Cal Thomas: Time to End the Judiciary Circus

The Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus announced last year it was closing after a 146-year run, largely because of high operating costs, costly legal battles with animal rights groups and declining ticket sales, especially after elephants were retired from the show.

Brett Kavanaugh’s embattled nomination for the Supreme Court has become a circus, and it’s time for the Senate Judiciary Committee to consider closing it to the public. As Kavanaugh’s nomination has shown, these hearings only serve the objectives of special interests and certain politicians, not the general public.

The Constitution is silent on congressional committees, which were established well after the document was ratified. The Senate Committee on the Judiciary (its official name) was, in fact, not established until 1816. Its purpose was to serve as a forum for public discussion on social and constitutional issues and to discover the views on these issues from nominees to federal courts and other high offices within the judicial system.

In modern times, this committee has been used as a stage for political theater. During the Kavanaugh hearings, activists from far-left groups disrupted the proceedings, hoping, presumably, to get their pictures in the papers. Their rude behavior guarantees it. Defenders say they are exercising their First Amendment rights, but should those rights deny others their right to speak without being interrupted?

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