Lasting Impressions- Brett Kavanaugh’s Confirmation Hearings
This week’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, in the end, proved to be predictable, mundane and largely a futile waste of time and purpose. Yet for those who invested the hours requisite to witness the hearings, there were nevertheless some lasting impressions that will remain with us for a considerable time to come.
First and foremost, President Donald Trump has selected a man eminently qualified to become his second appointment as an associate justice on the United States Supreme Court- and that is quite an understatement.
Like Justice Neil Gorsuch before him, Judge Kavanaugh proved himself to be a jurist of uncommon wisdom and the breadth of his knowledge is, in a word, staggering. With an encyclopedic knowledge of history and the proper role of the judiciary as the essential third branch of our nation’s government, he showed a watching audience the sheer wisdom of his selection, and no one can argue that he is not qualified to don the robe of a Supreme Court associate justice. At age 53, Judge Kavanaugh can anticipate a long career on the nation’s highest court, and it is not unreasonable to suggest he might someday prove to become the eventual successor to Chief Justice John Roberts, ten years his senior. That he will be confirmed is just short of an absolute certainty and his confirmation hearings will prove to be nothing more than a pro forma exercise of the Senate’s “advice and consent” function, as delineated in the U.S. Constitution.
What’s more, Judge Kavanaugh outclassed everyone in the room- bar none.
Secondly, Republican Senators did a reasonably good job of examining the candidate for insights into his judicial philosophy. A self-described “textualist” whose approach to justice is based upon the language of the Constitution’s framers, Judge Kavanaugh responded to their questions with alacrity and prescience. In so doing, showed that he was well prepared for the intelligent questions posed to him by Republicans on the Judiciary Committee. With the exception of anti-Trump/NeverTrump Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) whose first three questions were not-so-veiled attempts to once again hurl insults toward the President who nominated Judge Kavanaugh, the remaining Republican interrogation was probative and, at times, even profound- best exemplified in Kavanaugh’s answer to Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) when he was asked about which of the Federalist Papers were his favorite. His answer to that question was nothing short of brilliant and, for anyone watching, a consummate lesson on the mindset of those who authored the Papers and the wisdom with which they established the foundation of the American government.
Thirdly, while the Republican Senators were largely probative, their Democrat counterparts were perfunctory at best, and petulant to say the least. Their puerile attempts to sabotage the hearings, in a coordinated succession of objections to the hearings right at the onset, showed themselves to be the south ends of northbound horses. The fact that every single member of the committee’s Democrat caucus had already made up their minds to oppose his nomination from the get-go, showed the disingenuousness of their protestations about the number of documents released concerning Judge Kavanaugh- a number approaching one half million- more than five times the number of his immediate predecessors, combined. Had 100% of the documents requested been provided, their votes to oppose his nomination would remain unchanged and this effort to sabotage his hearings was nothing more than an expression of sore losers who still cannot seem to wrap their heads around an election which took place almost two years ago.
Worse, the “Spartacus” self-analogy made by Senator Corey Booker (D-NJ), referring to his release of four documents that were originally designated “committee confidential” while attempting to throw himself on the altar of senatorial sacrifice, showed the New Jersey Senator to be nothing short of an ass-clown. He knew before-hand that the documents to which he referred had already been released for public consumption, but that didn’t keep him from displaying the histrionics that have become his stock-in-trade, all in an attempt to promote his candidacy for the 2020 Presidential Election. Not to be outdone, Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) displayed similar tactics, again in an effort to promote herself as a presidential candidate, and nothing more. From their questioning, it was fairly easy to tell which of the Democrats on the committee have presidential aspirations, and their ulterior motives were as obvious as they were pathetic.
Finally, the protesters who at regular intervals attempted to disrupt the hearings with moronic and screaming outbursts, showed that they too were coordinated in their vocal objections and it was obvious that their actions were paid for by the likes of George Soros, and company, despite media reporting to the contrary. Their outbursts came at seventeen-minute intervals. Such precision is hardly the work of unplanned and spontaneous efforts. Sadly, such behavior will prove to be politically counter-productive at best, and a threat to the future of such hearings remaining open to the public, at worst.
Sad that the nomination of an eminently-qualified Associate Supreme Court Justice has come to this, but nevertheless comforting to all that a man of such high caliber will be there to take his rightful part on the nation’s highest court.
So, to Judge (and soon-to-be Justice) Brett Kavanaugh, we extend long life and best wishes.
-Drew Nickell, 7 September 2018
© 2018 by Drew Nickell, all rights reserved.
author of “Bending Your Ear- a Collection of Essays on the Issues of Our Times”
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