Today's continuation of the Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Judge Brett Kavanaugh was a long, heart-wrenching day of testimony by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Kavanaugh.  Both described how their families have faced threats and harassment since Dr. Ford's accusations were made public 10 days ago.  

Judge Kavanaugh gave compelling testimony, with specific and detailed recollection. His testimony is corroborated by multiple other statements and evidence. The Democrats’ disgraceful smear campaign of character assassination must come to an end. It’s time for the Senate to vote.

— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) September 27, 2018

Here are some of the remarkable moments from the day:

Thomas Jipping reminds us that the smears against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, while reprehensible, are just the latest of the inconsistent, partisan means by which Democrats have evaluated judicial nominees:

Partisan double standards, ignoring what really matters, smears, turning basic notions of fairness on their head — that is what it means to use “whatever means necessary.” Schumer is keeping his promise of opposing Kavanaugh with everything he has. It won’t be enough.

An allegation is not self-proving. That is why it is called an allegation.

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) September 21, 2018

Part of proving or disproving an allegation is the accused's right to respond to an allegation. There is a long precedent in the United States and society in general for thousands of years that the accuser must go first.  The accused gets a chance to respond.  Yet the lawyers for Dr. Ford said:  

Kavanaugh must testify first, before Ford. This, according to congressional aides, is a non-starter. It's not how the committee works, and given Kavanaugh would need to respond to Ford's testimony, will not occur.

Since the allegations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford were made public on Sunday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley has done everything possible to ensure that the Senate investigates the claims and is able to evaluate their truth before moving forward with the nomination.  Yet despite the Democrats claiming that this is what they wanted, as Chairman Grassley has attempted to work with them, Senate Democrats and Dr. Ford's attorneys now claim that they want the Senate to wait for the results of an FBI investigation that the FBI says is not going to happen.  This reveals the Democrats' true goal, even more than the politically opportune timing of when Dr. Ford's accusations were leaked: delaying Judge Kavanaugh's confirmation until after the November elections in the hope of taking the Senate and blocking all future judicial nominations by President Trump.

Led by Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein, Democrats seem not to be interested in getting to the truth of the accusations by Christine Blasey Ford but rather in delaying the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh.  Let’s briefly analyze a few of Democrats' demands.

Accusation   “Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee who was first informed of Ford's accusation in July when the woman requested anonymity, denounced Republicans' efforts to limit the hearing to two witnesses.”

Reality:  Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein had the opportunity to select more than a dozen witnesses the last day of the scheduled Kavanaugh hearing.  She selected John Dean as the lead witness and did not even mention this matter.  “Dean is among more than a dozen witnesses selected by Democrats on the Judiciary Committee. The former White House counsel 'will speak about the abuse of executive power' during his appearance, according to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), the top Democrat on the panel."

The confirmation battle over the nomination of D.C. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court is back in the headlines after The Intercept reported on Wednesday that Senator Dianne Feinstein was keeping a document from her Senate Judiciary Committee Democratic colleagues that was regarding an incident involving Brett Kavanaugh in high school.  On Thursday, Senator Feinstein issued a statement that she had "information" on Judge Kavanaugh from an individual who requested confidentiality.  On Sunday, The Washington Post reported the identity of the accuser -- California research psychologist Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. 

While the story recounted by Dr. Ford is harrowing, this is not the proper way to handle an allegation of sexual assault against a nominee for high office, for the sake of everyone involved -- the accused nominee, the woman making the accusation, and the state of our political discourse and process.  Instead of using the confirmation process to vet the accusation, Senator Feinstein has held onto it until the last moment, releasing it at a time when she thinks it can be used to smear Judge Kavanaugh without giving the allegation a complete evaluation and hearing.