Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh gives his opening statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Michael Reynolds/Pool Image via AP)

It’s hard to wade through the news of the day and come out with anything positive.

Sure, it looks like Kavanaugh is poised for confirmation. If you are excited about the prospect of a conservative Supreme Court, then that’s great news. But, today’s hearing ultimately didn’t change that prospect. If anything, it just solidified the lines.

It was the content of the hearing itself that was a tragedy. I will absolutely agree that it was a sham of a “truth-finding” hearing. It was clear from the moment that it began that Democrats would be sympathetic toward Ford and Republicans would be sympathetic toward Kavanaugh. With each speech that went by – they were, of course, speeches in the form of a question –  you knew that they came from people whose minds were already made up. To believe otherwise is naivety.

It seemed pretty clear that either Ford was assaulted – by whom, we do not know and it will likely never be proven – or she is a tremendously good actress. Likewise, it was just as clear that Kavanaugh is so offended by what the Democrats and their followers have put his family through that he could not contain his emotions or he is a tremendously good actor.

The day began with no guarantee that the truth will ever out, and it ended with the guarantee that no one will ever truly endeavor to seek that truth.

I feel bad for everyone involved here (not the Senate Judiciary Committee, but the ordinary citizens whose names have been dragged into this mess). Lives have been forever upended. Witnesses have been trying to lay low. The familes of those whose names have come up time and again have been harassed. It isn’t healthy, nor is it right.

Today was American politics at its worst. A grand stage that produced little more stump speech rehearsals and political indignation. It was the culmination of years of vile rhetoric and absolute hatred of anyone and anything that does not believe what you believe.

I have made no secret that I like Brett Kavanaugh and would be more than happy to see him on the Supreme Court. He wasn’t my first pick, but he is the pick of the moment. It is not fair to him that this should come out, torture him and his family for over a week, and then get publicly tried by the Senate. I don’t disagree that an investigation would have been proper, but we were denied that when Dianne Feinstein sat on the initial allegation for six weeks.

Of course, as pointed out by former Senator Joe Biden, the FBI wouldn’t recommend anything once the investigation was concluded. It would simply be a note in the background check. But, it would have been something that the Senate Judiciary Committee was aware of and could question Kavanaugh about (publicly or privately). Instead, what we got was a public trial that saw no verdict, but provided great soundbites.

That’s what we’ve been reduced to. Vile practices and gilded soundbites. It’s a travesty of justice, and it only brings ruins to those involved.