Belief

On Friday, I posted a piece entitled "Sexual McCarthyism" discussing the use of wholly unsubstantiated allegations of sexual abuse as a bludgeon to destroy people who you don't like. Although polling is difficult here, I would suspect that a substantial minority of Democrats along with a much, much smaller percentage of independents and a tiny percentage of Republicans simply believe that Christine Blasey Ford's allegations are true.

I have on numerous occasions noted that far too many Democrats operate on belief, rather than evidence. They seem perfectly willing to believe in fantasy (e.g., socialism will lead to a utopian existence), even though clear, irrefutable historical evidence indicates that their belief cannot withstand the harsh glare of reality. When fantasy collides with reality, reality wins every time.

In the case of Ford v. Kavanaugh, we honestly don't know what the reality of the situation is and that provides an advantage for the Dems. Sure, every shred of evidence currently offered suggests significant skepticism when assessing Ford's allegation. The accused unequivocally denies the charge; no other person, even those who Ford named in attendance at the "party," has any memory of the party or the incident; Ford herself can't remember the date, the time, the location, the manner in which she arrived or left, and the alleged event is shrouded in the mists of time, when both people were juveniles—36 years in the past! And now, Ford is negotiating her testimony before the Senate Judiciary committee in a manner that is clearly political.

Byron York comments:

... Democrats are dedicated to trying to stop the Kavanaugh nomination on the basis of a charge without verification.

Now, out of the Democrats' faith comes a new argument: It doesn't matter whether Ford's charge is true. It is credible. And that is enough, because even a credible allegation -- no word on who defines what that means -- disqualifies Kavanaugh for a seat on the Supreme Court.

"The truth is, I believe her," Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said. "She has a credible allegation against Judge Kavanaugh."

Some academic Ford supporters lent their scholarly credentials to the credible-is-enough argument. "The existence of credible allegations against Judge Kavanaugh should be disqualifying," wrote Cardozo Law School professor Kate Shaw in the New York Times. "If members of the Senate conclude that a credible accusation of sexual misconduct has been made against Judge Kavanaugh, that should be enough to disqualify him."

Wait, what!? A Law Professor suggests that we jettison the notion that evidence-based allegations be valued above evidence-free allegations, that belief in the allegation is all that matters? I have to wonder whether she feels the same way about recent allegations of sexual abuse (that do have substantial evidence associated with them) again DNC co-Chair and Minnesota AG candidate, Keith Ellison?

When Christine Gilliband (D-NY), a sitting U.S. Senator, suggests that all one needs is "a credible allegation," she has crossed a line and entered into the realm of McCarthyism. Joe McCarthy alleged, often without evidence but always with innuendo, that a person was a "member of the communist party" because they knew someone who was a member, once spoke to a member, of even attended a meeting in which communists were present. He made what his supporters believed (that word again) were "credible allegations." As a consequence, the accused lost their careers, were often publicly shunned, and were ruined. Years after, whispers continued to surface.

Byron York continues:

So there it is: Ford's supporters believe in her because they believe in her. They think a credible allegation is enough to disqualify Kavanaugh. And even if that allegation is not, in fact, true -- even if Kavanaugh is innocent -- he is still disqualified. In the current battle, Kavanaugh's opposition is essentially faith-based, trying to create an environment in which there is no way he can win.

Heh. Political genius on the part of the Dems. And a really convenient, if cynical, argument in this case. And here I thought that Democrats eschewed "faith-based" initiatives.