By Douglas V. Gibbs
The announcement of the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy came as a surprise to many. For me, a sense of relief came quickly. Kennedy is a 60% conservative, and serves often as the swing vote in an otherwise split Supreme Court of the United States.
I have a saying about Justice Kennedy. He votes based on the side of the bed he awoke on in the morning, be it the left side, or the right side.
Then, Justice Kennedy gave us the greatest gift he could ever give America, and the U.S. Constitution … he announced his retirement half way through the first term of a President that would replace him with a constitutional originalist. Also, the gift reaches further. Knowing that the Democrats will do everything they can to attack and stop the appointment of such a qualified justice, it will get the voters to come out in droves to make sure the Democrat Party’s dreamed of blue wave won’t happen.
The new pick by President Donald J. Trump to replace Kennedy on the high court is Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who has a brilliant judicial mind, and ranks among the best nominees that Trump could have chosen. He came from a list of twenty-five candidates being considered, which also shows us the transparency of this president.
Kavanaugh says he reveres the U.S. Constitution. That will make his battle through Senate confirmation a tough ride. The Democrats see an originalist view of the Constitution as a danger to progressivism, and the America they are trying to erect.
He’s a devout Catholic, as well, which also scares the Democrats. Remember how Amy Coney Barrett was hammered for daring to be devout in her faith by the Democrats during her confirmation hearing last year?
Judge Kavanaugh has spent 12 years in the D.C. Circuit Court, was once a clerk for Justice Kennedy (along with Justice Gorsuch, by the way), and he is a graduate of Yale University. He is qualified, and his judicial resume is quite a conservative one.
Hence, the reason protesters are outside the Supreme Court building protesting and spreading fear like Teddy Kennedy did when Bork was the nominee way back during Ronald Reagan’s presidency.
In his speech accepting Trump’s nomination, Kavanaugh referred to the Founders’ desire to “secure the Blessings of Liberty” as a very important part of the U.S. Constitution . . . a statement that refers to natural law and our God-given rights.
“A judge must interpret the law, not make the law. A judge must interpret the law as written. A judge must interpret the Constitution as written.”
While I am not a fan of the word “interpret” when it comes to judges, I picked up on what Judge Kavanaugh was trying to say. He was referring to the black letter of the law, not case law (which is a web of judicial opinion the Democrats and leftists have used to reshape the Constitution and usurp it at every opportunity).
Kavanaugh’s faith and devotion to his family came out in his speech as well, when he said, “I thank God every day for my family.”
He reminded us that the judicial system must abide by the U.S. Constitution, and he explained, “I revere the Constitution, I believe an independent judiciary is the crown jewel of our republic. . . I will always always strive to preserve the Constitution of the United States, and the rule of law.”
Rule of Law.
Preserving the rule of law means that he understands that the Constitution is the law of the land, and the Congress are the makers of federal law, which tells me that Kavanaugh has no interest in legislating from the bench. His past rulings as a lower court judge, and his accompanying opinions, confirm his originalist viewpoint.
The Democrats, as they did with Bork, and tried to do with Clarence Thomas, which led to the future member of the United States Supreme Court using sharp words about the liberal left politicians, at one point calling their tactics “high tech lynching” . . .
are claiming that if Kavanaugh is confirmed by the Senate, and appointed to the United States Supreme Court, there will be some kind of dystopian nightmare that will descend upon America, setting us back to the horse and buggy days, stripping everyone of their rights, and killing our Constitution as the Democrats deem it to be.
Of course, the opposite is true. The real dystopian nightmare would be in place if Hillary Clinton had won the presidency, and she had picked these last two Supreme Court nominees.
As for me, the very fact that Kavanaugh reveres the Constitution puts a smile on my face. I just hope he continues to revere it, follow it, and defend it.
I think Kavanaugh will be confirmed quickly, but it will be very ugly. The Democrats will do all they can to stop Kavanaugh from getting the appointment (hoping to wear him down as they attack him and his family), but they don’t want to stretch the circus out to Election Day in November, for if they are so obstructive that Kavanaugh still hasn’t taken his seat in the high court (and he still hasn’t succumbed to the attacks and withdrawn), they would not only have no chance for a blue wave, a Republican wave of wins would sweep the entire countryside to keep the Democrats from continuing their obstructionist strategies.
On a side note, the media took no time when it came to attacking Trump’s pick, even before the pick had actually been made.
ABC News’ “Nightline” wasted no time, claiming reporter Terry Moran was reporting on President Trump’s “controversial Supreme Court Justice pick and the possible implications for the country,” well before Trump announced the nominee.
“Nightline” tweeted: Tonight on Nightline, @TerryMoran reports on the controversial Supreme Court Justice pick and the possible implications for the country. pic.twitter.com/sXES8hxr65
The response was swift by those who caught on to ABC’s preemptive attack against whoever Trump has chosen:
The President hasn’t even named a nominee yet so it’s very interesting to report them as “controversial.” https://t.co/LwEtUzkU0h
ABC News has already labeled Trump’s Supreme Court nominee as “controversial.” The pick has not been announced, and they don’t even know who it is. https://t.co/bmKG1vNj2ipic.twitter.com/R7SwOEwwgF
Unannounced Supreme Court pick already branded “controversial” https://t.co/GmIi4TJpo6
You don’t know who the pick is and he/she is already “controversial?” https://t.co/NnYFcpN1ol
ABC News did later issue a correction, one of which would have never been issued if they hadn’t been caught and reprimanded so heavily by the court of public and peer opinion:
CORRECTION: Tonight on Nightline, @TerryMoran reports on the controversy surrounding the Supreme Court Justice pick and the possible implications for the country. https://t.co/3Jir9exzXL…
— Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary