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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You talk about conservatism as if it was a dirty word, it is not, and most average conservatives are “Constitutionalist” at heart, even better I would call them “originalist,” even better I call the American patriots! Now to correct you on what you wrote: if Roe v. Wade were to be overturned it would not “therefore banning the medical procedure and making it illegal for a doctor to perform” it would return it to the states, it would not “rape women of control over their own bodies and millions of American females will no longer have a safe way to undergo an abortion.” Each State as granted in the US Constitution’s Tenth Amendment would have the right and obligation to pass legislation for its citizens. I personally believe that all adult women should have the availability of safe legal abortions with some limited restrictions (no late term abortions for non-health reasons). Stop blaming the Republicans for this, in 2009 the Democrats had control of the House, the Senate and the Whites House and could have passed a “Federal LAW” legalizing abortion on a Federal level, the Democrats never put it to the floor knowing even with majorities in both Houses it did not have the votes to pass. They did this also to keep the Roe v, Wade issue alive as a campaign issue. To correct you again the Supreme Court does not pass laws, it rules on the constitutionality of laws, so your statement “Pence will go full speed ahead to push anti-abortion laws through the U.S. Supreme Court” is incorrect. When Judge Kavanaugh stated that he would "faithfully and fully" uphold Roe v. Wade he was being confirmed for the Federal Court which has the obligation to uphold Supreme Court rulings but if confirmed as a USSC Justice he will have the obligation to apply the Constitution to his opinions and rulings. As for the President many Constitutional scholars believe that the only legal investigations against a sitting President is those going for impeachment, if a President is impeached, then convicted and removed from office the justice system can then investigate and prosecute for any and all crimes. Why would it be a ludicrous thought for a President to pardon himself, the Constitution states “he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment” it seems to state that a President can pardon anyone at any time for any offence against the USA except in Cases of Impeachment, why not himself. Mitch McConnell is not a hypocrite, there is a big difference in a Presidential Election year and a midterm, remember it was Uncle Joe Biden that stated that in a Presidential election year the President should “delay filling a Supreme Court vacancy, should one arise, until the presidential election was over, and that it was “essential” that the Senate refuse to confirm a nominee to the court until then.” NOT A MIDTERM YEAR! You stated “Trump should not be permitted to nominate a Supreme Court justice while he is under an active criminal investigation” well per the Justice Department and the office of Special Counsel the President is “NOT” under criminal investigation. If you want to take away his Presidential power do what the Constitution says to do “impeach him” the problem you have is there is NO evidence that he did anything illegal or impeachable, the Democrats trying to do that could bring on a Civil War. If your side wins and you try and make America a left wing socialist anti-constitutional nation I hope we can all kiss the United States of America - as we know it under Democrat rule – goodbye and bring back the right of center America that is a beacon of hope for the world, not a leftwing failure of a nation that we were headed for under Democrat rule.
ReplyDeleteThe response to the above reader will be in THREE parts.
DeletePART ONE OF THREE
There are four states that willl ban abortions at the moment the Supreme Court were to overturn Roe v. Wade. Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, and South Dakota have "trigger laws" that would automatically ban abortion if Roe is reversed. A total of 22 states are likely to ban all abortions if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. So my statements in my column are, in fact, true. "Should Kavanaugh be confirmed, Americans' fundamental rights will be in jeopardy" so " 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." And don't tell me that there are 50 states so that 28 states may still have legalized abortions. That doesn't help the women who live in one of the 22 states. If those women don't have the money to travel to one of the other 28 states then it's off to a butcher with a coat hanger.
There is nothing for you to "correct" me, as I never stated that the Supreme Court passes laws. I am correct in stating that "Pence will go full speed ahead to push anti-abortion laws through the U.S. Supreme Court." The meaning of my statement is that Pence will do everything he can to get Roe v. Wade overturned and that Pence will - in any way he can - make his point known to the justices of the Supreme Court.
Kavanaugh flip-flopped on his thoughts about Roe v. Wade. Plain and simple.
Donald Trump can NOT pardon himself. At least not now. Constitutional and legal scholars nationwide have stated that Trump can in no way - at least, at present - pardon himself. But the Supreme Court can change that. And with Brett Kavanaugh's writings, he would indeed be in favor of allowing a president to pardon himself. This is such a ludicrous argument on your part and the part of Trump and other Republicans. If a president could pardon himself then why didn't Richard Nixon pardon himself before he resigned? Why did President Gerald Ford need to pardon him? Here's why. Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution specifically does not allow the president of the United States to pardon "in cases of impeachment." Therefore, constitutional and legal scholars nationwide have stated that if Trump is subject to impeachment at the time of a pardon, that pardon would be unconstitutional. So obviously, Trump would not resign unless (as it was with Nixon) impeachment proceedings had begun. And if impeachment proceedings are underway and Trump attempts to pardon himself before being impeached...such a pardon would not be legal.
GBD
END OF PART ONE OF THREE
PART TWO OF THREE
DeleteYou can NOT spin the matter of Mitch McConnell by saying "there is a big difference in a presidential election year and a mid-term." That doesn't fly. Not when all 435 Members of the House of Representative and 35 U.S. senators are up for re-election. McConnell is indeed a hyprocrite. And all the Democrats need to do is to stay firm with all 49 senators and if Chuck Schumer can get one Republican to jump ship, then there'll be no confirmation hearings for Kavanaugh.
Donald Trump is not a "target" in a criminal investigation, but he IS a "subject" in a criminal investigation. No matter how you want to spin it, Trump is still under an investigation and he should not have the right to nominate a Supreme Court justice when there is the possibility of Trump being impeached and removed from office.
There is plenty of "evidence" that Donald Trump has committed crimes. But as numerous legal scholars have stated, there is a legal difference between "evidence" and "proof." Therefore, special counsel Robert Mueller needs the "proof." And I believe he is putting it all together as we speak...or, in this case, as I write. Trump's approval numbers are dropping again...and they will soon plummet below 30 percent. If that happens and 70 percent of the country wants Trump out, there'll be no "Civil War" when nearly three-quarters of Americans agree that Trump should be impeached. Read that last sentence again before you wrongly comment. But there could be a Civil War if the Supreme Court becomes so conservative that Roe v. Wade is overturned, Obamacare is repealed so that millions of people can't get health insurance, and gay rights, other womens' rights, and numerous other minority rights are thrown in to the garbage.
GBD
END OF PART TWO OF THREE
PART THREE OF THREE
DeleteI just hope - as I have written in the past - that Mueller can prove that Trump is, in fact, guilty of conspiring with the Russians, of treason and of obstruction of justice...and that he resigns - as Nixon did - before America is put through impeachment hearings, but after those hearings have begun. I also hope that Mueller can prove that Mike Pence is, in fact, guilty of a cover-up, so that he is forced to resign. And I hope that the Democrats win back the House especially (and the Senate) come this November 6th so that once January comes along and Trump and Pence resign then the new Democratic speaker of the house will become president so that the United States can go back to being a nation that is respected by the world and a country that can go back on track to being a first-rate liberal progressive democracy that can be loved by the vast majority of Americans and by our allies that Trump has abandoned and insulted. Aaron Sorkin himself couldn't write a better ending to a political thriller.
GBD
END OF PART THREE OF THREE