At the annual gathering of right-wing evangelical Christians known as the Values Voter Summit, the Senate majority leader and members of the Trump administration promised Religious Right activists that Brett Kavanaugh would be confirmed to the bench of the United States Supreme Court. Mitch McConnell boasted of the record number of federal judges the Senate has confirmed under his leadership and vowed to continue to reshape the courts for a generation. Vice President Mike Pence lauded Kavanaugh as "decent and honorable," while denouncing his opposition as disgraceful. (Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Ben Carson, secretary of housing and urban development, also addressed the crowd.)
A refrain soon emerged: Kavanaugh was done wrong, and the Democrats were what done it.
Right-wing pundits piled on: FOX's Todd Starnes complained of "culture jihadists" and the NRA's Dana Loesch fretted that boys were being made to feel bad "for being male." Bill Bennett, the former education secretary with penchants for sanctimony and gambling, painted those demanding answers to the allegation of sexual assault against Kavanaugh made by Christine Blasey Ford, as scheming and low. Citing scripture, Sandy Rios of the American Family Association suggested that any who would accuse the judge were "slanderers." Gary Bauer suggested that Kavanaugh was being tortured by the Democrats and the media.
And Master of Ceremonies Gil Mertz, special assistant to the president of the Family Research Council, made some very special jokes.
