Chuck Grassley Called for Civility in the Ford-Kavanaugh Hearing, but, Sadly, Civility Vanished

Sen. Grassley and Judge Kavanaugh share a Civil Moment

Even when political people today try to be civil, they don’t always pull it off. I’m beginning to wonder, quite seriously, whether some of the Senators and witnesses in today’s Senate Judiciary Committee would behave the same way if their grandmothers were watching.

Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, a lovely state that I once proudly called home, chaired today’s hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee concerning an allegation of sexual assault that Professor Christine Blasey Ford made against Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Ford said in writing, and repeated in the hearing under oath, that Kavanaugh attacked her and tried to rape her when they were both teenagers attending prestigious Catholic high schools. Ford made a quietly emotional statement in which she delineated her accusations, while Kavanaugh responded with righteous indignation. So far, audience responses to Ford and Kavanaugh’s statements have followed predictable partisan lines.

But let me talk for a minute about Grassley’s opening speech. For the most part, Grassley gave a partisan, and, to my way of thinking, weak defense of his committee’s refusal to call additional witnesses or gather additional facts about Kavanaugh’s alleged misconduct. That was foreseeable. But let’s look favorably upon his calls for civility.

First, Grassley noted that “Both Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh have been through a terrible couple of weeks. They and their families have received vile threats. What they have endured ought to be considered by all of us as unacceptable and a poor reflection on the state of civility in our democracy.”

Grassley then apologized to both witnesses “for the way you’ve been treated, and I intend hopefully for today’s hearing to be safe, comfortable, and dignified for both of our witnesses. I hope my colleagues will join me in that effort of a show of civility.” He then went on an extended narrative of the committee’s work, most of which defended the committee’s investigation while expressing umbrage that Democrats had not respected the committee’s procedures.

Then, as he concluded his introductory comments, recognizing that the hearing would delve into intimate personal issues, Grassley assured the witnesses that “they have the right under Senate Rule 26.5 to ask that committee go into closed session with a question requires an answer that is a clear invasion of their right to privacy. If either Doctor Ford or Judge Kavanaugh feels that Rule 26.5 is to be involved they should simply say so.” (As fate had it, both witnesses chose to speak publicly.)

Grassley’s noble goal of civility was not fully accomplished. Senator Grassley himself was soon publicly criticized for repeatedly interrupting female Democratic Senators. (None of the Republican senators on the committee was a woman.) At times, Kavanaugh practically shouted during his testimony, and he interrupted questions that he did not want to answer, such as a question by Senator Patrick Leahy, who made a reference to Kavanaugh’s yearbook boasts about his youthful sexual and inebriating triumphs. South Carolina’s usually unflappable Senator Lindsey Graham cursed and turned red in the face while yelling about what he contended was the Democrats’ perfidy. This was most regrettable, and not the kind of behavior that the people should accept from their governmental leaders. If he wanted to follow through on his calls for civility, Grassley could and should have asked people to calm down and show more respect.

At least, however, Grassley knew that the committee should try to be civil. In these partisan times, with so much mindless anger fueled by talk radio and cable news, not to mention Twitter posts, with the two political parties increasingly unable and unwilling to compromise about the simplest things, with facts taking second seat to anger, with group loyalty ruling over common sense, it was wonderful that he at least tried to advocate civility.

Maybe, we can hope, the next time a Senate Committee Chair calls for civility, the committee members and witnesses will heed the advice.

Image: Chuck Grassley's US Senate website