Should Bret Kavanaugh Be Confirmed to the United States Supreme Court?

Bret Kavanaugh borrowed a page from the Trump playbook when he politicized his run for the Supreme Court at the recent Christine Blasey Ford/Bret Kavanaugh Hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. By using the Trump playbook, he joined the ranks of the Roy Moore’s and Brian Kemp’s of the nation.

Republican conservatives Moore and Kemp, brandished hand guns and long guns, respectively, while campaigning in an apparent effort to highlight their conservative support for the Second Amendment, and possibly to show allegiance to their southern, “down-home” gun bearing roots.

Well, Roy Moore, of Alabama, lost his bid for the Senate to a more traditional opponent- a democrat named Doug Jones. Jones was largely “put over the top” by an energetic and committed group of black women. Right now, in the traditionally red state of Georgia, Brian Kemp, a 54 year old Republican graduate of the University of Georgia, is running neck-in-neck with a 43 year old black female lawyer and entrepreneur who did her undergraduate work at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.

The times have been changing at a rapid pace. We are told that census-wise, those citizens now in the “minority” in the United States will become the new “majority” in about mid-century. Aware politicians and other current majority persons are digging their trenches now in preparation for a potential minority surge, now and into the future, as the traditionally overlooked minorities are seeking not only major political offices, but their piece of the American pie as well. People, like Donald Trump and his ilk, are well aware of this demographic trend and are therefore “battening down the hatches” in an effort to secure and maintain their positions in anticipation of a more demographically equal future.

Early into his presidency, Donald Trump was successful in seating Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court. We didn’t hear too much rumbling about this choice, and both democrats and republicans seem to be ok with it. However, the nomination of Bret Kavanaugh came with much opposition from the left, as well as from women who felt alienated and not highly regarded within the current political system which is generally run by older Caucasian men set in their ways.

It has been said that Bret Kavanaugh has created somewhat of a “checkered past” for himself. This is due to allegations of underage alcohol use (and abuse) and the sexual abuse of women. Christine Blasey-Ford accused Mr. Kavanaugh of sexual abuse against her when she and Kavanaugh were in high school over thirty years ago.  This resulted in the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing of September 27^th.

At the hearing, Ms Ford was admittedly nervous and scared but felt that it was her civic duty to give her testimony under oath regarding her alleged abuse by Mr. Kavanaugh.  Many have commented that they thought her even-tempered testimony was believable, heartfelt, and that all questions directed to her were fully answered.  However, they thought that Mr. Kavanaugh was too pugnacious and overly aggressive for a man who professed innocence of all allegations. At many times, he was evasive and inaccurate in his responses. It appeared as if he was desperately trying to have us believe him, but many onlookers felt his testimony was contrived and disingenuous.  

When Kavanaugh made the following statement, several viewers felt that it was a self-delivered “kiss of death” in a presentation that was already “not going his way”. Here is the statement:

“This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election, fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record, revenge on behalf of the Clintons, and millions of dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition groups. This is a circus”.

Here, Kavanaugh took a risky political step.  It was his desperate attempt to use the Trump playbook to apparently appeal to the Trump base. This is the only group that such a tirade would appeal to; and, it appeared to work, because many Trump people have said that they liked it. However, to others, this appeared to be an amateurish, unhinged, and juvenile effort to wrestle victory from the jaws of inevitable defeat. In the history of the public vetting of a Supreme Court nominee, there has never been such a repulsive performance –a boisterous performance lacking in both candor and professionalism. You would logically expect more from someone who is currently seated on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.  However, Kavanaugh acted more like a flustered school boy nervously trying to complete a high school presentation, than a seasoned jurist currently seated on what has been called the second highest court in the land. To many, Kavanaugh failed his “in-person” interview for the highest court in the land. I agree.

In a United States courtroom, the temperament of the judge is paramount. During his “public interview” in the courtroom of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Kavanaugh’s courtroom temperament and general demeanor left much to be desired.  When this is coupled with his political statement above, it makes one wonder if he is capable at all of being an even-tempered and “non-partisan” Supreme Court justice.  

At this point, the die has been cast by Kavanaugh himself; he has not earned his way onto the Supreme Court of the United States of America. With his demonstrated uncontrolled vitriol, admitted political biases, and lack of candor, it is questionable whether Kavanaugh should be seated on any major court at this time. Should the FBI uncover, and/or verify any legal infractions or serious character issues related to Mr. Kavanaugh, that would further confirm his unsuitability for a judge’s seat on any major court in the USA. 

