Brett Kavanaugh has 'the Force' with him, for now
With his friendly face and charming family, Judge Brett Kavanaugh appears to offer President Donald Trump the good looks right out of "central casting" that our first reality-show president said he was seeking in a nominee to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.
But in a confirmation process that is expected to be as contentious as "Star Wars," civil rights and abortion rights groups see in Kavanaugh a candidate without much Luke Skywalker in him -- and a lot of Darth Vader.
May the Force be with them, I say. They'll need it. In the expected multimillion dollar battle of TV ads and spin doctors over Kavanaugh's confirmation, the Empire led by President Trump still has the edge, unless some big surprises turn up.
Such was the plot twist that sunk the conservative U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Robert Bork's nomination in 1987. After shunning the usual "murder board" rehearsals that help nominees to prepare for their Senate Judiciary Committee interrogation, Bork talked himself into controversial positions that brought the curtain down on his chances -- and added "borking" to dictionaries to describe the scuttling of nominees through vilification and defamation.
Judge Clarence Thomas prepared himself better for rough questioning and needed it when allegations of sexual misconduct were brought up by former aide, Anita Hill. He survived and was narrowly confirmed, but the days when Supreme Court confirmations were quiet, low-key affairs were over.
Instead, opposition researchers are poring over Kavanaugh's long paper trail -- he has written about 300 opinions, including important decisions on guns, abortion and regulation -- and hoping to turn up enough evidence to sink his nomination or, at least, stall it as midterm elections approach in November.
So far, they have found not much to like.
"Brett Kavanaugh is a dangerous ideologue whose extreme views on civil rights would solidify a far right majority on the Supreme Court," said a statement by the 109-year-old NAACP, which also opposed Kavanaugh's confirmation to his current position as a judge on the U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
"In his 12 years on the bench," the organization says now, "he has proven us correct."
"In nominating Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump has followed through on his threat to nominate a justice who would undermine LGBTQ equality, women's reproductive rights and affordable healthcare," said President Chad Griffin of the Human Rights Campaign.
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