Hon. Brett Kavanaugh

There have been screams of anguish, wailings, and lamentations from “the Left,” since President Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to be an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.  Predictable.  When Barack Obama nominated now Associate Justices Elena Keegan and Sonia Sotomayor, I felt the same way.

Many of the things I feared following the confirmation of President Obama’s nominees did not take place.  The world did not come to an end.  The court made some decisions that I did not agree with, but as President Obama said, “Elections have consequences.”  To quote Vice President Pence, we are watching “democracy in action.”

The Senate voted 68 to 31 to confirm Justice Sotomayor.  The Democratic vote was unanimous, and nine Republicans also voted for her. (www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/06/sonia.sotomayor/)

The vote for Justice Kagan was 63 to 37. Five Republicans supported Kagan.  One Democrat voted against her.  (www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/05/AR2010080505247.html?noredirect=on)

It is interesting to note that the Senate confirmation vote on Justice Gorsuch was 54-45.  One Republican did not vote.  Otherwise, the Republican vote was unanimous, and Justice Gorsuch was also supported by three Democrats. (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/04/07/us/politics/gorsuch-confirmation-vote.html)

The point is that these recent confirmation votes have been the result of partisan politics, rather than the candidates’ qualifications.  In my own employment history, I have been interviewed for jobs many times.  In most of these my qualifications were the primary consideration, and none of the jobs were nearly as important as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.  When we turn on our TV’s, or read the news on websites, how much of the discussion is about whether the Supreme Court nominee is qualified?  The bulk of the discussion is speculation about how confirmation would impact hot button cultural issues.

So, please tell me what is wrong with this picture?  Supreme Court Justices serve for a long time.  In some cases it seems like forever (Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg).  During their tenure, they have a huge impact on our country.  Maybe somebody needs to examine their qualifications; and not just the record of their decisions.

Following are a few of the salient considerations for deciding Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s qualifications:

•       He was born 1965 in Washington, DC, and he earned his bachelor’s and Juris Doctor’s degrees from Yale.

• ·         He served as a Law clerk for the Hon. Walter K. Stapleton, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 1990-1991; the Hon. Alex Kozinski, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1991-1992; and the Hon. Anthony M. Kennedy, Supreme Court of the United States, 1993-1994

•      He was an Attorney, Office of the Solicitor General, U.S. Department of Justice, 1992-1993; and an Associate independent counsel, Whitewater investigation, 1994-1997, 1998

• ·         He was an Attorney in private practice from 1997-1998, and 1999-2001

• ·         President George W. Bush appointed him Associate counsel, 2001-2003; and Senior associate counsel, 2003

• ·         From 2003 – 2006; he served as Assistant to the President and staff secretary for President George W. Bush

• ·         In 2006 he was nominated by President Bush and confirmed by the Senate to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.  He also received two recess appointments to the same position.

 (https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/kavanaugh-brett-m)

I think that a reasonable person would conclude that Judge Kavanaugh has the qualifications needed to be nominated for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.  It is my position that barring any history of moral turpitude, criminal behavior, or malfeasance of office any qualified nominee put forward by the President should receive fair consideration for confirmation, without political bias or animas, by the U.S. Senate.  The world will not come to an end.

Further, President Trump has represented Judge Kavanaugh to be person who will make decisions that strictly adhere to the U.S. Constitution and the law.  We need a conservative majority on the high court to keep the Liberals from legislating by case law what they do not have enough support for in the Legislative Branch.  Like a lot of other Americans, I am sick of judges who legislate from the bench.

According to urban legend, a judge is a lawyer with an IQ of 70.  All I ask is that they stick to the letter of the law and also use some common sense once in a while.

I will leave you with some thoughts from Isiah:

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;

Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight!

Isiah 5:20-21 (NASB)