Love him or not — and who doesn’t love Jiminy Cricket? — Graham said in a very loud non-whisper what every sensible, fair-minded person was surely thinking: The hearings that ultimately brought both Kavanaugh and Ford to tears were driven by a partisan quest for power without regard for the human collateral damage.

Railing at the Democratic side of the hearing room, Graham nearly shouted, “Boy, y’all want power. God I hope you never get it.”

The only thing worse than Republicans with absolute power is Democrats with absolute power, right? It is true, however, that the pitiable spectacle of first Ford and then Kavanaugh showed that Senate Democrats were willing to martyr their own best witness against Kavanaugh to delay confirmation and, assuming they win the Senate in the midterm elections, block Donald Trump from appointing any more conservatives to the high court.

Graham’s passionate commentary was, thus, a rallying cry to Republican voters, whose intensity has been flickering next to highly motivated Democrats, especially women. By Friday, he was calmer and more relaxed, perhaps because he believed Flake was onboard. He spelled out the reasons Ford’s story wasn’t compelling enough to keep Kavanaugh off the bench — no supporting evidence or testimony, not even a time or place.