“Confirmation” bias

[Valin]

Power Line:

Paul Mirengoff

February 21, 2016

 

We have observed before that the American left never gives up. That’s admirable when it comes to matters of principle and policy. Here, conservatives also fight hard, though they probably could take a page or two from the left’s playbook.

 

But when it comes to he-said-she-said type factual disputes about personalities or events — was Alger Hiss a Russian agent; did Clarence Thomas harass Anita Hill; did Dan Rather and Mary Mapes rely on forged documents — the difference between left and right is stark. Conservatives make their case when the question is “live” and then move on. The left, if it loses, plugs away indefinitely.

 

(Snip)

 

Now comes Hollywood’s latest entry in the reverse-the-judgment-of-history sweepstakes: “Confirmation,” an HBO film about the 1991 hearings on Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill’s sexual harassment allegations against him. At the eleventh hour of the Thomas confirmation process, and many years after the supposed fact, Hill, encouraged by Senate staffers desperate to block the nominee, alleged that he had made various sexually offensive comments to her.

 

The matter was aired in televised hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Senate and the American public found Hill’s allegations unpersuasive. Thomas was confirmed and is well into his third decade of service.

 

However, Thomas’ “guilt” remains an article of faith among leftists. “Confirmation” looks like an another attempt to make Hill’s claims stick at last.

 

(Snip)

 

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