Just one year ago, in the midst of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court, Sen. Dick Durbin was livid over the multitude and severity of the lies from Kavanaugh and the cover-up by the Trump administration of documents from Kavanaugh's past. At particular issue was his previous testimony for another job on the federal bench, in which he lied about the things he participated in while in the Bush White House, including the decisions to conduct illegal warrantless wiretapping and torture—actions that would make him unfit to serve on the nation's high court.
Despite having been lied to by Kavanaugh, directly to his face, Durbin is now trying to squelch an effort to finally bring all this, as well as the credible allegations of Kavanaugh's sexual assaults, to light. "Get real," he scoffed. "We've got to get beyond this 'impeachment is the answer to every problem.' It's not realistic," Durbin said. "If that's how we are identified in Congress, as the impeachment Congress, we run the risk that people will feel we're ignoring the issues that mean a lot to them as families." There's that old defensive crouch Democrats are so practiced at. It's not just Durbin. Sen. Patrick Leahy, former chair of the committee, said out loud in those hearings, "We have discovered evidence that Judge Kavanaugh misled the Senate during his 2004 and 2006 hearings. Truthfulness under oath is not an optional qualification for a Supreme Court nominee." Apparently it is. Now he's rolling over. "Mitch McConnell would block any impeachment. So that's a moot point," he says. We just have to learn and "Don't ever let those mistakes happen again."
Mistakes. It was not a mistake. It was a travesty of justice perpetrated knowingly by Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell. Who have repeated the process again and again since, by pushing unqualified, extremist, horrifying nominees through the process and onto federal benches at all levels. Because they can get away with it. Because they know Democrats are unwilling to use the tools the Constitution gives them—the perfectly lawful tools—to stop this Republican power grab. What McConnell has learned from this is just to keep on going, breaking the Senate, taking more and more outrageous actions. Because he can get away with it.
It's not all Democrats, luckily. Another member of the committee, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, wants impeachment hearings. "I'm pretty sure [House Judiciary Chairman] Jerry Nadler cares if somebody, particularly somebody is getting a lifetime appointment, whether that person lied to Congress," she said, "I hope he'll change his mind." We all do. He has his chance with an impeachment resolution for Kavanaugh being filed by Rep. Ayanna Presley of Massachusetts. Her two-page resolution calls for an investigation and grants the Judiciary Committee subpoena power in the inquiry. Nadler might care, but it doesn't mean he'll do anything. He says he's too busy with Trump, even though he's less than fully committed even to that.
Here's a thought for all these defensive Democrats: Trust the American public, the majority that voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. The millions who've joined regular protests against Trump and Republicans. Trust that when you have impeachment hearings and lay out the entire scope of corruption and illegal actions—for both Trump and Kavanaugh—the people will understand. Realize that "the issues that mean a lot to them as families," as Durbin calls them, are going to be shaped for generations by the extremists that have lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court. Make the case to the people. Lead. That's what we elected you to do.