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Yes, I know, the answer is, \u201cbecause it\u2019s exposing how evil the Other Side is.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Many) conservatives are convinced that the Left is engaged in a mission of destroying a perfectly upstanding man because of their determination to leave the Supreme Court seat open until after the midterms, or because, even if they accept that the GOP will choose who they wish, they have too much anger about the prospect of a conservative judge replacing \u201ctheir\u201d Kennedy.<\/p>\n
(Many) liberals are convinced that the Right is pushing Kavanaugh through because of his partisan political views, and are wholly indifferent to sexual assault; they believe that conservatives consider it acceptable for men to attack women, at least if those men are wealthy, anyway.<\/p>\n
This is not new; we\u2019ve had these sorts of conflicts before.\u00a0 But it seems that the volume has been turned up.\u00a0 Everyone is angry at those who don\u2019t fall in line with their own beliefs.\u00a0 Ford defenders are furious that anyone should fail to stick up for her, defend her, believe her account without hesitation.\u00a0 On Twitter, I\u2019ve seen suggestions that any woman who is married to a man who supports Kavanaugh should divorce him.\u00a0 I\u2019ve seen demands that Kavanaugh should be impeached \u2014 that is, removed not just from the Supreme Court, but from his current position.\u00a0 The venom goes beyond the cynical partisan games the GOP is claiming, though it seems to be fueled by a belief that Kavanaugh\u2019s presumed intention to overturn Roe v. Wade itself serves as corroborating evidence that he is such a monstrous individual as to have attempted rape, exposed himself, and\/or run a gang-rape gang as a high-schooler.\u00a0 And his failure to confess these misdeeds is further proof of his crimes, because only a monster would be unrepentant.\u00a0 Concern that Kavanaugh might be unjustly condemned is discarded because his private-school youth means that he\u2019s undeserving of such a position anyway.<\/p>\n
So what next?\u00a0 How many angry partisans are there?\u00a0 To what extent are the voices of a few magnified by twitter?\u00a0 Where do we go from here?\u00a0 I don\u2019t have an answer.\u00a0 Do you?<\/p>\n
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