Day Two of the Brett Kavanaugh hearings.
Feinstein attempting to make something out of nothing. And long guns are prevalent in the United States. Kavanaugh again emphasizes his belief in precedent. Feinstein once more attempting to rid the US of any and all firearms.
BZ
First, the execrable chaos brought down upon the hearing by Leftists.
This is insanity writ large.
Who is on Chairman Grassley’s left? Correct. Senator Diane Feinstein. She is quiet. Does she let the young chicks shit the bed or is she no longer interested in standing up for true Kabuki Theater? In any case, she is conspicuously silent. Crazy like a fox?
Following that pre-planned chaos, here is the most thoughtful and cogent introductory remarks that I have ever heard at a SCOTUS nomination hearing, provided by Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska with whom — I must admit — I sometimes vehemently disagree.
Not now.
Senator Ted Cruz weighs in:
Then South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham weighed in:
After all this hooliganism, Brett Kavanaugh is finally allowed to speak.
And this was just the first day of the hearings.
BZ
It can be summarized by his very own words.
The judge’s job is to interpret the law, not to make the law or make policy. So read the words of the statute as written. Read the text of the Constitution as written, mindful of history and tradition. Don’t make up new constitutional rights that are not in the text of the Constitution. Don’t shy away from enforcing constitutional rights that are in the text of the Constitution. Changing the Constitution is for the amendment process. Changing policy within constitutional bounds is for the legislatures. Remember that the structure of the Constitution — the separation of powers and federalism — are not mere matters of etiquette or architecture, but are at least as essential to protecting individual liberty as the individual rights guaranteed in that text. And remember that courts have a critical role, when a party has standing, in enforcing those separation of powers and federalism limits. Simple but profound.
He respects the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the rule of law, and is a respecter of the branches of government and checks and balances as intended.
The LDAMM — Leftists, Demorats and American Media Maggots — wish to break and eventually crush the Constitution and Bill of Rights in order to ensure a 180-degree movement is implemented.
Our founding documents as written exist to limit government and expand individual rights and freedoms. They are written in terms of what the government cannot do to the people as positive vs negative rights. Our rights come from God and not government.
Precisely what the LDAMM does not want.
They wish to geometrically expand the powers of government and thusly, by doing so, the rights of the individual must needs diminish. They wish to replace God with government.
This is entirely unacceptable and worth the upcoming fight.
Do not doubt this for a moment.
BZ
And begin they have, quite before President Trump (how I enjoy writing those two words together) even announced his selection.
From the WashingtonTimes.com:
Democrats vow to vote ‘No’ on Supreme Court nominee regardless of whom Trump picks
by Alex Swoyer
Some Democrats said they don’t have to wait for President Trump to pick a Supreme Court nominee — they’re voting “No” regardless of who he names.
Sen. Bob Casey became the latest one, saying Monday that the entire process the president has followed was “corrupt” because he was working from a list he wrote with the help of the conservative Heritage Foundation and Federalist Society.
“Any judge on this list is fruit of a corrupt process straight from the D.C. swamp,” he said.
Other Democrats, still salty over the GOP’s treatment of one of President Obama’s nominees in 2016, said they won’t accept any nominee until after the November election.
Leftist obstructionists, just as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says here:
Justice Kennedy’s resignation letter had barely arrived in the President’s hands before several of our Democratic colleagues began declaring their blanket opposition to anyone at all that the President might name. #SCOTUSnominee pic.twitter.com/uQ2QZMOsDD
— Leader McConnell (@SenateMajLdr) July 9, 2018
Then on Monday, as promised, President Trump announced his SCOTUS selection. From the NYTimes.com:
Brett Kavanaugh Is Trump’s Pick for Supreme Court
by Mark Landler & Maggie Haberman
President Trump on Monday nominated Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, a politically connected member of Washington’s conservative legal establishment, to fill Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s seat on the Supreme Court, setting up an epic confirmation battle and potentially cementing the court’s rightward tilt for a generation.
