That a majority opinion ending Roe would almost certainly see a future Justice Kavanaugh joined by Clarence Thomas, who was credibly accused of sexual harassment during his confirmation hearings nearly 30 years ago, would only make matters worse. If Kavanaugh is confirmed, two out of nine justices on the court, both Republican appointees, will have been accused of sexual predation — and they would be the ones leading the charge to significantly curtail the rights of women in this country.
It’s hard to imagine something more politically poisonous than that.
If the Republican Party cared about persuasion, about building support for its positions, about not (further) alienating millions of American women, it would immediately recognize that after the Post story, Kavanaugh needs to be cut loose. Most of my pro-life friends and acquaintances preferred Judge Amy Coney Barrett for the high court anyway. If a newly entrenched and emboldened conservative majority is going to eliminate the constitutional right to an abortion, wouldn’t it be infinitely preferable to have a woman take the lead in explaining and justifying it?
