We - the people of the United States of America - as a nation...cannot permit the corrupt and bigoted Donald Trump and the obscene Republican-controlled Senate...to hand over the soon-to-be vacated Supreme Court seat...to a conservative jurist who will sink our country to depths that could likely take half-a-century or more to recover...if ever.
Kavanaugh is a federal appeals court judge in Maryland and he's a former Kennedy clerk. Kennedy is the longest-serving justice on the Supreme Court. By stepping down, Kennedy - who was, in essence, the court's pivotal tie-breaker - is giving Trump an open door to change the balance and the dynamic of the court for generations.
Should Kavanaugh be confirmed, Americans' fundamental rights will be in jeopardy. Roe v. Wade - the landmark decision, which in 1973 legalized abortion nationwide - could be overturned...therefore banning the medical procedure and making it illegal for a doctor to perform. If the Roe ruling is reversed, the U.S. Supreme Court will rape women of control over their own bodies and millions of American females will no longer have a safe way to undergo an abortion. According to research and analysis from October 2017 by Guttmacher Institute and published in the American Journal of Public Health, about one in four (23.7 percent) American women will have an abortion by age 45. But the vast majority of congressional Republicans don't give a damn about women continuing to take command of their own health. If they did, they wouldn't support Brett Kavanaugh. It, therefore, nauseates me to even imagine that women's rights would be violated if Roe v. Wade is thrown into the trash. Let us remember, however, that during the 2016 presidential campaign, GOP candidate Trump pledged - if faced with the opportunity - to only nominate Supreme Court justices who would strive to get rid of Roe. That being said...a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll says that nearly three-quarters of Americans do not want Roe v. Wade to be touched. According to the survey - which was published on July 23rd, 2018 - 71 percent of the country is in favor of letting Roe remain as is and for it not to be overturned or changed in any way. Only 23 percent of Americans want abortion to be outlawed. In addition, 88 percent of Democrats...76 percent of Independents...and 52 percent - the majority - of Republicans support keeping Roe.
In 2009, Judge Kavanaugh stated that he would "faithfully and fully" uphold Roe v. Wade. But that was nine years ago...and - as with anyone else - a judge can... and has the right...to change his mind. And Kavanaugh did in September 2017. In a speech at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC, Kavanaugh showed his true colors when he became a cheerleader for the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist who - forty-four years earlier - dissented in Roe v. Wade.
Trump's number one henchman in their effort to crush women's rights to smithereens is Mike Pence. When he was governor of Indiana, Pence made it his personal mission to pass cruel and heartless laws that prevented the women of "The Hoosier State" from receiving the care they needed. If Brett Kavanaugh takes a seat on the "big bench," Pence will go full speed ahead to push anti-abortion laws through the U.S. Supreme Court.
But does Donald Trump really care whether Brett Kavanaugh is pro-choice or pro-life? There were a number of people on Trump's list of possible nominees who oppose a woman's right to have an abortion should she choose to do so. More than Roe v. Wade, Trump is certainly aware - before all is said and done - that his legal battles and the scandals that will eventually demolish his presidency...might end up before the Supreme Court. And Trump knows that it's Kavanaugh who has already written that he would have "The Donald's" back if it becomes apparent that Trump is looking at impeachment or perhaps even prison. It is, without question, unacceptable for Kavanaugh to be considered for the high court.
In 2009, Kavanaugh wrote in the Minnesota Law Review that U.S. presidents should not be disturbed by a criminal investigation. Kavanaugh spelled out in black and white that a president should be exempt from "time consuming and distracting" investigations. Furthermore, Kavanaugh penned that a sitting president should not be indicted. Therefore, protecting his own butt is all Trump was concerned about when he decided to nominate Kavanaugh. As such, Kavanaugh should not ever be confirmed, as it would be a conflict of interest.
Trump thinks he can pardon himself. On June 4th, 2018, he tweeted..."As has been stated by numerous legal scholars, I have the absolute right to PARDON myself." And based on Kavanaugh's beliefs noted above, he very well might agree with Trump's ludicrous thought.
As the court's swing vote in many vital cases, Justice Kennedy - in addition to preserving Roe v. Wade - also joined liberals in banning capital punishment for the youngest offenders...and he supported the legislation for same-sex marriage. As for Judge Kavanaugh, his record on LGBTQ issues provides a scant amount of information. However gays and lesbians are worried that, if confirmed, Kavanaugh could quite possibly capsize their constitutional rights. As the religious conservative that he is, Kavanaugh would probably be in favor of not allowing gay men and lesbian women to wed another person of the same gender.
Despite the aforementioned speculation about Kavanaugh, as of May 23rd, 2018, more than two-thirds of Americans are in agreement for same-sex marriage. A Gallup poll indicates that 67 percent of our nation's voters approve of gay marriage. The survey shows that 83 percent of Democrats...71 percent of Independents...and even 44 percent of Republicans express support for two men or two women to enter in to matrimony. To destroy marriage equality in the United States would return America to an age of despicable discrimination against homosexual human beings who have the right to share their lives as husband and husband or as wife and wife, just as two heterosexual people - a man and a woman - have the right to wed. We cannot turn back the clock and sabotage generations of progress. Confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh - or any conservative Supreme Court nominee - will erase many years...decades...of liberal progressive achievements. It is scary to envision a conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court. Rulings by such a group of jurists would not only be frightening, but disastrous for America. In addition, privacy rights would be attacked and unions would be weakened. Plus...Kavanaugh is on record for applauding former Chief Justice Rehnquist who was an advocate for prayer in public schools.
