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Tuesday, July 10, 2018

The Strange Opposition to Brett Kavanaugh

Last night, the President nominated Brett Kavanaugh for the position of Justice of SCOTUS.  The opposition from Democrats and the media was immediate and intense.  That was no surprise; they had already announced opposition before they even knew the name of the nominee.  What is surprising, however, is the arguments used by the opposition.  Here are some examples:

1.  Confirmation of Kavanaugh would mean that Roe v. Wade gets overturned.  It's highly unlikely that replacing Kennedy with Kavanaugh would suddenly provide a majority on the Court to overturn Roe.  The big point here, however, is that even were the case overturned, abortion would not become illegal.  All that would happen is that each state would be able to set its own rules.  Remember, prior to the issuance of the Supreme Court decision in 1973 abortions were legal in states like New York.  Without a doubt, abortions would be legal in nearly every state if the decision were overruled.  There would be different limits put in place in each state.  Some would require things like parental notification for abortions for minors.  Others would be very loose in their regulation of abortion.  Any woman in a state with no abortions could just go to another state to get the procedure.

2.  Kavanaugh is a Washington insider, a creature of the swamp.  He won't care about what people outside DC think.  It's hard to say this out loud without laughing, but it is actually a point made today by Democrat DC insiders like Paul Begala.  The truth is that Kavanaugh's judicial opinions show that he is neither pro nor anti Washington.  He just interprets the laws as written; he doesn't impose his own views on others.

3.  Kavanaugh is likely to help quash the Mueller investigation because he worked for Ken Starr in the 1990s.  This one was featured prominently on MSNBC last night after the announcement.  I still don't understand the logic (if there is any).  Whether or not Kavanaugh worked for the special prosecutor twenty years ago should have no negative impact on his treatment of the current special prosecutor.  Nevertheless, the Democrats are pushing this one.

4.  Kavanaugh doesn't want insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions.  This too is a charge with no basis in fact.  Kavanaugh has never said anything about the subject.  Nothing, zilch, nada.  Some Democrat senators, nevertheless, are pushing this lie as if it were true.  It won't go anywhere.

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