It is in the interest of the United States that the nomination of Mr. Kavanaugh be withdrawn, either by Mr. Trump, or by Mr. Kavanaugh himself.

The Trump Dilemma: Where do we go from here

           

He hit the campaign trail campaigning for himself and Vladimir Putin. “Wouldn’t it be nice if we got along with Russia?”  As time moved on, Trump continued to extol the virtues of Putin and Russia. He hired Paul Manafort, a person that he said he didn’t know prior to bringing him on board as his campaign chairman on the suggestion of other parties. At the time of his hiring, Manafort is reported to have been broke, yet he came on board to work for free.

Once installed as campaign chairman, Manafort is reported to have modified Trump’s platform in favor of Russia.  Upon winning the presidency Trump fired Salley Yates, Preet Bharara, and James Comey, all who were in a unique position to bring him to justice on a number of possible infractions.

Trump continued to campaign for Putin, and was slow to institute congressionally mandated sanctions against Russia. After procrastinating for a long time, Trump instituted some sanctions against Russia; however, many on Capitol Hill felt that it was too little too late as they thought that the sanctions should have been applied more quickly and more severely.

Throughout his presidency, Mr. Trump has continually praised Putin and disrespected our allies, including May of England, Trudeau of Canada, and Merkle of Germany.  He also dispatched his cronies like Nunes, Sanders, and Hannity to spread his propaganda against such revered institutions as the FBI and Department of Justice, headed by his one-time supporter and hand-picked Attorney General, Jeff Sessions of Tennessee. After Sessions correctly recused himself from anything concerning the Russian investigation, Trump soured on him and has since constantly demeaned Sessions to the extent that a lesser person would have “stepped down” from his position by now.

I have said before that Trump has brought “lies to a new high and America to a new low”. Indeed he has done that, but more seriously is the fact that his fellow-Republicans have continually walked “lock step” with him come “hell or high water” in order to maintain his allegiance to them and hopefully maintain their congressional seats. They have sold their souls to the devil for the selfish purpose of maintaining their seats by aligning with a president with a Republican approval rating of over 80%.

When the Founding Fathers formed this government and created its constitution, they did not foresee that we would have an amoral self-absorbed president with multiple legal actions against him who would sacrifice the government and its institutions to save himself no matter what. However, we now have such a person and his presidential victory is still questionable given Comey’s anti-Hillary disclosures, Russian election meddling, and WikiLeaks. But I digress, the important thing is, he is the president despite losing the “popular” vote to Clinton by some three million votes.

We find ourselves now in a political situation in which the nation is governed by an arrogant and impulsive man who some have said is the “least prepared” president in American history, who ascended to his office under questionable circumstances. As, I said earlier, he embraces our long-term enemies while denigrating our long- term friends. His economic policies, inclusive of tariffs, have made some Americans wonder whether he is trying to save America or bury it.

Donald J. Trump’s ducking and dodging and trying to throw shade on the Russian Investigation and all entities associated with it, does more to highlight his probable guilt than dispel it. Common sense tells us that if he is innocent, as he professes, he would simply sit down with Mueller, state his case, and thus prove his innocence. It would be that simple! Yet, Trump continues to “toy” with the idea of a “sit-down” with Mueller- shedding more doubt on his sincerity and veracity. Many people in the media and other pundits are now calling Trump an outright liar after dancing around this term for some time.

When Trump is called a liar in any forum or in print, there is no basis for a legal suit for slander or libel because the proofs of his lies are so abundant.  If folks at home or abroad can’t believe him, or believe in him, it diminishes our nation’s ability to negotiate “anything” at home or abroad due to our “shattered” believability caused by our president. One way to shatter a country is to have no one believe it, or believe in it, anymore.  (Some have said, “As Putin hurts the country from without, Trump hurts the country from within).

Would a rational democratic leader with good intentions denigrate our friends and embrace our enemies, disrespect a gold star Muslim family, insist on the guilt of a group of minority boys when DNA and acquittal proves otherwise, create a bogus “knee issue” regarding minority NFL players for political purposes, impugn the integrity of the FBI and DOJ in order to throw shade on them to save his hide, disrespect the human rights and dignity of women for his selfish pleasure,  and lie continually in the face of irrefutable proof to the contrary-among other things?

Sooner or later, we will be forced to come to grips with the fact that at the head of our government is an impulsive and irrational man who would throw anyone under the bus to save himself- a man who knows no empathy and shows no believable sympathy for most people. His chief accomplishment is his uncanny ability to mesmerize a certain group of people and keep them loyally on his side. He has routine rallies to insure that he doesn’t lose his base, as well as to re-energize his own batteries. His purpose was never to rally or unite all Americans.  He sought and obtained a group of “like thinking” Americans who at the “drop of a hat” would be willing to come to his defense if he told them he was wronged. This Trumpian strategy further divides Americans along cultural and racial lines.

