It's Ketanji Brown Jackson's hearing, so what's Robert Bork doing here?
![Kavanaugh, Jackson, and Bork.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/BzEXatzoDkWrBXFC6CBrg-415-80.jpg)
Does Ketanji Brown Jackson even need to be at her own Supreme Court confirmation hearing?
Maybe not. GOP senators on Monday were so hung up on their own tedious old obsessions that it was almost reasonable to believe that Justice Brett Kavanaugh or the late Robert Bork might be under consideration for the court's open seat.
"No one is going to inquire about your teenage dating habits," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told Jackson, somehow aggressively passive-aggressively raising the specter of Kavanaugh's ugly 2018 confirmation battle. "No one is going to ask you, with mock severity, 'Do you like beer?'"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"'Nobody is going to vilify you the way Democrats have done to conservative judicial nominees," added Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), alluding both to Bork's failed 1987 nomination and the sexual harassment controversy that attended Justice Clarence Thomas' 1991 confirmation.
If Jackson's hearing ends up being another polarizing spectacle, Graham suggested, it's not Republicans' fault. "What the hell happened? It wasn't us."
Graham and Cruz weren't being entirely honest that "no one" was going to unfairly attack Jackson. A few Republicans were happy to offer discredited allegations that Jackson is soft on child pornography. But unless ill health strikes one of the 50 senators who caucus with the Democratic Party, Jackson's confirmation to the high court is all but assured. So the point of Monday's parade of old controversies was mostly about posturing and ideological myth-building.
And as with most myths, there's a certain amount of truth-fudging involved.
Robert Bork really was an extreme nominee — he'd opposed the Civil Rights Act as a bit of "unsurpassed ugliness" — such that six Republicans joined Democrats in voting against his confirmation. Clarence Thomas probably harassed Anita Hill. And while we'll probably never know the whole truth about Christine Blasey Ford's old sexual assault allegation against Kavanaugh, it's evident the matter wasn't investigated as thoroughly as it should've been.
For Republicans, the lesson of those affairs is not to be careful about nominating nominees whose ideological or personal habits might be unacceptable to the American people — it's that Democrats will do anything, no matter how underhanded, to keep conservatives from taking their rightful place on the court. (The narrative, of course, omits but also justifies the Republican Party's own extraordinary machinations when it comes to SCOTUS.) It's a story that must be repeated over and again, a powerful way to reinforce party tribalism and keep the "us versus them" dynamic running hot even when nothing much is at stake.
Which means that 50 years from now, Republicans might still be bringing up Bork, Thomas, and Kavanaugh whenever there's a new court nominee. It will be as relevant then as it is to Jackson's confirmation hearing — which is to say, not at all.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.
-
Why is China stockpiling resources?
The Explainer The superpower has been amassing huge reserves of commodities at great cost despite its economic downturn
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Paraguay's dangerous dalliance with cryptocurrency
Under The Radar Overheating Paraguayans are pushing back over power outages caused by illegal miners
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The Week contest: Tattoo prediction
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
ICJ ruling: will 'damning verdict' stop Netanyahu?
Talking Point The UN's top court has ruled Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories breaks international law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
How Biden's enablers may have delayed his bowing out
Talking Points Joe Biden's inner circle faces calls for a reckoning for allegedly shielding the president — and the public — from questions of aging and electoral viability
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
The Democrats 'resigned to a second Trump presidency'
Talking Points Did the assassination attempt end Biden's election chances?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Venezuela election: first vote in a decade offers hope to poverty-stricken nation
The Explainer Nicolás Maduro agreed to 'free and fair' vote but poor polling and threat of prosecution pushes disputed leader to desperate methods
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Are down-ticket Democrats doomed?
Talking Points President Joe Biden's refusal to step back from his reelection campaign has some local Democrats wondering if their own races are in trouble — but not everyone is worried
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Fascism feasts on violence'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published