And I still really don't get why he did that, because it seems so blatantly stupid, whether from the perspective of his reputation as a future SC justice, if confirmed, or from the short-term tactical perspective of winning confirmation votes, since he cast a permanent cloud of suspicion over himself while also giving the Democratic centrist senators ample reasons to reject him. The only perspective from which it was not a foolish move, as far as I can see, is if he was more concerned with the midterms than with his own confirmation, meaning that firing up the Republican base was worth it even if it reduced his chances. And even then it seems like a gamble.
I think he acted the way he did for Trump. Everything, from the wild accusations that this was revenge on behalf of the Clintons, to the raging against the Democrats and "the left"... it is so atypical of any judicial nominee, but makes perfect sense if you think of it as the way to convince Trump that he should be on your side.
I think the blatant lies fall under that. It was about not giving an inch to your questioners. Claiming not just that you didn't sexually assault this person, but that you were a saint who couldn't possibly have assaulted her, all evidence to the contrary be damned... that was incredibly Trumpy to me.
I think Kavanaugh calculated that pleasing Trump was his best chance of being confirmed. And Trump clearly ate it all up.
But I don't know how Kavanaugh can ever not recuse himself from any number of cases, now. He's shown himself to be openly partisan against the Democrats and the left. And by lying, he's left himself wide open to impeachment proceedings when/if the Democrats take control.