The circus that is the Trump administration got its chance to select yet another Supreme Court justice, with the president giving the nomination to Brett Kavanaugh — a longtime Republican character that has popped up at numerous flashpoints throughout the past thirty years and will likely stick around in the Supreme Court for thirty more.
Judge Brett Kavanaugh: "A judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law." pic.twitter.com/X2FeLB6tWj
— Neil Cavuto (@TeamCavuto) July 10, 2018
While he looks like Stevie from Eastbound And Down, Kavanaugh comes with an Ivy League background and connections to some of the significant Republicans to move through DC in recent years according to The New York Times:
In choosing Judge Kavanaugh, the president opted for a battle-scarred veteran of Republican politics but also someone with close ties to the Bush family — a history that aides to Mr. Trump said he viewed as a strike against him and had to overcome.
Before serving Mr. Bush in the White House, Judge Kavanaugh worked for him in the 2000 presidential vote recount in Florida. When Mr. Bush nominated him in 2003 to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Democrats complained that he was too partisan. He survived a contentious confirmation hearing and was confirmed in 2006.
BREAKING: Trump picks Brett Kavanaugh, who once outlined the case for a president’s impeachment, for the Supreme Court: NBC https://t.co/Xav770bqXe
— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) July 10, 2018
While the entire nomination announcement was treated like some sort of awards show by the president, Congressional Republicans, and the major news media, the rest of the reactions treated it as a foregone conclusion. Outside of the Supreme Court itself, protestors and pro-life supporters clashed, with demonstrators only increasing their unhappiness after the choice was announced.
This is what democracy looks like. This is what passion looks like. Let the Court remain a symbol of our fundamental freedoms and not let Kavanaugh gut the future for women. #SCOTUS #RoeVsWade pic.twitter.com/zPBoNbvWOg
— Ilyse Hogue is @ilyseh everywhere (@ilyseh) July 10, 2018
Protests turn tense outside the Supreme Court after @POTUS picks Kavanaugh. https://t.co/Wa4eVQ4bNe
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 10, 2018
The reactions online weren’t much different, with most folks splitting into political lines to either praise the choice and rub it in on those who criticize the president or to point out that they feel the country is about the fall into the crapper. Most of the major opponents of the choice made their opinions heard shortly after the announcement:
Brett Kavanaugh is an anti-consumer zealot, an opponent of preexisting condition protections, a critic of abortion rights and access to contraception, a Second Amendment radical, and a bad choice for the Supreme Court.
Not a close call. I will vote NO.
— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) July 10, 2018
Kavanaugh's nomination is a huge win for corporations and the GOP's donor class — the culmination of decades of corporate efforts to stack the courts in their favor. We must make a ruckus to block his nomination.
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) July 10, 2018
The #NAACP knows Brett Kavanaugh well. We opposed his nomination to DC Circuit. His tenure on bench was exactly as we predicted. He is strong and consistent vote for wealthy and powerful. He must NOT be elevated to the SCOTUS. #SaveSCOTUS #ScotusPick
— NAACP (@NAACP) July 10, 2018
President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will be a rubber-stamp for an extreme, right-wing agenda pushed by corporations and billionaires. We must mobilize the American people to defeat Trump’s right-wing, reactionary nominee.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) July 10, 2018
Now is probably a good time to repeat that along with the basis of democracy, the rights of immigrants, and women's ability to make decisions about their own bodies — Kavanaugh's appointment to SCOTUS means the fate of the only planet we have is also now greatly imperiled. https://t.co/0uyQ5BFAWX
— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) July 10, 2018
I can't get over this paragraph from Kavanaugh's lone dissent in Heller vs DC (2010, not 2008 – taking aim at the assault weapon ban and gun registration, not the handgun ban), in which he argues bans on semiautomatic rifles are unconstitutional pic.twitter.com/HuZZO0ekrD
— Alex Yablon (@AlexYablon) July 10, 2018
Please stop saying that Brett Kavanaugh isn't a "bomb thrower." The Supreme Court nominee sought to bar an undocumented minor from having an abortion. Trying to force a girl to carry an unwanted fetus to term is throwing a pretty fucking big bomb, I'd say. https://t.co/ckfRDUBKWq
— Jamil Smith جميل كريم (@JamilSmith) July 10, 2018
Brett Kavanaugh and Merrick Garland both sit on the D.C. Circuit.
Garland was the Chief of the D.C. Circuit at the time he was nominated. Garland has served on the court for 9 years more than Kavanaugh.#SupremeCourt
— Kristen Clarke (@KristenClarkeJD) July 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/susie_meister/status/1016506235443560448
Brett Kavanaugh is a nice guy. So is Merrick Garland, the chief judge on Kavanaugh’s court.
— Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) July 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/RingelsteinME/status/1016490528333025281
https://twitter.com/Bro_Pair/status/1016494351189331968
If confirmed, Kavanaugh would make history by becoming only the 107th white man to serve on the US Supreme Court, out of 113 justices who have served. #SCOTUSpick
— Jonathan Peters (@jonathanwpeters) July 10, 2018
And while most of the supporters were quick to attach themselves to the idea of a judge interpreting the law and not making the law, some supporters hinted at the real reason this selection would make them happy.
Thank God for this long awaited opportunity to change the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court. We need to be faithful to pray for Judge Kavanaugh and his family during this very intense confirmation process. 3/3
— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) July 10, 2018
Good for them. Now we’ll get to see if the opposition can find a way to block this nomination in Congress. The chances are very slim, so prepare yourself.
(Via New York Times)