Honey Badger don't give a shite about anything National Review says anymore.
Posted on 07/10/2018 8:20:03 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
I’ve got a piece up over at the Washington Post about the Brett Kavanaugh nomination. It was a safe choice — and an opportunity lost. There was a choice out there that fired the conservative imagination, the kind of choice that arguably only a Donald Trump would have the guts to make:
There was a moment, in the early afternoon of July 9, when conservatives contemplated the delightful possibility that they might witness the best possible version of President Trump — the man with the will (and flair for the dramatic) that would allow him to be bolder than the average Republican president. The best version of Trump would have been nominated Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
Would another Republican have the guts to put forward a nominee who would so clearly inflame the culture wars? Would another Republican president shatter the GOP nominee mold by selecting a mother of seven kids, an outspoken Christian and a graduate from a “normal” non-Ivy League law school? The base-motivating, electrifying pick was right there, in the palm of his hand.
Then, he went establishment. He chose a man that any Republican president would have nominated. He made the best safe choice he could: Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
This does not mean that Kavanaugh will be a bad justice. Over time, I think he’ll prove to be a solid (and perhaps even excellent) pick. And, over the next several weeks, we’ll see an avalanche of progressive attacks, many of them labeling even his best and most rigorous opinions “extremist” or “dangerous.” Kavanaugh will be an easy pick to defend. But it’s simply a fact that tonight my inbox is lighting up with responses — many of them from Trump supporters — expressing a sense of regret.
And to those saying, “Relax, it will be her next time,” we should remember all the passed-over judges who never, ever saw that “next time.” There’s zero guarantee that Trump will get another SCOTUS pick. We don’t know of any justices pondering retirement, and nobody should be ghoulish enough to predict any justice’s demise. Don’t for a moment think Ruth Bader Ginsburg will step down under President Trump. So, until proven otherwise, I stand by my assessment.
One final note: You wouldn’t believe how often conservative professionals ask my advice about how “open” to be on their CV’s, in their social media, and online about their conservative religious affiliations. Ever since Brendan Eich, there’s a palpable sense that there’s a stained-glass ceiling descending on certain professions (including law) restricting the upward mobility of orthodox Christians. Barrett’s nomination wouldn’t “just” have put an outstanding originalist on the Court for 30 years, it would have helped blunt the force of secular bigotry. The direct confrontation between an angry secular Left and an accomplished, poised Christian professional would have represented a culturally important moment.
But alas, it was not to be. Kavanaugh will be an excellent judge. In a more functional political system, he’d win confirmation by an overwhelming majority and not the slim margin he’ll likely receive. I’ll defend him vigorously from unfair critiques tomorrow, but tonight I join many conservatives in a slight sigh of regret. There was a better choice.
Abortion
For now, I’ll have to be content with the fact that Kavanaugh was vetted by Trump.
Corrections, insights welcome.
If the GOP expands their majority in the Senate, who is to say that Thomas might not step down next year and Barrett would be nominated to replace him?
Thus a 71 year old Conservative Justice would be replaced by a 47 year old Conservative.
There’s zero guarantee that Trump will get another SCOTUS pick.
Don’t get you panties in a bunch David. Nothing is guaranteed but the chance that Ginsburg makes it past 6 years is near zero! I’m bettin President Trump get 2 more picks!
So what?
Have you read his decisions? Did you hear his speech last night? His fidelity to the constitution is solid. That’s what we want
Go buy some tin foil and duct tape
She could pass on...as they say
Don’t get me wrong, I think she has potential, but without that track record in the Federal courts, I think its way too early and she would have been unnecessarily risky at this stage.
Oh goody the Mike Lee fan boy segment chimes in
There are still two more picks for Trump to make, so while this wasn’t my favorite I can live with it, especially if he lives up to the label of “second amendment extremist”.
Or, she could live to be 105.
Honey Badger don't give a shite about anything National Review says anymore.
WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE? I swear.. they are not policy makers, they don’t work for the people. Stop opining and Dear Mr. French: Run for office like President Trump did and then I may listen to you.
When Barret has 300 opinions, then it’s “her turn.”
RBG probably runs on hate, spite, and seething internal rage.
Even those won’t sustain the crone forever.
I thought the same thing as having Barrett replace sleepy on the bench. They’ll demand a woman, and Trump will make sure they get one.
“Who gives a rat’s ass about the Never Trumpers at the NR?”
BINGO
Oh please shut up Never Trumper David French. Egg McMuffin before they found Egg McMuffin to run. Honestly who knows how great Barrett would be. She has no paper trail so everyone is just projecting. Also enough with the culture wars and Roe vs Wade already. There are many other important issues. No one knows how she would rule on immigration issues for example.
I agree with you. The interesting thing is that the one prominent GOP nominee from the last few decades (other than that dingbat Harriet Miers, that is) who had a very thin Federal court track record was Clarence Thomas — who was nominated in late 1991 after less than a year and a half on the D.C. Court of Appeals.
There is time and opportunity enough for the “core conservative” pick to be made to the Supreme Court. and in a manner that would both keep the gender balance and the overall upgrading of the Supreme Court, when RBG, as must eventually happen, passes (literally) from the scene.
He right, one every point he made in this excellent article.
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