If you are like me—and I know you are because you signed up for my newsletters—the spectacle of Republican senators unloading their stupidity on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson yesterday turned your stomach.
Particularly retch-worthy was Lindsey Graham’s drama-queenish display of histrionic pique over the Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett confirmation hearings of 2018 and 2019—capped off by his theatrical storming out of the hearing chamber.
(Graham conveniently failed to mention that neither of those nominations were conducted decently. Kavanaugh’s was engineered by Republicans denying Barak Obama a nomination that was his by right of decently conducted politics. Barrett's was a fateful windfall from the sudden death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which Republicans indecently raced to capitalize upon. Nor did he mention that both candidates displayed indecency in the nomination process. Kavanaugh's rage-filled meltdown over the temerity of Democrats to question his highly questionable past behavior should have disqualified him on the basis of lack of judicial self-control. And Barrett’s willingness to participate in a rushed and politically opportunistic nomination disclosed at the very least a venal careerism that has no place on the Supreme Court.)
The barely concealed anger of GOP senators at having to sit by as a Democratic president’s nominee to the Supreme Court heads toward confirmation was on full display. And it revealed a lot about just how twisted Republicans have become since Reagan conned Americans into believing that “conservatives” can govern.
Of course the Republicans are enraged that Judge Jackson is a black woman. That’s their deep-seated racism and misogyny, which is like an autonomous reflex with them.
And of course the Republicans are enraged that Judge Jackson’s underlying world view is no doubt very liberal. That’s their deep-seated resentment of Enlightenment values of truth and justice, which would compel them to admit their selfish desire to maintain "beliefs" and privileges to which they have no plausible right.
But the Republican senators’ disgusting shows of grievance over the confirmation hearings of “conservative” nominees to the Supreme Court during the past forty years reveals a much more personal and individual defect in their character. By repeatedly bringing up past slights, these Republicans uncover a pettiness rooted in profound self-doubt.
The unconditional demand of Republicans to have their anti-social and indecent “beliefs” treated with respect is the great tell. The fact is that Republican “ideas” are all pure BS, as I have pointed out in previous posts.
Deep down, Republicans are existentially discomfited by the superiority of liberalism. They feel their inferiority deeply. And they are endlessly infuriated by their inability to justify the unjustifiable.
This profound self-doubt—which is well-merited by their insupportable adherence to selfish, anti-social, and unjust "beliefs"—is the source of their nearly irrepressible rage. It is, of course, childish. But "conservatism" itself is hardly more than a collection of childish fears, insecurities, and reactions.
So it is hardly surprising that people who have not matured beyond adolescence get angry when they cannot defend their assertions. Adults consider their failure to defend themselves as a sign that they may be wrong. Adults reassess their arguments, correct them as necessary, and apologize for any bad behavior they may have committed while under the influence of mistaken notions.
Adolescents don’t. They get angry at those who know they are mistaken rather than at themselves. They hold to their insupportable notions and cover up their discomfort and insecurity by lashing out—as if demonstrations of anger can disguise their cognizance of their own inferiority.
On the contrary, they only highlight it more boldly.
Indeed, it is one of the great mysteries of modern times how Republican anger, resentment, grievance, animosity, rancor, untruthfulness, incivility, expediency, mendacity, self-delusion, and even—after the insurrection of January 6—violence are not recognized as mere adolescent fury. They are so wrong so constantly that even they can’t ignore it any longer. And since they cannot justify their “beliefs,” they resort to displays of anger, attempts to bend laws to their will, outright falsifications about injustices done to them by their opponents, and outrageous conspiracy theories about inhuman atrocities committed by their opponents.
Again, this is childish. But that doesn’t make it harmless. Indeed, it is the most dangerous traffic in our society. It is just waiting for the return of Trump or someone even more fascist than he. It is just waiting to be given the green light again.
And if it is, America is in for the fight of its life. Republicans know that they were wrong to let Trump off the hook for his crimes. They know that their indecency led to January 6. For a very brief time after the insurrection, it looked like some Republicans were ready to become adults. But instead they reverted to adolescent anger, raging at the decent lawmakers who even to this day are still trying to get accountability for the outrages committed on democracy by the Trump Republican party. They cannot become adults now. They cannot admit their complicity and apologize for their indecency. It would mean the end of their careers. And nothing is more important to them than to hang on to power.
So the bilious performances of the GOP senators at the Jackson hearings may be merely sickening now, but they portend much more evil.
At this point, if Republicans ever get majorities in Congress, they will stop at nothing to prevent decent America from ever again questioning their fundamentally unjust and indecent “beliefs.” We have only seen the edge of the spear of “conservative” anger. It would only take one more Trumplike figure in power to uncover the barely concealed fascism that now animates Republicans.
Be thankful that the GOP is only making you throw up today. Because tomorrow, if we can’t keep them out of power, they will be killing you.
That is what fascists do. They can’t afford to have people around who remind them how rotten they are.
I wish you could send an autographed copy of this to Moscow Mitch and crew! Great article!