Democrats want to win Senate confirmation battle at all costs

The nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court has turned into the modern day political version of Lucy pulling the football. Republicans were optimistic about securing a crucial appointment to the high court, only to have Democrats pull the ball away at the last minute. Now, we have an alleged sexual assault victim exposed against her wishes and an esteemed judge in the fight of his professional and personal life.

We are now in overtime of the real game between Democrats and Republicans. Kavanaugh has found himself in the most brutal job interview ever witnessed across the country. More than 20 million viewers tuned in to see the 53 year old federal judge defend himself before the Senate Judiciary Committee against allegations of sexual assault by Christine Blasey Ford dating back to the summer of 1982.

{mosads}After 36 years of torment, Ford bravely testified that she was 100 percent certain Kavanaugh participated in a sexual assault against her. The problem is that she does not know exactly where it happened, when it happened, or how she got home after. A job interview for the nominee that President Trump chose to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy is contingent upon an uncorroborated allegation of a crime. The controversy has Americans divided and wondering: How did we get here?

So far what we have learned from the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing is that the waters are being muddied by the Democrats, whose strategy from the first day of this nomination was to “oppose Kavanaugh with everything they have.” After an unprecedented number of documents were released on the record of Kavanaugh, the Democrats discharged a bomb on members of both parties, which was the letter from Ford alleging sexual misconduct. She asked for confidentiality, yet Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and her staff refrained from proceeding through appropriate channels. The letter leaked to the Washington Post on the eve of a vote and the country demanded Ford be heard.

One thing Senate Democrats did not expect is that Kavanaugh would come out swinging. During weeks of partisan games, his name was dragged through the mud. He was smeared by last minute allegations that no one could corroborate. In his final testimony last week, Kavanaugh was understandably outraged. Here is a man who has written more than 300 judicial opinions, taught at Harvard Law School under Justice Elena Kagan, and graduated at the top of his class at Yale Law School. Yet, he found himself being cross examined over his high school drinking habits in front of the world. Whether Senate Democrats wanted to charge Kavanaugh with a crime or decry him as unqualified is still unclear.

Fairness in this emotional “he said versus she said” drama was nowhere to be found. It clearly was not fair to the accuser, whose confidentiality was breached by the Democratic staff and whose lawyers failed to tell her she was given the option of a private hearing. It is not fair to the federal judge who has devoted his life to public service only to be stonewalled by an uncorroborated claim. The unsuspecting target of all the partisanship initiated by Senate Democrats is the total lack of fairness given to the process of confirmation to the Supreme Court. As Democrats continue to move the goalposts and pull the football, they are taking no prisoners. They are willing to sacrifice a sexual assault accuser, a revered federal judge, and the holiest of processes in their quest for power. I am not sure who is next, but clearly, nothing and no one is off limits.

Alice Stewart is a conservative communications consultant and CNN political commentator who served on the presidential campaigns of Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee. Follow her on Twitter @AliceTweet.