Five Reasons Why the GOP Rushed to Confirm Kavanaugh

[douglas9]

After Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court, Trump and the GOP leadership mounted a full-court press to ram through his confirmation before October 1, the first day of the Court’s new term, for five good reasons, says Marjorie Cohn

Why the rush?

The Republican Party and Donald Trump wanted Brett Kavanaugh on the U.S. Supreme Court before the November 6 midterm elections because if the Democrats had achieved a majority in the Senate, there may not have been sufficient votes to confirm him.

But the real hurry to get Kavanaugh confirmed had more to do with the several cases on the Supreme Court’s docket: Republicans are hoping to ensure the outcome of several hot-button cases, including those involving double jeopardy, immigration, age discrimination and the Endangered Species Act. Moreover, there is the possibility that the Supreme Court could also decide to take up additional cases affecting gerrymandering, gay and transgender rights, and the separation of church and state.

Below is an in-depth explanation of the top five reasons why the GOP rushed to confirm Kavanaugh in time for him to affect these cases currently on the Supreme Court docket.


https://consortiumnews.com/2018/10/06/five-reasons-why-the-gop-rushed-to-confirm-kavanaugh/

[onetexan]

1. SCOTUS should wait till after midterms to hear any cases

To let Dems (assuming Dems w take control of the House) launch investigation on Kav.

[PJMcK]

2. Yeah, that's not going to happen

The Supreme Court has become an extension of the Republican Party's war on democracy.

[Progressive Jones]

7. And for this there will be vengeance. nt

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. New House doesn't sit until January. . . . nt

[Lonestarblue]

3. I think abortion rights will quickly be in the crosshairs.

Not for this year’s Supreme Republican Court docket but for next year’s. The case will likely be one from Iowa or one similar. Iowa passed a law that prohibits an abortion after detection of a fetal heartbeat, which can happen as early as 5-6 weeks and thus effectively prevents anyone from having an abortion. The law has been stayed but could be the path to getting rid of Roe v. Wade. Trump will push for this so he can stir up support for his 2020 reelection. Getting rid of Roe would send the evangelical voters into religious ecstasy, and his non-religious voters, who don’t really care about abortion, would delight nevertheless in Trump’s ability to screw the Democrats. And if Democrats do retake the House and and Senate but do nothing other than investigate Trump and Kavanaugh for two years, Trump will win in 2020. They must create policies to benefit ordinary people on healthcare, education, protection of SS and other safety net programs. If Trump and Republicans refuse to support, it still gives Democrats something to run on.

I want to add one more thing to this post. The way that a fetal heartbeat is detected so early is through a transvaginal ultrasound. Sounds harmless, but it isn’t. It is painful and can be dangerous because the wand can perforate the uterus. Some women have described it as “disgnostic rape.” At least 25 Republican states REQUIRE this procedure to have an abortion, falsely describing it as a way to “protect” the health of the woman. And while there has been no direct correlation to date, far too many miscarriages have occurred following a transvaginal ultrasound. The more dangerous aspect comes into play when these same states allow religious organizations that call themselves pregnancy centers to do medical tests. They are often not trained or licensed. Can you imagine a young girl who is pregnant after being raped going into one of these centers and, in effect, being raped again by an unlicensed person who would cause her immense pain! This is the type of law I fear if Roe is not directly overturned.

[FM123]

4. Of these upcoming cases

I think four of them would have been decided the same way whether it be this pig Kavanaugh or any other repug, BUT the Gamble case is different, it is pretty obvious they pushed so hard with Kav when there were so many other "qualified" repug judges because this could be trumpy's escape latch and Kav would be the one setting him loose.

[ewagner]

5. I agree

Gamble is the case that Trump is most concerned about...it is his "get out of jail free" card and would also keep Manafort and Cohen from being tried in state courts sooooooo...Trump could pardon them of any federal charges and they can all walk free.

Kavanaugh's wildly radical stance on Executive power was precisely why Trump wanted him added to the list of federalist approved judges and ultimately selected over all others. The rest of the country be damned, Trump was/is protecting himself first, last and always.

[KPN]

9. There are other ways to get rid of and

hold him accountable.

1). Vote him out of office resoundingly in 2020.

2) Follow FDRs example and threaten if not actually follow through on increasing the number of SC Justices. And if we have the Senate, do it — pack the court w/o regard for GOP concerns (like they did to our side).

3). If those don’t work, well — use your imagination.

This isn’t over by a long shot, especially for Mussolini Trump.

[ewagner]

11. The blog site

Lawyers, Guns and Money posted the other day a number of options concerning the Supreme Court..

The options were based on the assumption that the Supreme Court has become something of a "super legislative" body. (Sen. Sasse alluded to that)

Court Packing was one option.

Another option was amending the constitution to term-limit the justices but there wasn't much change to the way they would be nominated or confirmed by the court except perhaps by popular vote...although dangerous, it would reflect the politics of the time much as it is at this precise moment in time reflecting the will of the majorities of the House, Senate and President...but having lifetime appointments there is no mechanism to change to the fluidity of American politics.

Not sure I bought all of that but the structural problems of selecting SCOTUS justices does need to be addressed.

On edit: here is a link to the blog entry:

http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2018/10/the-end-of-something-3

[yurbud]

15. the trouble with "vote him out" is that nothing was seriously done to stop the voter purges

and now they've got the votes to uphold them at the Supreme Court.

[NJCher]

6. very important information

thanks for this post, douglas9

[JohnnyRingo]

10. Here"s the bottom line:

Literally

Republicans knew Kavanaugh would provide a reliable vote against immigrants, workers, voters, and gay and transgender people. He would deliver a dependable vote for employers, private property and church-state bonding. The GOP can also rest assured that Kavanaugh will do his best to immunize Trump from criminal liability and enable him to continue their mean-spirited, right-wing agenda.

For these reasons, Trump and the Republicans wanted Kavanaugh to join the Supreme Court immediately.

Which makes me wonder what barstool republicans think Brett Kavenaugh is bringing to the table for them. I believe they have the mentality that it's like a football game where they not only want their team to win, they want their rival team to lose so they can revel in their sweet tears.

[CrispyQ]

12. They are poor losers & even worse winners.

The gloating & chortling is unbecoming, but they can't help themselves, & their supporters are just like them. There is definitely an element of cruelty & love of revenge on the right. My grandma would say they all have a mean streak.

[appalachiablue]

13. K & R. Impt. article, from Truthout.

[yurbud]

14. Every time the right wing 5 vote together, the headline should be "they pulled another train on...

America," giving Kavanaugh his due.