, first, "inflicted on undocumented families arriving at the border."  Oh, that evil, evil Trump!

But of course, in Hillary's magic mirror, there is no vision of families in the pre-Trump era -- that of the Obama administration -- being separated from their parents on a regular basis. Or of children who have no understanding of American society -- not even of the language commonly spoken here -- being shipped out to locations throughout the land. No, nor of those of their number who brought with them the plague of MS-13 gang violence.

In Hillary's magic mirror there is no reflection of the pained faces of American parents who had seen their children brutally macheted to death by their new "classmates."  Hillary's mirror is required to skip such things. In its vision she, and the administration she served, are seen as innocent. But the vision of Donald Trump reflected in her magic mirror is distorted, crude and ugly.

Vision two in Hillary's magic mirror reflects an "ideal" that is "enshrined in two powerful principles." It is a vision of a world where "not even the most powerful leader is above the law." It's a world where "all citizens are due equal protection under the law."  What a lovely picture!

But as we'd expect from a witch queen's mirror, even that lovely image is completely distorted. For in it, we see Robert Mueller as a crusading saint. And in its story there is a mean, ugly and tyrannical 'orange haired' monster who interferes with his honest investigation.

Well, such is to be expected in a fairy tale. Is it not?

The third vision the witch queen conjures from her magic mirror is that of evil Russian hordes corrupting an otherwise fair and honest election, and of monster "Trump’s complete unwillingness to stop it or protect us."   Scary, scary stuff!  (But too old a story to any longer frighten the children.)

The Magic Mirror's forth vision calls forth a new fighter against the same dastardly villain: The Washington Post -- on a bright white steed -- going after that same dastardly Donald and all his evil lies.

Trump, her mirror friend tells her (and us), "has made 5,000 false or misleading claims while in office and recently has averaged 32 a day."  Imagine that! What a story it tells!

The wicked "lies," though, as in the best fairy tales, are left almost entirely to the reader's imagination.

But reader's imaginations are up to it! We all, for instance, know that Trump promised lower taxes. -That he promised less dangerous illegals crossing our border. Less "red tape" and fewer paperwork blockades to the creation of American businesses. Fairer trade deals. Less of America's monies going to nations that oppose us. And Hillary's mirror, of course, expects us to know that none of that has happened. (Yes?)

Such, I suppose, is a magic mirror's ability to fool the eyes. Well, they seem to fool Hillary's anyhow.  And, one might suppose, those of The Atlantic's readers.

Vision five from Hillary's magic mirror is particularly scary. It reveals "unprecedented conflicts of interest" and includes in its vision "Republican organizations (that) do business with Trump’s companies or hold lucrative events at his hotels, golf courses, and other properties."  Oh the horrors!

But being that hers is a "magic mirror," there are no scenes that show migrating uranium. Nor are there visions of funds passing into the Clinton Foundation's bursting bank accounts. Nor are there visions of the Haitians who are still waiting for promised housing for which the donated funds have somehow disappeared.

In any good fairy tale -- especially one told by a magic mirror -- the coming of the fears and horrors towards the story's end escalate, coming faster and faster and faster. And here Hillary's magic mirror, with its rapidly passing scenes, does her will.

We in quick succession see visions of  "Immigration and Customs Enforcement ... running wild across the country." Of federal agents "confronting citizens just for speaking Spanish," while "dragging parents away from children." And after tales such as this, and some more of the same, the tale reaches its conclusion.

Every good fairy tale needs a happy ending. And Hillary's magic mirror conjures one that surely must delight her and all her Atlantic readers. One where "fantastic candidates" are "running all over the country, making their compelling cases every day about how they’ll raise wages, bring down health-care costs, and fight for justice."  And that exciting end, her mirror tells her and us, is coming soon. "If they"  -- her dream minions -- "win." "They’ll do great things for America."

What a fairy tale! What a vision!

The only thing missing from Hillary's fairy tale is perhaps the most essential ingredient -- one that was in the old Brothers Grimm tale: A mirror that won't lie.

Alas, Hillary would never allow for such a thing from her mirror.

But readers need not feel too bad.  For while Hillary may not be willing to include a truth telling mirror, she seems very happy to give us another part of this tale...

The poisoned apple.

"Hillary's 'Magic Mirror'" as posted here was first 
published by American Thinker on Sept 19th, 2018