Looking back years from now, the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court may mark a critical point in American politics.

Not only will his presence on the court usher in a conservative era of decisions, but it will solidify the effect President Trump has had on politics.

That effect is a shift in voter values. People care less about who politicians are as people and more about what platform or party they run under.

In recent campaigns, candidates for public office have come under increasing amounts of scrutiny with their opponents looking for anything from their past that may disqualify them from the position they are seeking. Unfortunately, it no longer matters what a candidate may have done in the past so long as they can help to further an agenda.

As citizens, it’s impossible for us to personally know political candidates. Very few people can speak to their true character and integrity, and that makes it really hard to discern fact from fiction when trying to assess a candidate. However, we must not let that hinder our decision-making skills.

The truth is objective, whether you believe it or not is irrelevant. It exists outside of political parties and agendas.

Kavanaugh’s Senate hearings weren’t concerned with uncovering the truth. The FBI could have vindicated Dr. Ford’s testimony; it wouldn’t have mattered. The Senate was going to confirm Kavanaugh regardless of any wrongdoing he may have committed because his presence on the court helps to further an agenda.

There are a number of conservative judges Trump could have nominated for whom no degrading information could be uncovered. Any move by the democrats would clearly have then been a political move. However, none of those judges share Kavanaugh’s position on executive immunity. In other words, they wouldn’t serve his agenda.

For an even better example of people voting for someone fundamentally opposed to their ideology, consider that Trump was a registered Democrat from 2001 to 2009. That is objectively the truth. He even donated $100,000 to the Clinton Foundation. Why then was he the republican candidate for president? It certainly isn’t because he embodied conservative values. Rather, he had the title, and he had the platform.

It isn’t just these two powerful men. Look up a list of politicians convicted of crimes committed while in office. It’s ridiculous. As a society, we no longer care about who a candidate actually is and has been so long as they are a member of our political party. It will be the death of American civility.