Amid the Kavanaugh Chaos, Megyn Kelly Offers Clear-Eyed Commentary America Desperately Needs

Joseph A. WulfsohnSep 24th, 2018, 6:27 pm
 

The country is in the midst of what may be the ugliest, most divisive, and most emotionally-charged news cycles in recent history. Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, whose confirmation was already a nasty battle on Capitol Hill, now has multiple accusers who have come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct. And national discourse has rarely been so toxic and completely self-serving.

On one side, you have Democrats judging the allegations “credible” and declaring Kavanaugh guilty without even offering him a chance to defend himself. And on the other, you have Republicans completely dismissing these allegations as a “smear” campaign without having interviewed the alleged victims themselves. The truth is buried in a heaping, steaming pile of partisan manure. And very few in the mainstream media seem to care enough to even look for it.

However, there has been one individual who has continuously offered fair-minded analysis of this political firestorm: Megyn Kelly.

As part of the Today lineup, Kelly has mostly avoided politics, while occasionally weighing in on things like the latest mass shootings or various stories that have emerged from the #MeToo movement. However, she truly made a name for herself as the rising star at Fox News for her no-nonsense takes on political news. And since joining NBC, it seems she has been held back from using her greatest gift.

This past week has shown us why a voice like Megyn Kelly is crucial in hyper-partisan turbulence like we’ve been witnessing in the case of the Supreme Court nominee and his accusers.

In her coverage, Kelly began by acknowledging Kavanaugh’s accuser Dr. Christine Blasey Ford‘s “best fact” was that her story doesn’t sound like it was simply made up, pointing to her claim that she named Mark Judge as a witness. She also drew attention to the fact that Ford is a Democratic donor and her attorneys are Democratic activists.

Then, as a former attorney and judicial reporter, she offered analysis about the difficulty of looking into a 35-year-old case.

“How is he supposed to defend himself?” Kelly asked. “There’s a reason why we have the statue of limitations in this country and that’s because, and this isn’t a criminal case, but that’s because memory fades, details fade, and it’s impossible for him to disprove a negative or to prove a negative.”

At the same time, she expressed sympathy for Ford.

“You have to feel for her because, listen, unless this woman is completely insane and has made this entire thing up as a political hit job, then she’s about to be put through it.  She’s about to be put through it. And that’s probably why she didn’t want to attach her name to this to begin with. But she’s gonna get cross-examined and people are going to look into her history. I mean listen, as they should if they’re going to derail a Supreme Court nomination about it and figure out if she’s some sort of proven liar, has she accused others,” Kelly said. “I for one think it deserves more investigation. It deserves more investigation because the Supreme Court is a lifetime appointment. And if this guy does have a history of attacking a woman, of sexually attacking a woman, we need to know. And if it’s not- if you can’t prove it to people’s satisfaction, then he should be confirmed because Trump gets his vote.”

Appearing on MSNBC’s Hardball, Kelly called out the absurd demands coming from Ford’s legal team, correctly stating that she isn’t “her right” to dictate how she conducts her testimony. She specifically criticized the request for Kavanaugh to testify before Ford, saying all investigations start with the accuser.

Then on her own show, she blasted Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) for burying Ford’s letter for weeks during Kavanaugh’s confirmation and not speaking a word of the allegation to the nominee during the hearing nor during their one-on-one meeting. She also corrected accused Democrats of leaking the letter to the press and for outing Ford in the first place.

“I think Dianne Feinstein bears a lot of the blame here because this woman found a way to come forward. And Dianne Feinstein buried it,” Kelly told her panel. “The Democrats leaked it. They outed her. They’re the ones who had her name!”

She dismantled the argument that the FBI must investigate Ford’s accusation.

“This is not a criminal investigation. It’s about the Senate’s duty to advise and consent,” Kelly said. “They’re in charge of what would help them make that recommendation.”

Kelly also took both parties to task for their political maneuvering ahead of the midterms.

“You know very well what’s happening,” she said. “The Democrats are trying to delay til after the midterms and the Republicans are trying to rush it through.”

She then went on Twitter to call out Feinstein who accused her GOP colleagues of “bullying a survivor of attempted rape.”

“A lot of nerve here from the woman who did nothing about this allegation for weeks — and by the way, you don’t know if she is a survivor of an attempted rape,” she tweeted. “She may well be, but how about WE HEAR THE EVIDENCE FIRST and engage in at least a semblance of fairness?”

The NBC host reacted to the latest accusation from Deborah Ramirez, noting she hesitated to come forward due to “large gaps” in her memory and connected her case to Ford’s and how all their supposed named witnesses were not able to confirm their claims.

She slammed the political nature of these accusations, beginning with Ford’s attorney who previously didn’t believe Paula Jones‘ accusation that former President Bill Clinton exposed himself to her was considered “sexual harassment,” dinging Ford for aligning herself with such a Democratic operative.

Kelly ripped President Trump’s “completely Trumpian” defense of Kavanaugh, saying his tweet was “utterly diminishing of all victims of sexual assault.”

“We don’t know whether Christine Blasey Ford is such a victim, okay? That must be stated. In my view, the Me Too movement does not mean all women must be believed. All women must get a fair hearing. They must be listened to with an open mind. But it is also true- I believe, it’s my own belief that the vast majority of women who come forward with these allegations are telling the truth because they have such skin in the game if they do this and it’s not true. But some lie! And we’ve seen that! So let’s have an open, fair hearing and let the people make up their minds after they hear her testify and him too. He too is entitled to due process.”

She also singled out Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) for saying Ford’s “mixed up,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) for declaring she “believes” Ford, and Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) for ordering men to “shut up and step up.”

“Look, if he’s been wrongly accused of attempted rape, he does not need to shut up! He needs to defend himself!” Kelly reacted. “And we need to be, at least if you’re a U.S. senator- please, give us at least the semblance of fairness! Okay? Just at least the appearance of fairness, to both sides, would be appreciated.”

Everything Megyn Kelly has said about the Kavanaugh allegations is 100% spot-on. She goes beyond the talking points in search for facts, and she calls out the absurdities of those defending Kavanaugh as well as those accusing him. She brings logic – frequently absent in political media coverage – to the discussion and debate, and her talents should no longer be chained to these eight-minute segments.

In a media full of hacks, blowhards, know-nothings, and partisans, Megyn Kelly stands out as a voice of reason, something our country is sadly lacking.

[image via Getty]

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.

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