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Fri, Mar

Kavanaugh Nomination: The Forest Itself Is Diseased

LOS ANGELES

CORRUPTION WATCH-The Kavanaugh hearings present us with a complex mix of forest and trees.

While one cannot generalize that one diseased tree could infect an entire forest, but sometimes that tree or a grove of diseased trees is so significant and the nature of the disease so deadly that the whole forest is doomed. In 1967, Dutch Elm disease appeared in a few of Britain’s Dutch elms and by 1990, virtually every mature tree was dead. Our nation faces a similar threat. 

Kavanaugh Exemplifies Dutch Elm Disease 

The Declaration of Independence was written to free us from a predatory political system in which the powerful raped the weak. The Declaration held that the only legitimate government is one which secures every individual’s inalienable rights. The Declaration singled out the King’s courts, among other institutions, as a predatory evil antithetical to free men. Thus, the drama with Kavanaugh’s confirmation deals with the abuse of power which de-legitimizes the government itself. Can America stop the deadly predators from destroying both the U.S. Senate and the Supreme Court or has America become a predator nation? 

What Do the Articles of Confederation Have to Do with Kavanaugh? 

Thomas Jefferson and the signatories to the Declaration of Independence knew first-hand the terribly destructive nature of power to the inalienable rights of individuals. Their first attempt to form a more perfect Union was excessive in reigning in the central government’s power, and thus, it was a failure.  Thus, the Continental Congress was called to rectify the problem and they drafted a new government, i.e. a Republic where power balanced power. 

A stronger central government with enough power to govern was permitted due to the new constitution’s checks and balances on that power. The judiciary, especially the Supreme Court, was to be a check on the excesses of power which the Congress and the Presidency would surely try to impose upon the people. The Supreme Court’s power does not rest on an army, but rather, 100% of its power derives from willing consent of the people. Our collective consent to abide by decisions with which we disagree holds the nation together. 

When assessing the Senate hearings on Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination, we must emphasize that the entire legitimacy of our government rests on the consent of the governed and not on the self-entitlement of a few predators who have set themselves up as our over overlords. 

Judge Kavanaugh’s History of Judicial Activism 

For some bizarre reason, we are just now hearing about Kavanaugh’s known right wing political activism while being a judge. His 2004 confirmation to the Circuit Court of Appeals was held up for three years due to his political partisanship. The failure of the public to know rests squarely with the media which is the gatekeeper of what we learn. No more does the New York Times print “all the news that it fit to print.” We get the news, true or not, which the media chooses to disclose. The single factor which should most disqualify a person from being on the Supreme Court is political partisanship. The fabric of the Republic rests upon the public’s willingness to accept Supreme Court decisions. Nothing destroys our consent more than knowing that the political hacks have subverted the rule of law. 

Is Kavanaugh Still a Political Hit Man? 

Some people learn from their mistakes and own up to them and are better people for having the moral fiber to do self-reflection. Other people suffer from a grandiose of sense of self-entitlement and when confronted with their prior behavior, strike out in rage. Judge Kavanaugh has struck out more than once during his hearings. 

Kavanaugh’s Character Is So Bad That His Nomination Threatens the Republic 

(1)  Many people are falsely accused. 

20/20, 48 Hours, and 60 Minutes have covered countless stories of men who have been freed after years and sometimes decades in prison after being falsely convicted. I remember none who behaved as Judge Kavanaugh with his complete self-absorption about his career and his temper tantrum during the hearings. He has opposed any FBI investigation of the various allegations. He has the nerve to take this self-centered position right when Bill Cosby, American’s Dad, is being sent to prison after decades of sexual abuse. Kavanaugh stands behind the absurd meme that women who do not immediately report asexual abuse are liars. What innocent person would not demand an exhaustive FBI investigation? False allegations would be revealed as false. A comprehensive FBI investigation would not do one thing: sustain false allegations as true! 

(2) Country First – How Short John McCain’s Legacy. 

Have we so quickly forgotten Sen. John McCain? What sort of person places his own desire for more power ahead of the welfare of the nation? What sort of human being would want to be on the Supreme Court knowing that the process by which he got there tainted the Court’s impartiality and denigrated the public’s respect for the Court? Kavanaugh has not shown one iota of concern for the Supreme Court’s integrity nor has he placed the nation first. 

(3) Kavanaugh Doubled Down on Partisanship. 

Kavanaugh’s infantile temper tantrum blaming his troubles on a Democratic conspiracy involving the Clintons disqualifies him from the Supreme Court. Never in the history of Senate judicial confirmation hearings have we seen a nominee behave in such a reprehensible manner.  

Claiming that he has a right to defend himself does not address how he behaved, and it does not cleanse his disregard for the rule of law. What judge demands the decision before the facts have been gathered? 

Kavanaugh is a diseased nominee whose confirmation will bring extreme dishonor upon the Senate and will stain the Supreme Court’s integrity.

 

(Richard Lee Abrams is a Los Angeles attorney and a CityWatch contributor. He can be reached at: [email protected]. Abrams’ views are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of CityWatch.) Edited for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.

 

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