So, where do we go from here? Logic dictates that the dysfunctional reign of Trump will end either through the Mueller findings, the findings of the courts, the dictates of the ballot box, or some combination of these things. In the meantime, we must keep the faith and stay the course. I believe that at the end of the day, true justice will prevail. When that happens, we will finally be Trumpless!

I’ll see you at the Ballot box.

Dysfunction in the White House: Where Do We Go From Here?

An anonymous high level White House staffer, or staffers, felt it was their patriotic duty to expose various issues that reflected the dysfunction in today’s White House.  The instability related to the dysfunction is not surprising to many because Trump has always enjoyed working in a divisive and chaotic environment, and this goes back to his days as a private businessman. However, the White House’s dysfunction and instability is different than Trump’s former businesses chaotic environment, because now it potentially impacts the welfare and lives of over 325 million Americans. Adding more fuel to the current dysfunction and chaos is the fact that the president is being looked at as a “subject” or “target” in the Mueller Investigation.

Today Trump (who has been described as an erratic and impulsive narcissist) is “hell-bent” on derailing the Mueller Investigation in order to selfishly protect himself.  At this time, Trump’s White House is operating in a perpetual defense mode as staffers scurry around trying to guard the president against all incoming problems related to the legal issues that have already implicated Trump’s former National Security Advisor, General Michael Flynn, his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, his deputy campaign chairman, Rick Gates, his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, and others.

With reference to the Trump presidency, folks often say that we “knew what we were getting when we voted Trump into office”. That’s true to some extent, but I believe that many people would have had second thoughts about voting for him if they knew exactly what type of president he would actually become. Yes, they knew that he would try to “shake-up” the existing bureaucracy and make changes in the staffing of the government, but many of these voters didn’t foresee the daily instability and extreme partisanship in government that Mr. Trump has created and routinely oversees.  Besides the Trump led extreme partisanship, there appears to be a new Trump-related, or Trump-caused crisis every week-sometimes every day, on Capitol Hill.

Another problem surfaces when we consider just how Trump actually won the presidency. There were the critical Comey allegations about Hillary Clinton, the constant anti-Democrat/anti-Clinton email leaks by WikiLeaks, and the indisputable interference of Putin and Russia. Due to these occurrences, there remains a question as to how much influence these factors had on the election.  Of course, no one knows. However, we can deduce that they had to have a negative effect on Clinton’s campaign, while having a positive effect on Trump’s campaign.

In the New York Times anonymous op-ed, the author(s) referred to the dysfunctional environment in the White House and stated that they were exposing this dysfunction because they felt it was necessary in order to protect Americans against the impulsive and erratic behavior of President Trump.  Trump’s psychological state and rationality have been in question for some time now. It is no revelation that the anonymous White House Op-ed writer(s) have attributed the current serious White House dysfunction directly to President Trump. However, they say that they want to avoid “impeachment” proceedings because of the possible destabilizing effect it might have on the government.

Many have stated that wherever Trump goes, chaos follows,  and they believe it is past time to take an in-depth and serious look into Trump’s psychological state of mind in order to determine his mental state’s possible detrimental effect on the country.

Trump has committed serious foreign relations mistakes pertaining to our allies, as he has continually alienated our long-term friends like Merkle of Germany, May of England, Macron of France, and Trudeau of Canada, while he has sidled up to and embraced known dictators like Putin of Russia, Kim Jung Un of North Korea, and Duterte of the Phillipines.  Many Americans feel that his behavior with reference to our allies was not only disrespectful to our allies, but un-American!

Can we continue to support a man who occupies the highest political office in the nation when he has shown that he has such an evil lack of respect for others?  Not only has he continually denigrated our allies but he has denigrated his own staff- many that he chose himself. In one instance, he is reported to have cruelly mocked one of his key cabinet level people in the person’s absence. On the campaign trail he referred to “Little Marco”, Lying Ted”, “Crooked Hillary”, etc.  This type of behavior, repeated over-and-over, regardless of venue, is more reminiscent of an offensive child on the playground, than the president of the free world.

Many pundits and media personnel seem to purposely avoid commenting on Trump’s marriage. That’s fine.  However, Trump’s history with women outside of his marriages is well known. Thus, it is conceivable that his current marriage may be functioning on an “optics only level”, that is, for “public relations” or “public consumption” purposes only. Could this be adding to his oftentimes bizarre behavior?

