Kamala Harris and Cory Booker audition for 2020 at Kavanaugh hearings
The two potential presidential contenders captured the spotlight with tough questions and no-holds-barred protest tactics. But as several of their biggest moments ended in anticlimactic flops, they left some observers wondering whether their performances were more grandstanding than groundbreaking.
"This was political theater," said
Faced with a pivotal confirmation battle that could swing the court to the right for a generation, both threw out old-school norms of
The two senators -- who were both appointed to the
The senators also used the hearing as a fundraising opportunity, blasting out email appeals for donations to their supporters. Harris' campaign posted dozens of
Neither elicited any answers that appear likely to derail Kavanaugh's path to the high court. With 51 votes in the
But over the last few days of 12-hour hearings, Harris and Booker stood out from an older generation of
"They have no use for the parochial, old-school rules of the
They each had their viral moments. Harris repeatedly questioned Kavanaugh, a federal appeals court judge, on whether he had discussed Special Counsel
"I think you're thinking of someone and you don't want to tell us," Harris said, with the exchange racking up millions of views on social media.
And in questioning Kavanaugh about his position on abortion laws, she asked him, "Can you think of any laws that give government the power to make decisions about the male body?"
"I'm not thinking of any right now, senator," Kavanaugh responded.
Booker sparred with
Still, little came from their most notable exchanges: Harris never put forward any evidence that Kavanaugh discussed Mueller with someone at Kasowitz's firm, despite saying she had "reliable information" he did, and the documents Booker made public turned out not to have been confidential at all -- at least some were cleared for release earlier that morning.
The theatrics left
"What we had was a couple senators who hijacked these hearings for their personal benefit," said
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Perhaps unsurprisingly, Harris and Booker failed to get many solid answers from Kavanaugh about his views. Under questioning from them, he declined to state his position on whether Supreme Court decisions legalizing same-sex marriage, allowing some use of race in college admissions, and striking down parts of the Voting Rights Act were correctly decided. Kavanaugh repeatedly cited the practice of past Supreme Court nominees not to talk about cases that could come before them.
But Kavanaugh's "non-answers were answers enough," argued LaBolt, with the judge's reticence suggesting to the American public that he was hiding his views and his record.
"Because of the toughness of the questions coming from (Harris and Booker), he really came across as less impressive and less prepared than other recent nominees," LaBolt said.
And the senators' dogged approach delighted many liberal viewers, even without a smoking gun.
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To be sure, past hearings have been contentious in other ways, from the failed confirmation process for judge
But Tobias pointed out that resistance has become the norm. In recent years,
"Being polite hasn't been working," he said. "It shouldn't be surprising that that's not what we see now."
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