Opinion

The Senate Should Put Aside Partisanship And Confirm Kavanaugh

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Paris Dennard Contributor
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President Trump made the right choice in nominating Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Kavanaugh is a highly distinguished jurist who has garnered praise from both sides of the political spectrum. He encompasses all the good we want in someone to sit on the highest court in the land.

During his acceptance speech, Judge Kavanaugh spoke lovingly of the example set for him by his mother, saying, “My mom was a teacher. In the 1960s and 70s, she taught history at two largely African American public high schools in Washington, D.C., McKinley Tech and H.D. Woodson. Her example taught me the importance of equality for all Americans.”

With his commitment to interpreting the Constitution as written and upholding the rule of law, Kavanaugh will continue to serve our country with fairness and distinction. The Senate should work quickly to confirm him.

Judge Kavanaugh has devoted 25 years to serving the American people, most notably as associate independent counsel, associate White House counsel, assistant and staff secretary to our former boss, President George W. Bush, and currently as a judge on the D.C. Circuit — known as the second highest court in the land.

As President Trump said, “There is no one in America more qualified for this position and no one more deserving.”

Former President Bush, who nominated Judge Kavanaugh to the D.C. Circuit Court, called the President’s pick “an outstanding decision” for a “brilliant jurist who has faithfully applied the Constitution and laws throughout his 12 years on the D.C. Circuit.”

Moreover, the support for Judge Kavanaugh extends far beyond just Republicans. Liberal scholar Akhil Amar wrote in the New York Times that the nomination was “Trump’s finest hour, his classiest move.” Amar taught Judge Kavanaugh when the latter was in law school and lauded him for his breadth of experience, his dedication to legal scholarship and his personal character.

Elise Jordan, a political analyst for the far left-leaning MSNBC, similarly holds Judge Kavanaugh in high regard. “As a young speechwriting aide when he was Staff Sec, I learned so much from his example of discipline, attention to detail, factual accuracy and, most of all, human decency,” she wrote on Twitter.

While Senate Republicans are eager to do their job and confirm the President’s nominee, their Democratic colleagues are pushing to delay the process until after this year’s midterm elections. Their obstruction is at best hypocritical.

The same Democrats who now clamor to delay a confirmation vote once said that doing so would be irresponsible and harmful to the Supreme Court. In 2016, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said America needs nine justices and that “Playing politics only weakens our democracy.” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said refusing a vote would “only further diminish the Senate in the eyes of the American people.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said “Do your job, vote for a Supreme Court nominee.”

Sadly, many “non-partisan” civil rights organizations engaging in more anti-Kavanaugh fear-mongering campaigns. They justify their alarmist rhetoric with Judge Kavanaugh’s 2011 ruling upholding of South Carolina’s voter ID law, which they affirm is detrimental to African American voters. What they conveniently exclude is the fact that Judge Kavanaugh upheld the voter ID law because it allowed non-photo ID holding voters to vote, merely requiring them to provide a reason as to why they don’t have identification.

Furthermore, he allowed for a full year to pass for people to learn about the change in election law. He displayed excellent jurisprudence and clearly kept civil rights precedents in mind. To cite this as evidence to smear a superbly qualified Supreme Court nominee and call him a setback for civil rights is beyond ridiculous and is clearly politically-fueled race baiting, similar to what we saw with another excellent Justice Clarence Thomas.

Let us also not forget there is precedent for a vote to confirm him. Justice Elena Kagan, nominated by former President Obama, was confirmed in 2010, a midterm election year. In fact, the vast majority of Americans agree that the Supreme Court vacancy must be filled before the midterm election.

But the Obstruction we see is not new. The attempted character assassination of Judge Kavanaugh is par for the Liberal Soros course.

Democrats in Washington have no unifying message or vision for America’s future. They simply have nothing to run on in November, other than resisting and obstructing our President at every turn. They do not stand for the interests of their own constituents, many of whom voted for President Trump and his inspiring message to Make America Great Again. Their sad refusal to come together for the good of the American people is truly embarrassing.

The Democrats have turned to blatant hypocrisy and petty, political partisanship while holding America hostage through their endless strategy of obstruction. Remember, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was confirmed 96-3, which meant Republicans put partisanship aside and allowed the President to have his pick for the Supreme Court. There is no reason why, decades later, the Democrats can’t do the same and accept the will of the people and the President.

The Senate must move quickly — put aside partisanship, do its job and confirm a stellar nominee, committed husband, father, mentor and servant leader to the Supreme Court: Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

Paris Dennard, a CNN political commentator and political analyst for NPR’s “Here and Now,” worked in the George W. Bush White House from 2005–2009 and the Republican National Committee (RNC) from 2009–2010. President Trump appointed him commissioner on the President’s Commission on White House Fellows. Follow Paris on Twitter.


The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Daily Caller.