TENNESSEANS TAKE SIDES OVER SUPPORT OF KAVANAUGH
Middle Tennesseans become increasingly polarized on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh
By: Kara Aguilar
NASHVILLE, Tenn.- Senators are expected to vote yes or no on advancing Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, after reviewing the single copy summary of the FBI’s background investigation at Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility.
President Trump and Senate Republicans had agreed to a one week delay of Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing after Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz, called for the FBI to investigate the current allegations accusing Kavanaugh of sexual assault from more than 30 years ago.
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., previously expressed hesitation about moving forward with Kavanaugh’s confirmation but this morning Corker said that he will be voting yes to advance the Supreme Court nominee after reviewing the FBI report.
Outside of Capital Hill, American citizens stand divided on the issue. In a poll administered by CBS News/YouGov on Monday, 37 percent say that they don not think the Senate should confirm Kavanaugh and 35 percent reported to be in favor of his confirmation. So what makes this situation so divisive?
One of the biggest concerns posed by individuals who support Kavanaugh, is the timeliness of the situation. “Way too many years have gone by to bring that up,” says MTSU Student, Brian Glasgow, 51, “I don’t care what someone did thirty years ago.”
Those on the opposition argue that the topic of sexual assault is such a sensitive matter that it is understandable why Kavanaugh’s accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, preferred to deal with it in private. “To me, as a woman, having gone through similar situations, maybe not as intense as that, but similar, there is pretty much nothing that would actually make me come out with those about those specific people other than seeing them be appointed to the Supreme Court,” said Jessica Hess, 25, a waitress at Nashville’s local coffee shop Cafe Coco.
As the November Midterm Election quickly approaches, many Republicans perceive the situation as an attempt made by the Democrats to try and slow down the nomination. “I really don’t understand how the purpose for bringing [the allegations] up now could be anything other than political motivation,” says local Nashville Artist, Edward Cherniga, 55.
Many Democrats question why Republicans are so determined to rush Kavanaugh’s confirmation. “He’s also not that remarkable in terms of choices,” said Belmont graduate, Eli Grimes, 25, “Even the head of the federalist society, which is the group that compiles the list of conservative judges, […] went on cbs this morning and said you can literally throw a dart at this list of names and I wouldn't care who you picked. All of these people are the same to me. They are all good choices.”
Despite the almost equal number of people that have sided either yes or no on the subject, a large part of the population said that they don’t care for politics or refuse to pay attention to the circus that the situation has developed into.
Independent voter and Nashville business owner, Zac Nelson, 25, believes, “Its a great situation to put on mass media to keep people’s attention to focus on things that do not matter, verses educating people in matters that can benefit the world at hand.”