The nomination of Judge Kavanaugh, 53, a federal appeals court judge, former aide to President George W. Bush and onetime investigator of President Bill Clinton, was not a huge surprise, given his conservative record, elite credentials and deep ties among the Republican legal groups that have advanced conservatives for the federal bench.
That was the New York Times. You can see the slant bleeding through. And of course what I term the “Kavalanche” of objection commenced like a goose greasing the sluices after having had crab cakes and broccoli.
We could have gotten another Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who doesn’t believe in the US Constitution at all — wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
In reaction prior to the announcement, not once does Socialist Bernie Sanders mention the importance of the US Constitution or the Bill of Rights below. He does not delineate positive vs negative rights or the reason for the Constitution itself which is, of course, why the US Supreme Court exists. Separation of powers. The Founding Fathers. The fundamental reason for the creation of this nation in the first place.
There is this as well, from Fox News:
A brief bit of reality from CNN:
Let’s be honest: the fundamental problem with Brett Kavanaugh is this, from Breitbart.com:
Kavanaugh: Judges Must Interpret, Not Make Law, Interpret Statues and Constitution as Written
by Ian Hanchett
After the announcement of his nomination to the Supreme Court, Judge Brett Kavanaugh stated, “A judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law. A judge must interpret statutes as written, and a judge must interpret the Constitution as written, informed by history and tradition and precedent.”
Kavanaugh said, “The framers established that the Constitution is designed to secure the blessings of liberty. Justice Kennedy devoted his career to securing liberty. I am deeply honored to be nominated to fill his seat on the Supreme Court.”
He later added, “My judicial philosophy is straightforward. A judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law. A judge must interpret statutes as written, and a judge must interpret the Constitution as written, informed by history and tradition and precedent. For the past 11 years, I’ve taught hundreds of students, primarily at Harvard Law School. I teach that the Constitution’s separation of powers protects individual liberty, and I remain grateful to the dean who hired me, Justice Elena Kagan. As a judge, I hire four law clerks each year. I look for the best. My law clerks come from diverse backgrounds and points of view. I am proud that a majority of my law clerks have been women.”
Kavanaugh concluded, “I will tell each senator that I revere the Constitution. I believe that an independent judiciary is the crown jewel of our constitutional republic. If confirmed by the Senate, I will keep an open mind in every case, and I will always strive to preserve the Constitution of the United States and the American rule of law.”
Judge Brett Kavanaugh stated:
Another wrinkle, from the WashingtonTimes.com:
Susan Collins, Joe Manchin, other swing votes open to Trump’s Supreme Court pick
by Stephen Dinan
The senators who will most likely decide Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s fate were studiously noncommittal Monday, promising a thorough and fair vetting before they say whether they’ll support his nomination to the Supreme Court.
Only a few Republicans and a handful of Democrats are likely in play in the closely divided Senate.
And depending on absences, a single Republican defection could sink the pick — while the support of one or two Democrats could guarantee Judge Kavanaugh will be on the high court by the time the next term begins in October.
Sen. Susan Collins, the Republican that Democrats are most likely to sway, said Judge Kavanaugh brough “impressive credentials and extensive experience.”
But she wouldn’t go further.
How many Demorats will line up behind Brett Kavanaugh simply because he’s, truly, offensive as fresh milk or blue sky?
You see, a bit of the bottom line must be this: Judge Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed by the US Senate back in 2006 by a positive margin of 21 Senators, with a tally of 57 to 36. He has repeatedly been upheld by SCOTUS, having heard over 300 cases.
What has changed since then?
Only one thing: President Donald John Trump.
BZ
This is parsed quite nicely. From a 60 Minutes interview in 2013.
But listen again. Listen carefully. Do you hear what she says? And what she has not said?
Nothing mentioned about positive vs negative rights.
BZ