Confusion of standards: Brett Kavanaugh

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Here's something that has really ground my gears about Kavanaugh's nomination and confirmation. Republicans seemed to argue that unless we had proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he sexually assaulted Blasey Ford, we should just confirm it. In other words, they argued that unless you can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a person committed a crime--a standard used in criminal cases--, then you should trust the person implicitly, hire them, let them manage your bank accounts, go into a dark room all alone with him where no one else knows you're there, etc. But here's the thing, proof beyond a reasonable doubt is something used in criminal cases, where the defendant is in danger of going to jail or getting executed. It's not something we use in our everyday lives, and it's certainly not something that employers use in deciding whether to hire someone.

In fact, it's not a standard that even other parts of the legal system use. While criminal cases require proof beyond a reasonable doubt, civil cases require only a preponderance of the evidence. Remember OJ Simpson? He was acquitted, because there wasn't proof beyond a reasonable doubt; but he still had to pay out millions of dollars in the civil case, because there was a preponderance of the evidence. Are Republicans going to go wag their finger at the civil court judge for not demanding proof beyond a reasonable doubt? I think not.

So why, in deciding whether to give a man a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land, did we have to use that standard for him?

This is the fundamental error Republicans made in their reasoning, and a key lack of distinction they hoped their listeners would miss: Not having proof beyond a reasonable doubt doesn't mean pure innocence, it doesn't mean you can just implicitly trust the person. It simply means there isn't enough to send them to jail or execute them for.

It was pointed out at the time, but it did not gain any traction.

There was no proof, just a foggy memory.