To men still defending Brett Kavanaugh

A few points to ponder:

Sure, it’s possible this is a political shift where all nominations will now be dragged through the mud and slandered by baseless allegations. But consider that since Trump came to office there have been 135 federal judgeships plus Gorsuch’s SCOTUS seat filled with barely a whimper from the left. Maybe this isn’t a sea-change. Maybe it’s just this guy. Maybe Kavanaugh is just a deeply flawed candidate.

Sure, it’s possible #MeToo places every man at risk of being brought down by a sexual assault allegation. But consider that there’s nothing magic about sexual assault. People have been brought down by allegations of bribery, drug use, plagiarism, infidelity, lying, insider trading, theft, and a host of other crimes. In the vast majority of cases, those allegations turn out to be true. Not that false accusations don’t happen, but there’s no historical precedent for them being the norm. If you’re panicked about being accused of sexual assault but unfazed by the prospect of hearing you shot a man in Reno just to watch him die, maybe that says more about you and your past than you’re admitting to yourself.

Sure, it’s possible we should dismiss any sexual assault allegations from the past that didn’t get reported to the police at the time. But… no, wait. That’s not possible, and you’re a colossal ass-hat if you think it is. Sexual assault victims, especially young girls, typically don’t report the abuse. They are humiliated, embarrassed, terrified, and traumatized in ways that leave lifelong scars. There’s a disturbing likelihood that one or more women in your life have been assaulted, maybe more than once. Maybe she hasn’t told you. Maybe she hasn’t told anyone. That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, and it doesn’t mean it was no big deal.

And none of this even addresses all the other baggage this guy is hauling on his back including lying to Congress on multiple occasions, trafficking in stolen emails, and other partisan hackery that would ordinarily be disqualifying for a SCOTUS nominee all by itself. It’s not like Kavanaugh is the last conservative justice on Earth. It’s not like if he goes, Trump will nominate an RBG clone next. Is this really the hill you want to die on?

The Real Obamacare “Tax”

I was watching Fox News yesterday as the SCOTUS ruling upholding Obamacare’s individual mandate came to light. Commentary was all over the map for the first 30 minutes, but then began to rapidly zero-in on the accusation that this was now a tax on the middle-class. They had found their message, and from then on sang out in perfect harmony. It was kind of amazing.

“(Americans will) like it even less when they understand it’s a tax,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, told Fox News.

One curious element is that nothing related to the mandate is different today than it was last week—excepting the label. The notion that people’s view of the mandate will change as a result of a renaming is a blatant play to the ignorance of the audience.

Still, even if we accept the new label of “tax”, is it really a new financial burden on the middle class as conservatives are saying?

For those who are currently uninsured and financially able to afford healthcare, Obamacare will impose a new financial drain. Although, in return they get health insurance. We can call that a tax if you like.

But on the flip side, those who are currently insured are presently picking up the tab for the uninsured through higher insurance premiums and medical costs. Getting the uninsured into the pool lowers policy rates for the rest of us. This is even more true as other popular provisions of Obamacare, such as preventing coverage denial for pre-existing conditions, comes into force. The net result of this is a lowering of the financial burden on the currently insured, which is a significant majority of citizens.

If forcing the uninsured into the pool is a tax increase, then it only seems fair the reduced costs to the insured be considered a tax cut. At worst, this is a wash. At best, the tax cuts for the majority will significantly outweigh the tax increase to the minority.

Will there be individuals who will pay more as a result of Obamacare? Sure. But many more of us will pay less. So it’s pretty hard to argue in aggregate that this is a tax increase on the middle class.