The fierce battle over U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh gives us a snapshot of the political left's rage and the energy they'll take into the November election. They're on the outside of Washington's political power and they're doing all they can to claw their way back into it.
Last-minute allegations by Christine Blasey Ford that Kavanaugh assaulted her while in high school nearly derailed his nomination. But the uncorroborated testimony, the fact that Senate Democrats sat on Blasey-Ford's accusations nearly two months before the hearing, and a witch hunt by the left looking for anything that could discredit the Supreme Court nominee only appears to have stoked up a conservative base that appeared complacent heading into the mid-terms.
The migrant caravan pushing past police checkpoints in Mexico and marching to our southern border has stirred greater conservative interest in the election. So have threats toward conservative lawmakers. Sen. Mitch McConnell and his wife were berated by a critic in a Louisville restaurant where his carry out box was thrown to the ground. Such antics are working against Democratic chances to pick up Congressional seats.
Ironically, protestors who identify as Democrats have abused and disrupted the democratic process. First, during the Kavanaugh hearings by drowning out the voices of other participants. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) called it "mob rule" as 70 protesters were arrested the first day of the Kavanaugh hearings for disorderly conduct. Second, Antifa continues mob protests in major cities. The latest demonstration occurred in Portland, Oregon in early October where protesters dressed in black blocked a busy intersection and attempted to incite violence.
The ugly protests and incivility reveal an internal struggle inside the Democratic party between Bernie Sanders socialists and Hillary Clinton mainliners. The hard left is more militant while the Clinton mainliners work through more respectable channels. Regardless of which faction wins, if the left wins Congress on November 6, agenda items will include tax increases, gun restrictions, abolishing ICE, maintaining abortion on demand, and restoring the regulatory state. In essence, the fight is between centralized socialist government and limited government that protects individual rights.
The political left is just as fired up in Kentucky with the Kentucky Education Association and state workers incensed at Republican attempts to make structural changes to the state pensions. Ironically, Republicans have fully funded the state pension system the last two budget cycles which is more than former Gov. Steve Beshear and the Democratically controlled House did in his entire eight years in office. In the past two years, the GOP passed numerous pro-life, pro-religious freedom and pro-economic development laws.
The stakes are high this November but it remains to be seen if Kentucky will continue to move in a conservative direction. The answer lies in which side can turn out a majority to vote in their favor on November 6.