Yeah, I know that I've said repeatedly that I hate posting in this forum, but I always find something that riles me up to overcome the "fear and loathing" that I feel for much of the invective that passes for commentary on this site. That being said ...
Here are some of the known facts re: the Kavanaugh hearing.
Fact: When the seat on the Supreme Court came open upon the death of Justice Scalia, then-President Obama proposed Merrick Garland of the 2nd Circuit for the position. The Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell of Tennessee, refused to grant Garland a hearing or even a meeting for over a year, on the premise that it was too close to a presidential election and that the American people should have a say in the selection of the next Justice.
Fact: The Federalist Society prepared a list of "highly qualified" individuals for a position on the the Supreme Court to the Trump campaign very soon after he announced his candidacy. Gorsuch was at the top of that list … Kavanaugh was not on the list at all.
Fact: When Trump assumed the presidency, the 'advise and consent' of the Senate was pushed through in record time for now-Justice Gorsuch.
Fact: When Justice Kennedy announced his retirement in July of this year, Trump proposed Justice Kavanaugh for the position. Kavanaugh had been added to the list recently.
Fact: The confirmation process was abbreviated to the point of almost no process, so as to get it done prior to the midterm election, on the premise that we cannot let a vacancy on the Supreme Court go unfilled for any significant amount of time (McConnell's words.)
Fact: FBI background checks only go back for ten years or so, which would have meant that the charges brought by the accusers would not have shown up in the report, nor any aberrant behavior in high school or college.
Fact: Republicans resisted the appearance of his accuser until public opinion forced the issue, and Christine Blasey Ford was allowed to speak to the committee.
Fact: The Republican members of the committee chose to have their questions asked by a professional prosecutor rather than have the appearance of eleven white men questioning a sexual abuse claimant.
Fact: The contrast between Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh could not have been more evident. A timid, fearful woman versus an angry, blustering lawyer/judge.
Fact: The committee was set to report the nomination out to the full Senate when Senator Flake, along with some others, stated that they could not support the appointment by the full Senate unless an additional FBI background check was done on the current accusations.
Fact: In that light, the committee chairman was forced to ask the president to task the FBI with that investigation, which was to be limited in scope and duration (one week).
Fact: The American Bar Association has rescinded their endorsement of Kavanaugh and had significant reservations back in 2006 at his first appointment.
Unverified fact: It is now reported that the FBI investigation is limited even more (in spite of the President's comments as to its breadth) to just two of the accusers, and cannot go into more general aspects of Kavanaugh's life and drinking habits during his high school and college periods.
OK, that brings us up to date on factual matters. The following is my opinion, based on the facts stated above.
First, there is misconduct on both sides going back several administrations. The sixty-vote majority requirement for federal court appointees should never have been scrapped by Harry Reid when the Republicans refused to pass any federal judgeships under Clinton and early Obama terms.
Then the misconduct of McConnell in holding open the Scalia seat without hearing or meetings for over a year flies in the face of Senate tradition and ranks as one of the boldest political moves in Senate history. It was done in the faint hope that a Republican could win the presidency, as subsequently happened. The ultimate hypocrisy of first holding the seat open and then bulldozing the next two appointments through with virtually no procedure is so blatant as to be unbelievable, had it not happened for real.
How the addition of Kavanaugh to the short list of nominees was done when he was never on the original list is still a murky proposition. It is probable that the president wanted an appointee that had expansive visions of executive power, and Kavanaugh filled that bill, having stated previously that he believed that a sitting president could neither be indicted nor investigated for any misconduct while in office. This appointee could very well rule on such investigations and indictments in the near future. Whether Kavanaugh would recuse himself on such a ruling is open to question.
The short list provided by the Federalist Society had in common the proclivity of all those on it to the reversal of Roe vs. Wade, their opposition to same sex marriage, opposition to gay rights and the expansion of discrimination carveouts for 'deeply held religious views'.
The Supreme Court appointments (and the packing of the lower courts) are the signature legacy of Senator McConnell to the conservative base. The evangelical leaders of the religious right held their noses and looked the other way, overlooking the multiple divorces and bevy of sexual misconduct claims against Trump, on the premise that he would lurch the courts significantly to the conservative side, particularly on the social issues that the religious right had been promoting for at least two generations. He, and Senator McConnell have delivered on that promise.
The massive breaches of tradition and protocol on both sides in the Kavanaugh hearing have done nothing to promote the reputation of the Senate for the better. Feinstein should never have held onto the first letter of accusation for as long as she did. That was misconduct as well. Eleven white guys on one side, and a diverse group opposing them with vehement invective flying between them.
Kavanaugh showed virtually no 'judicial temperament' during his latest testimony, while blustering, bloviating, and bombastic rhetoric seemed to be the order of the day ala Trump. It did nothing to counter his image as an entitled white aristocrat who felt that he was entitled to the appointment that he had been groomed for for much of his life.
Through some of my family ties, I have been exposed to that genre of American society, and the insulation of wealth and power cannot be understood unless you observe it first hand. It is a wall that is seldom penetrated on either side, and neither side respects nor understands the other. On the oligarch side, it is about preserving wealth and the power that their holdings bring with it. It is a 'whatever it takes' ideology to preserve that power that is foremost in their minds at all times. It is evidenced in few ways better than to look at the almost all-male, all-white, all rich Augusta Golf Club that holds the Master's Tournament every year. These are the movers and shakers of American Society much as Mar-a-lago reflects the rich and famous strata of our culture that is insulated by armed guards and floors full of lawyers plus politicians in their pocket.
I am not knocking the status of people that achieve what wealth they can accumulate through hard work and application. But what the Kavanaugh nomination has exposed is the vast gulf between the inherited/entitled status of some individuals and the situations of the vast majority of the citizens of the United States. Most of the entitled strata never had to work a real job in their lives; never got fired; never had to stand in line for a driver's license; and never had to apply for unemployment insurance. There is just no understanding of the common citizen's existence.
If Kavanaugh is appointed, I predict the following:
===> Roe vs. Wade will be either eliminated entirely or will be so undercut as to be virtually dead. Back-alley abortions will again be the norm in many parts of the country, with the ensuing death of many hundreds of women due to complications.
===> Same sex marriage will be reverted back to the states, whereupon a major battle over whether one state has to recognize the same-sex marriage of another state will ensue.
===> Major carveouts for 'deeply held religious views' will be allowed, thus deepening the discrimination against sexual and racial minorities.
===> The expansion of executive power in the Presidency, with consequent virtual autocracy residing in the White House.
===> Trump will be allowed to terminate the Mueller probe and bury it, thus absolving himself from any potential guilt of any kind.
In short, we (the un-entitled masses) all stand to lose.
That's my opinion … your mileage will vary, I'm sure.
Yeah, I know that I've said repeatedly that I hate... (
show quote)