For me personally though...it is the signature legislative achievement of President Barack Obama that is most important to my life and well-being. Therefore, as a two-time cancer survivor with other pre-existing conditions, the Affordable Care Act cannot be repealed. But by adding another conservative to the Supreme Court, I - and millions of other Americans - will probably lose our health insurance.
A conservative Supreme Court would be disgusting and devastating. Basic civil and human rights could be gutted. Americans must fight to prevent any chance of Brett Kavanaugh being confirmed.
Writing this particular column is something I should not have to do. After all, Republicans - in 2016 - stole President Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wouldn't even permit hearings to be conducted for Judge Merrick Garland because McConnell claimed that since we were in an election year...(voters weren't heading to the polls for eight months)...it would be inappropriate to decide on a Supreme Court justice until after the election. When Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the electoral vote, it gave him a pathway to replace the late Associate Justice Antonin Scalia with Neil Gorsuch. However...now that we are once again in an election year - when all 435 members of the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 senators are to be contested - what's good for the goose is good for the gander. And this time, it's only a little more than three months before an election. In no way should a decision be made on a Supreme Court justice until after the mid-terms on November 6th.
By all rights, there should have been a hearing for Judge Garland two years ago. But Senator McConnell knew that Garland would have been confirmed. So McConnell acted as if he was God and did something he should not have done. But because he did, the Kentucky Republican should go along with the same rules and not hold hearings for Kavanaugh until the ballots are counted following the November election. This should be a no-brainer. But as I wrote in a Facebook posting on June 27th, 2018, my next line would be too easy, so I'll just let you imagine what it would be.
Democrats in the Senate - led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York - must fight tooth and nail to not give Republicans the opportunity to hold hearings before the mid-term elections.
Americans must have a say on who should be on the Supreme Court. And the only way we will be able to have any input is by voting for senators who will confirm or not confirm a justice. Come November, it will be the American people who will decide who has control of the Senate and the House...the Democrats or the Republicans. Thus, it is only proper for the Republicans to follow the same practice that they did two years ago. But Mitch McConnell is a hypocrite. Hopefully, all 49 Democrats will stand together and 2 Republicans will jump ship to join the Democrats. Senate Republicans changed the rules in 2017 so that only a simple majority vote would confirm a Supreme Court nominee. The G.O.P. senators did away with the 60-vote requirement. By doing so, Republicans strangled to death the filibuster. Officially, the G.O.P. has a narrow 51 to 49 majority in the Senate. But with Arizona's Republican Senator John McCain sadly battling brain cancer, that brings the Republican maximum vote down to 50. If the Democrats can sway 1 Republican to stop Kavanaugh's nomination, the 50 to 49 will become 49 to 50 with Democrats winning. And there would be no victory for Brett Kavanaugh...for Mitch McConnell... for Mike Pence...for Donald Trump...and for the Republicans.
Of equal importance with this issue...Trump should not be permitted to nominate a Supreme Court justice while he is under an active criminal investigation. No president who is being investigated and who could possibly be impeached and removed from office for allegedly committing crimes against the country - including allegations of treason - should not have legal authorization to select a Supreme Court justice. And as we are all cognizant of...Donald Trump is a subject in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe. So if Congress eventually uses Trump's catch phrase from NBC's The Apprentice...and tells him..."You're fired!"...then a president who in the future could be convicted...or even one who resigns the office because of illegal activities...has no business picking a jurist...whose appointment is for life. A president who could possibly be given the boot should not be changing the make-up of the Supreme Court.
"I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is a disgrace...that two become a law firm...and that three or more become a congress." That quote is attributed to John Adams...one of our Founding Fathers who spearheaded the notion of American independence. But the 2nd president of the United States didn't actually utter the above words. It was actor William Daniels who did, when - in the 1969 play 1776...and in the 1972 motion picture with the same title - he brilliantly portrayed the Massachusetts representative from his colony's delegation to the Continental Congress. The witty remark was written by the play's author and movie's screenwriter, Peter Stone. But whether articulated by John Adams on the floor of the Continental Congress...or only by William Daniels who played Mr. Adams on the Broadway stage and on the Hollywood silver screen...the clever proverb makes a hell of a lot of sense...especially today while the 45th president occupies The White House, and Congress is controlled by Republicans, all of whom are willing to take away certain Americans' human and civil rights.
On June 27th, I tweeted that America could be facing its second Civil War and, if such a conflict becomes a reality, Donald Trump would be the cause. My words are in no way intended to be hyperbole...just genuine caution and fear of what could very possibly happen if the Senate grants a hearing to Brett Kavanaugh and if he is confirmed. I am absolutely not promoting U.S. Civil War II or the deadly violence that would accompany it...but countries have gone to war for reasons a lot less important than the appointment of a Supreme Court justice.
Justice Anthony Kennedy - on June 27th - announced that he will retire on July 31st. If Judge Kavanaugh - or any other ultra-conservative - is confirmed by the Senate...then the lives of millions of women, gays, and people with pre-existing conditions...not to mention the lives of African-Americans, Latinos and other minorities...will be ruined...and we can all kiss the United States of America - as we know it now - goodbye.
And that's The Controversy for today.
I'm Gary B. Duglin.
"We'll talk again."
The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions. Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.
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