Kavanaugh was sworn in immediately, even while “social” justice warriors swarmed the Capital, vowing revenge in November and continued promises to disrupt the lives of those senators responsible for voting him in.
Enh. I have my own reservations about the newest Justice, which include his role in the eventual decision to make Vince Foster’s death a “suicide”. But that story won’t be aired again in our lifetime. Not until all the major players are long dead.
Kavanaugh also agreed with Roberts that ObamaCare was a tax. It’s a real burden for businesses, but a tax? More like a pox of bureaucracy visited on America by a Congress that has its own gold-plated health insurance for life.
So while I’m glad he made it through the Democrat-created hell they deliberately ignited in the Judiciary Committee – who likes that kind of cowardly behavior? – it remains to be seen just how conservative this fellow is.
Meanwhile, a month from today, we’ll see how this decision by the Senate plays out in the mid-term elections. Historically, the party in power loses the mid-terms but Trump’s election (and continuing high poll numbers) broke those rules in 2016 so we’ll have a better idea how this Senate vote affects things down the line. It may be the case that the historical template is broken beyond repair.
Will there be a higher turnout of voters than there usually is, especially among the Republicans?
Those SJWs are hopping mad, but do they actually register to vote or is this just theater?
Your words echo my thoughts, dear Dymphna. Kavanaugh is not even a Clarence Thomas natural law conservative. However, who wouldn’t root for the man after how the Commies attacked him?
Yes.
But by his own lights he follows the originalist philosophy when it comes to interpreting the Constitution. And he believes strongly in precedent. That stuff he did while working in the Clinton White House was different; the Big Court brings its own gravitas that can – and has – erased previous less fully-considered work.
Here is a decision arrived with sufficient gravitas to make its author a good legislator:
http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2018/10/susan-collins-why-i-voted-to-confirm.html
She explains the long route she took to arrive at her “yes” vote. An outstanding essay.
Once the Roberts’ court ruled it a tax, it should have immediately been overturned and the House made to vote on it again, as only the House can pass tax measures.
agreed…but people like Ryan and Eric Cantor were in charge then.
I too have my doubts about just how ‘conservative’ Kavanaugh is. I did not realize he had some responsibility for the decision calling Vince Foster’s death a suicide – something I have never accepted. As I recall, Foster’s family said he took his faith (also Catholic) very seriously, and would never have considered suicide. (Also that no suicide by handgun in history has ever held the gun in the grip the coroner said Foster did, to explain the ballistics.)
Further, while Kavanaugh may be an extremely good legal mind, and jurist, he is also a life-long denizen of ‘inside the Beltway,’ and may also be an at least occasional swimmer in the Swamp, or its related pudddles, given his previous jobs. His educational background IS ‘elitist,’ all the way. (I taught, for a brief period in ’83-’84, at Georgetown Prep School, and it certainly qualifies.) Doug Casey, the investor, refuses to concede the title ‘constitutionalist’ to Kavanaugh (though partly on the grounds that the Constitution has already been eviscerated).
Cold-war era Communists would often denounce people they secretly favoured, as a tactic to bolster that person’s credibility with anti-Communists. But I think you, and Caroline Beckenhaupt, are right : one need only look at who Kavanaugh’s enemies were, and their ‘intergalactic freak show,’ as Sen Kennedy memorably termed it, to be glad he made it through the farce. Let’s pray he turns out better than we might fear.
The fight over the nomination is a symptom of a far larger problem in my opinion. No one would care about who is on the Supreme Court if they did not have such power over the lives of every American. Coastal liberals don’t want to be dictated to any more than midwest conservatives do. It would be good if Kavanaugh and his right-leaning counterparts start to roll back the power of the federal government over our lives, but I am not optimistic.
Already complaining. Sheesh. We won. Enjoy it for a day.
Now, ain’t that truth!
Perhaps we can lower the stakes and the viciousness of Supreme Court confirmations by limiting their appointments to one 18 year term. I see Obamacare/Romneycare/Heritagecare as a liberation from corporate serfdom, especially for those who prefer to freelance or start their own businesses.
I enjoyed your hearings but am extremely unimpressed that you think Vince
Foster committed suicide.Perhaps you should revisit the case,
I had been doing just that the other day and found mention of Kavanaugh’s role in the Grand Jury proceedings when, iirc, he worked for the White House. That was one of his six clearances by the FBI.
We do what we believe, and we are what we do. Kavanaugh’s actions during the hearings speak louder than his older opinions. I was particularly impressed at his bringing the beer keg in…..that was not the action of a craven jelly-spined individual. Given what happened to Scalia, he cannot be unaware of the potential costs of his appointment.
Moreover, experiences have a strong effect on belief. I suspect that the Honorable Justice Kavanaugh may believe somewhat differently than His Honor the DC judge. The Left has made a life-long enemy of this man. He may have been willingly swimming in the moral sewer of Mordor-on-the-Potomac for most of his life, but I suspect his views have changed recently; sincere threats have a way of doing that.
Although he may never admit it to himself, he has an excellent idea now of what will happen to him and his family should right fail and wrong prevail, and mob rule become reality. On a related note, it appears that Trump is starting to gain control over the NSA files that were used to cement Barry Soetero in power; that transition may result in a significant shift in the Roberts Court’s opinions.
Time will tell, and it will be interesting (in the sense of the old Chinese curse!) to watch this unfold.