Hoping that attacking the nomination of 54-year-old Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, Democrats have their new cause celebré before November’s Miderm elections. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) led a rally at the steps of the Supreme Court screaming that all Americans should fight the nomination, demonizing Kavanaugh like a member of the Nazi Party. Saying Kavanaugh would be an enemy of Roe v. Wade and pawn of big business, Sanders spewed the same propaganda used in the 2016 campaign to nearly defeat former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Were it not for corruption at the Rep. Debbie Wasserman’s Democratic National Committee, Bernie might have been the nominee. Yet Since Trump won the 2016 election, Democrats have been fixated on Trump’s alleged Russian collusion, something Hillary talked about in the final presidential debate in Las Vegas.
Now Democrats think they’ve got their new straw man, demonizing Kavanaugh to rally their base before the Miderm elections. Democrats’ cries about Kavanaugh have nothing to do with Kavanaugh’s stellar credentials but about an attempt to rally the base before the pivotal Midterm elections. Working hard over the last year-and-a-half to demonize Trump, exploiting Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russian meddling investigation, recent polls show that Democrats may not, as they hoped, take over the Senate and the House in November. Recent polls show Democrats picking up a few seats in the House and losing a few in the Senate, leaving Republicans in control of Congress. If Democrats’ can make Kavanaugh a rallying cry, they hope to push themselves into control of Congress. Fighting the Kavanaugh nomination, Democrats don’t have the votes to stop a unified GOP.
With Sen. John McCain (R-Az.), currently suffering from brain cancer, wholeheartedly endorsing Kavanaugh, and with moderate Republican senators Susan Collins (R-Main) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Ak.) throwing their support, Bernie’s new fight isn’t about Kavanaugh’s approval, only about rallying the base. In the new age without the filibuster, where only simple majorities matter, Republicans have the votes to get Kavanaugh confirmed. Demonizing Kavanaugh puts a face on the Republican Party, anything-and-everything evil to Democrats. “One thing’s already clear from his record: He can’t be trusted to safeguard rights for women, workers or to end the flow of corporate money to campaigns,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibarand (D-N.Y.). Kavanaugh was already vetted in his 2006 confirmation hearing for D.C.’s Second Circuit Court of Appeals on Roe v. Wade.
Kavanaugh stated for the record in 2006 and will reiterate his position in 2018, that Roe v. Wade is settled law, not something he would seek to change. Gillbrand throws Democrats red meat accusing Kavanaugh of threatening Roe v. Wade but it’s just pure demagoguery. Kirsten knows that she’s not talking about Kavanaugh who set the record straight on Roe v. Wade in 2006. She wants to whip up the base not about reality but to stir up the base before the Midterm elections. “The American people deserve the opportunity to make their voices heard in the November about this lifetime appointment, close to admitting it’s about the Midterms. Democrats fantasize that if they demonize Kavanaugh enough maybe they can peel off one-or-two Republicans votes, like Collins and Murkowski. When you consider the odds of that happening, they’re worse than winning the national Powerball lottery.
Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) showed his penchant for distorting Kavanaugh’s record for the last 12 years on D.C.’s Second Court of Appeals. “In selecting Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court, President Trump has put reproductive rights and freedoms and health care protections for millions of Americans on the judicial chopping block,” Schumer said, knowing it’s factually incorrect. Schumer, like Gillibrand, isn’t concerned about Kavanaugh’s record, he’s concerned about whipping up the base before the Midterm elections. Schumer knows it was Chief Justice John Roberts, a Bush-43 appointee, that approved June 25, 2015 Obamacare. Kavanaugh has expressed no interest in re-litigating the constitutionality of Obamacare now or in the future. Yet Schumer thinks nothing of smearing Kavanaugh about Roe v. Wade and Obamacare.
Democrats can beat the war drums, shout from pillar-to-post, parade around claiming one thing or the other and demonize Kavanaugh between now and his confirmation hearing. Whether he’s opposed by all 49 Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has enough votes to confirm Kavanaugh over Democrat objections. With a distinguished career in the White House and on the federal bench, the 1990 Yale Law graduate knows his business and should win over some Democrats at his confirmation hearing. At some point, even highly partisan Democrats know that they’re doing the country a disservice, continuing to demonize someone of Kavanaugh’s caliber. Once Democrats get their shot hazing Kavanaugh on national TV, they’ll realize you can’t keep a good man down for political purposes. At the end of the day, McConnell has the votes to confirm.
