The Western World is transitioning from a place where people are innocent until proven guilty, to a place where the rules of political correctness determine presumptions.
If we follow the rule of law, Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh is innocent until proven guilty, and the only thing that varies, between different venues, is the level the burden of proof must meet. In a criminal case, the burden of proof must be met beyond a reasonable doubt, while in a civil case, the burden of proof must be met beyond a preponderance of the evidence.
I would venture that the court of public opinion generally follows the preponderance of the evidence rule too, though as we transition from a society that believes in the rule of law to one that believes in political correctness, that is changing.
According to political correctness, the presumption of innocence or guilt should be based on the levels of privilege of both the accused and the victim. In this case, the victim is a woman, and the accused is a man. Men have more privilege than women, so we should start with, not an assumption of guilt per se, but an assumption that the woman is courageously speaking the truth against someone in a position of power. Based on that, political correctness demands that Kavanaugh disprove the allegations against him.
Christine Ford said that there were four other people in the party where her assault took place. All four have said that no such incident ever happened. It is, of course, possible that the witnesses have simply forgotten, or that Ms. Ford is mistaken about who, exactly was at the party (other than Brett Kavanaugh), but Ms. Ford also cannot remember the time or place of the alleged incident, making the allegation impossible to prove, or to disprove.
Deborah Ramirez said that Kavanaugh exposed his genitals to her in college. She cannot remember when or where this occurred, there are no witnesses, she admits to having been fall-down drunk, herself, when it happened, and when she first started telling people about it, she was not sure it was Brett Kavanaugh that did it. Later, Ms. Ramirez decided she was absolutely positive Brett Kavanaugh was the man who exposed his genitals to her.
In a court of law, we would say that neither burden of proof has been met with either of the first two allegations. Without a witness, a location, a specific date, or any evidence, and with incomplete memories from 35+ years ago as the only indication that anything took place, no court in the country would hold Brett Kavanaugh accountable – even in civil court.
Based on the rules of political correctness, however, the fact that the allegation cannot be disproven is sufficient to declare Brett Kavanaugh guilty. Simply put, he cannot prove that it did not happen, and the accusers are members of an oppressed group. The ‘truth’ in this case is not about Brett Kavanaugh, nor about the patriarchal order he represents, which the rule of law only stands to enforce. The victims’ ‘truths’ are what matter.
We see the rules of political correctness playing out in the Senate, with Christine Ford making all kinds of insane demands before testifying. The strangest demand is that Brett Kavanaugh must testify first, before he hears the allegations made against him.
Can you imagine being drug in front of a court for a crime you did not commit and being told that you have to present your defense before the prosecution lays out its case against you? How do you defend against the prosecution’s case before finding out what that case is?!?
There is a reason why in courts of law the defense always goes last…
Julie Swetnick claims that Brett Kavanaugh was a member of a group of men who routinely drugged girls at parties, and then gang raped them. She also says that she saw Brett Kavanaugh at a number of parties, acting in ways that are consistent with the other two accusations against him. She says she went to ten house parties Kavanaugh also attended, and she even has a date book that includes the house parties she attended (though she does not claim to know which of those parties Kavanaugh also attended). Ms. Swetnick does not claim that Brett Kavanaugh drugged anyone, cannot list specific parties where the gang rapes occurred, and has not given any names of other women who were supposedly gang raped by Brett Kavanaugh and his friends, though she says she knows for a fact that there are other women who were gang raped. She says she was herself gang raped, and that there are witnesses (unnamed) who can corroborate that, but she cannot say whether or not Brett Kavanaugh was involved in that particular incident. Ms. Swetnick, in fact, cannot name any specific woman she knows that Brett Kavanaugh gang raped – all she can say is that these parties were common, that she commonly attended them, that gang rape happened at many of them, that Brett Kavanaugh was at ten of the same ones she attended, and that she personally saw Brett Kavanaugh participating.
I will refrain from digging into the fact that to believe Julie Swetnick, one has to also believe that teenagers can throw large house parties where gang rape occurs, and that nobody at the party, including the girl gang raped, ever contacts the police. If I were at such a party and I saw something like that going on, I would immediately leave and call the police. One would also have to believe that Julie Swetnick continued to attend such parties for years, knowing full well what was occurring, and never called the police herself, while continuing to attend.
In terms of the Kavanaugh nomination, the newest allegation changes everything, as now we have a charge of something where, in my opinion, the death sentence should apply, and it goes without saying that we do not want a serial gang rapist on the Supreme Court. The sheer seriousness of this charge should cause an investigation, and Julie Swetnick also has a long, distinguished record of government service, where she has held a number of clearances. Her credibility cannot be easily dismissed.
At the same time, if the allegations against Kavanaugh are false, they appear to be a part of a large, coordinated conspiracy to undermine the Supreme Court nomination process, the Trump Presidency, and our entire system of government. That would be treason, and treason can not stand.
The most recent allegation is a political hydrogen bomb, and we need to let it explode. The President should pause the nomination process, and should call for a special council to investigate the accusations against Kavanaugh, both in terms of whether or not they are accurate, as well as in terms of whether or not accusations of sexual assault and gang rape, known to be false, are being used in a conspiratorial manner to undermine our democracy.
If it turns out that these allegations are a political gambit by the left, it should be treated as treason, and anyone in the House or Senate who is connected should be, at a minimum, removed from office, and sent to federal prison.