DAVE ROSS

Ross: What to learn from the Brett Kavanaugh experience

Oct 8, 2018, 7:23 AM

Kavanaugh, yearbooks...

Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)

How preoccupied was America with the Brett Kavanaugh debate? I have no idea. But according to the warning on my smartphone, my personal screen time was up 114 percent last week.

RELATED: Beer grabs the spotlight in Supreme Court hearing

I was averaging three hours and forty minutes a day. And so I’m determined to learn something from this.

Senator Susan Collins had this observation on Face The Nation.

“I think that this has been an awakening for this country,” Collins said. “I don’t think most of us had any idea how pervasive the problem of sexual assault is.”

She’s referring to the outspoken assault victims who saw Brett Kavanaugh as the personification of their own attackers.

So maybe we can agree on something. Lawyers like Michael Avenatti — who were so eager to represent these victims when a Supreme Court seat was at stake — should now help them pursue cases against their actual abusers. Famous or not.

And to prevent a similar issue from haunting the next Supreme Court appointment, here’s another idea. On Wikipedia, anyone can see a list all of President Trump’s judicial appointments to the lower courts. Those are the judges who serve as the Supreme Court’s farm team.

Suppose we all check out that list right now to see if any of the names bring back bad memories, so we can examine their yearbooks for slang, nicknames, and keg club memberships, and reveal anything we may find before the next nomination.

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