It’s not what you think.
The Kavanaugh circus has been so politically explosive because it taps into no less than three sources of intense resentment in our country. Men versus women, obviously. Wealthy and privileged white boy against the rest of us, ditto. But one of the biggest ones reflects a commonly shared experience in high school– rampaging jock at the top of the social food chain versus geeks, stoners, and losers.
I’ve known countless Brett Kavanaughs, and so, likely, have you. Fortunately for me, the typical fissures between jocks and the rest of the student body really weren’t present in my high school, but I met him as a drunken frat boy in undergraduate school, and I despised him. Still do. That undoubtedly colors some of my feelings about Kavanaugh today.
Kavanaugh could have defended himself in a way that was less politically explosive, but he chose not to do so. He will be solely responsible for the damage to the Supreme Court’s legitimacy that results when he takes the bench. Will he try to make amends, or will he make it his life’s duty to throw salt in the wounds once his position is secure? More on that tomorrow.