Despite the pleas and protests of many, Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed last week to the US Supreme Court. In a controversial 50-48 vote, the senate elevated Judge Kavanaugh to the highest court in the land and the President declared him vindicated as a judge and “innocent” of all allegations. But, I can’t help but wonder, what did Brett Kavanaugh think?
I’m sure present-day Brett was very proud of his accomplishments and glad he wouldn’t have to jump through any more hoops for the seat he felt he’d earned, but what of past Brett? Brett from just days before October 5, 2018 when he was penning his Wall Street Journal opinion piece entitled “I am an Independent, Impartial Judge”, explaining what a Supreme Court judge should be…
The senate confirmed Brett Kavanaugh in a 50-48 vote. Three more “no” votes would have tipped the results in the opposite direction. Brett himself told the senate many times that he should not be a Justice, but it seems most were not listening. Using his Wall Street Journal piece, let’s look at three times Judge Kavanaugh voted “no” to Justice Kavanaugh.
“…a good judge must be an umpire—a neutral and impartial arbiter who favors no political party, litigant or policy.”
Kavanaugh’s opening statement was the rant heard round the world. In it he exposed himself as partisan and for folks like former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and Arizona senator Jeff Flake, his performance was concerning.
Judge Kavanaugh accused the democratic party of “a calculated and orchestrated political hit, fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election, fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record, revenge on behalf of the Clintons, and millions of dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition groups.”
This doesn’t sound neutral and impartial to me. It didn’t sound that way to the Arizona senator or a former SCOTUS Justice and I don’t think it would seem that was to past Brett. Judge Kavanaugh votes NO.
“…a judge must be independent, not swayed by public pressure.”
Judge Kavanaugh repeated this sentiment in his opening statement and doubled down that he was such a judge. During his interview with Fox News in which he addressed his accusations in an even keeled and assertive manner, he defended himself in the way I would think a judge “not swayed by public pressure” might.
My opinion changed however with his performance during his opening statement. He yelled, he cried, and was visibly and verbally angry and emotional. It called into question his temperament for many and makes one wonder, what changed between the Fox interview and the opening statement? While we can only speculate about Brett’s motivations, it is important to note that in the time between these two events it was reported that President Trump was upset he wasn’t fighting for himself hard enough. While I believe in some coincidences, I cannot be sure that past Brett does. Judge Kavanaugh votes NO.
“I am a pro-law judge.”
This may be true when applied to others, but it seems present-day Brett is not a pro-law judge when it comes to his own high school behaviors. He shared in his opening statement: “My friends and I sometimes got together and had parties on weekends. The drinking age was 18 in Maryland for most of my time in high school and was 18 in D.C. for all of my time in high school.”
The legal drinking age was raised to 21 in Maryland in 1982. At that time, Kavanaugh was 17 years old. This is also the time in question for Christine Blasey Ford’s accusations. While no one can be faulted for something as commonplace as a little underage drinking, I find it alarming that Judge Kavanaugh, a “pro-law judge”, would a) attempt to excuse such behavior and b) lie about it to mislead the public. It’s a small thing, but if he will lie about this, what else could he lie about?
Past Brett couldn’t possibly, in good conscience, approve such a duplicitous and hypocritical person. Judge Kavanaugh votes NO.
Brett Kavanaugh does not meet his own standard of what a Supreme Court Justice should be. He voted “no” on Justice Kavanaugh time and time again, but it seems senators were not interested in the opinions of Judge Kavanaugh; only the confirmation of Justice Kavanaugh. Judge Kavanaugh’s “no”s went ignored. I’m sure his accusers can relate.