Why Kavanaugh?
After last week’s hearings, it’s difficult to understand: why did President Trump pick Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court? And, now that there is an FBI investigation going on, why is President Trump (despite his public statements) limiting the investigation to four witnesses, and perhaps even restricting what questions those witnesses can be asked?
Clearly, Brett Kavanaugh has staked his entire career on this nomination. If he fails here; if corroborating evidence shows that he committed perjury in front of the Committee, and even worse, an attempted rape as a teenager: his current judgeship on the Appellate Court, his license to practice law, and perhaps his freedom is in jeopardy.
Judging from the reactions of the Republican Majority, there must have been some warning that Kavanaugh had problems with his background. When the letter from Dr. Ford became public, in only twenty-four hours a letter was produced with sixty-five female high school friends (not classmates – he went to an all-boys private school) attesting to Kavanaugh’s good behavior as a teenager.
And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was well known for saying he didn’t want Kavanaugh as the nominee. Perhaps McConnell was concerned backlash from Kavanaugh’s work on the Starr Investigation into President Clinton (resulting in Clinton’s impeachment,) but he might well have heard some rumors of “life as a Georgetown Prep Boy.”
Why does Kavanaugh appeal to President Trump?
Let’s get the ugly ones out of the way. Kavanaugh has problems with accusations of sexual assault and impropriety; certainly a situation the President shares. And Kavanaugh is tied into the “Clinton Conspiracy World:” he spent millions of taxpayer dollars re-investigating again and again Clinton staff member Vince Foster’s suicide, trying to tie the Clinton’s to his tragic death. He played “hard ball” with President Clinton, demanding that he be questioned about the intimate details of his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. (No wonder Kavanaugh thinks that the Clintons were trying to get “paybacks” – he’s earned them.)
All of these are attractions for a President who continues to use Hillary Clinton as his bête noire. And Trump is antagonistic to Bill Clinton as well; seeing him as “getting away” with same things he did.
Above that, Kavanaugh is a disciple of the Federalist Society, and represents the culmination of a forty year program to overtake the Supreme Court. The Federalist Society views themselves as “originalists” in interpreting the Constitution: taking the original meaning of the authors as the only meaning for the document. That the authors didn’t envision the problems of the current era can be solved only through legislation passed by Congress, not be expanding the interpretation of the authors words.
This view puts a premium on the property rights of individuals, and tight restrictions on the powers of both the legislature and the judiciary. A good example is the Supreme Court decision in Citizen’s United, where the Court viewed corporations as having free speech rights under the First Amendment, and therefore able to donate money directly to political campaigns. Further Court decisions have removed limits on much of campaign funding, calling dollar donations as an exercise in unlimited free speech.
The “right to privacy” integral to the Roe v Wade decision is another area of law that the Federalist Society would like to restrict. That expansion of the Due Process clause of the 14th Amendment is seen as far beyond the original scope of the authors.
Essentially then, the “originalists” would require that to expand the Constitution to meet the needs and views of a modern era, the Constitution would need to be constantly amended, a process that has only been done seventeen times in since 1791. This onerous exercise would prevent any kind of more rapid adaptation.
And Kavanaugh has espoused a view of the Presidency centralizing all authority of the Executive Branch in one office. President Trump, in Kavanaugh’s view, should be immune from not just indictment, but subpoena and any “questioning” by Executive branch departments (particularly Justice) as he has ultimate and total authority over them.
Kavanaugh sees the only check on the President as legislation passed by Congress and impeachment and removal from office. That view particularly must make him very popular with the current President.
Mitch McConnell has pledged to “ram Kavanaugh through.” Trump even last night called Kavanaugh a man of; “…really quality character, one of the most accomplished legal minds of our time, who has suffered…”
Regardless of the results of the FBI investigation, the Senate will vote on the fate of Judge Kavanaugh. Trump and McConnell are “all in;” there’s more for them to gain even in defeat (by the “Democrat conspiracy” Kavanaugh ranted about) then by withdrawal. Buckle up for this week!
I was thinking about this the other night. Do you think If Bill Clinton was in office now do you think he would of stay in office?
I don’t think he could be elected (though Trump was) and I still believe he should have resigned – not been impeached. The world would be a very different (and better) place