Having zero diversity, and by trying to make it “Kavanaugh vs. Ford,” the old, white Republican men lost control of the nomination, and made it about them versus all women, a situation that, at best, will be a Pyrrhic victory.
How did it happen
Only Dr. Christine Blasey Ford is owning up to a clear recollection, and because she had the conviction to bring it forward, and because she’s been viscously attacked by the minority directorate (old, white Republican men), she has become a credible person in the eyes of most Americans. I think this trend will increase as Senator Grassley is preventing the only witness from testifying, which, considering Brett Kavanaugh’s classmate is a strident conservative, must mean his testimony would be destructive to the old men’s plans for their Roe v. Wade assassin.
Most Americans now oppose Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination, but the same polls show that most Americans believe he will be confirmed.
The difference in opinion between women and men, and Republicans and Democrats, is double digits, with most women believing Dr. Ford, and most men not believing her.
There’s a lesson here for corporate leadership.
Most corporate executive committees look a lot like the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is 85 percent white and 80 percent male.
All of the women are on the side that’s not in power (Democrats). The Committee is remarkably different than corporate America in only one way — the ranking members of both parties are bizarrely 85 years old.
The Judiciary Committee could not be more out of touch (including the Democrats). But the same can be said of many corporate executive committees, and I’ve met with dozens of them.
Being out of touch is exactly how the Republicans blew this situation. There is no way for them to “win” without withdrawing Kavanaugh until a thorough investigation is conducted.
Their (memories of) testosterone will not allow them to get there. You know they blew it when Senator Grassley negotiated with himself by changing his “deadline” to Dr. Ford.
It reminded me of CBS’ board waffling over Les Moonves, or Papa John’s board waiting for $300 million of the market cap to be erased in just 12 months before firing their CEO, John Schnatter, a guy so out of touch that he became beloved by Nazis.
Two important things to remember:
1. We (Black, Latino and progressive white Americans — the readers of this publication) are the majority. Professor Steve Phillips’ book “Brown is the New White” describes exactly the demographics that make up our country.
Trump is a tragic error of the Electoral College; Hillary was probably the only Democrat that couldn’t have won in 2016.
The problem is that we don’t behave like the majority. If we did, the polls tell me there would already be Medicare for all, a livable minimum wage, and an end to government subsidies to large minimum-wage worker-dependent companies that exist because government programs like EIC, SNAP (food stamps) and Section 8 permit them to pay their employees so little. Especially so for companies whose essential frontline employees utilize taxpayer subsidies and whose products are unhealthy, like McDonald’s.
Somebody please nudge Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and every Democrat over 65 — you have had your chance to serve the new majority, you didn’t inspire enough of us to turn out in 2016, it’s time for you to retire.
The same goes for corporate executive teams with lackluster employee engagement scores (and please don’t point to those surveys designed not to give you bad news so that they can get their contracts renewed).
There are too many “leaders” who should be extras on an episode of “The Walking Dead.”
2. Corporate leaders can avoid mistakes by talking with people and having open ears.
A CEO of an enormous company recently told me a story about how he changed a policy (he inherited) that had no real effect on business, but disproportionately (and in a way not obvious to the mostly male executive committee) disadvantaged Black women.
Fortunately for all involved, he had Black women around him — one direct report and several on his staff — and he is a genuine man.
He brought them together and, with his typical open and earnest demeanor, asked why this policy was a problem. The answers moved him to change the policy immediately.
Don’t let your non-representative executive committee delude you. Unanimous concurrence among an all-white-male decision making team is not unusual. What is unusual is the chief executive realizing that such concurrence is almost certainly cause for concern.
P.S.: I wrote this column over the weekend, last night new allegations emerged concerning Kavanaugh. Much like Les Moonves, Bill Cosby, and John Schattner — it’s almost never just one story.
At this point, there is absolutely no way for the White House to get out of this being a bad deal for them. The news was full of Kavanaugh being prepped all weekend, which was at the behest of the President Pussy Grabber, and his all-male White House staff; and those few women who put up with being a prop.