Over the past several months, the serious dysfunction in the White House has been reported in books and other writings, but their content was always rejected by the White House as false and/or inaccurate. Such books as Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff, A Higher Loyalty by James Comey, Fear by Bob Woodward, The Truth about Trump (and other Trump books) by Michael D’Antonio, Unhinged by Omerosa Manigualt Newman, and this month’s Anonymous NY Times Op-Ed publication have not cast Trump or his White House in a flattering light. Though dismissed by the White House as inaccurate or untrue, it is highly unlikely that all of the above published works are inaccurate or false.  Many of them have reported the same serious problems related to the White House and Trump.

The bottom line with reference to Trump and the White House is that the allegations in the above writings must be further investigated and dealt with because they suggest that the President and the White House are in so much turmoil that it is unlikely that the White House is functioning anyway near maximum effectiveness. If that is true, then all Americans are in constant jeopardy.

We can’t continue to dance around the issue; the President is a pathological liar who lives in a self-created alternate universe.  He doesn’t believe in facts or truth unless they are “pro-Trump” facts or truths. If they are not pro-Trump, he dismisses them as “fake”.  

I don’t think that we can risk four full years of a Trump presidency in its present state, and, based on Trump’s history to date, I don’t expect him to change his behavior now or in the future.

America cannot continue to support a president in whom it can’t believe, or believe in.  Also, we cannot expect our allies to have confidence in an American President who is a demonstrated liar on issues large and small.

America is at a point in which it must decide what its next legal and/or political move(s) will be with reference to Mr. Trump.  For the well-being of America, and Americans, we need a change! For most of us, we will first demonstrate our commitment to this change at the ballot box come November.  After that, we’ll see what happens!  However, I am confident that we will do the right thing for America. I’ll see you at the ballot box.

Senator John Sidney McCain III: Man of Integrity

An accomplished man does not have to constantly boast about his accomplishments. His accomplishments will speak for themselves. A learned man does not have to boast about his “ivy league” education; his education will be largely reflected in how he articulates and presents himself. A genuine great businessman would not have to brag about how great a businessman he is. A two minute internet review quickly proves, or disproves, such claims. Multiple business bankruptcies do not qualify one as a great businessman.  Finally, claiming “innocence” of various infractions while declining interview opportunities to prove it does not suggest one’s innocence; it suggests the opposite. Yes, I’ve been talking about Donald J. Trump, the current President of the USA.

Right now in America, both parties are still focused on furthering their own party interests as they have done in the past.  However, the majority Republican Party’s agenda in the Trump era appears to be harsher.  Their agenda is characterized by personal attacks, insults, and extreme partisanship.  The Trump playbook puts “party” above “principle” and “country”. Trumpians have cast aside our traditional American values in order to adhere to their new Republican party ideology created by, and orchestrated by Mr. Trump, a leader of questionable values and motives who is enabled by party members who walk “lock step” with him because they are immobilized by their fear of him. They also fear the possible loss of their positions at election time if they dare not “fall in line” with the new Republican Party which has essentially been hijacked by Donald J. Trump.

In today’s political environment, we rarely encounter independently thinking Republican leaders of integrity who routinely adhere to our long-held American values. However, a notable exception is the recently deceased senator from Arizona, John Sidney McCain III.

Senator McCain never boasted of his accomplishments or his education at the prestigious Naval Academy at Annapolis. He never complained about his battle wounds which plagued him from their onset to his death.  He always demonstrated a healthy respect for all people. His life was exemplified by a sincere devotion to duty, honor, country, family, and religion. He consistently lived his values and that demonstrated who he was.

Before serving our country in Congress, McCain honorably served our country as a Navy officer and fighter pilot. When his plane was shot down in action, he was captured and imprisoned for 5 and ½ years at the North Vietnamese prison called the Hanoi Hilton. The stories of his heroism while imprisoned abound.  Most notably, when offered an early release from prison (due to his father’s high military rank and position) he refused  because he didn’t feel it was right for him to be released, “out of order”-that is, before others who had been imprisoned longer than he had been.  After his refusal to be released, the enemy continued to savagely torture him.  Donald Trump declined to acknowledge McCain’s heroism stating that he preferred military personnel that were not captured.

McCain’s father and his grandfather both earned the rank of Admiral in the Navy, so John had a hard task ahead of him if he desired to equal or “best’ his forebears. However, John decided to continue his public service in the Congress of the United States and he served there with the utmost distinction, serving over thirty as a Senator and 4 years as a Representative.  It looks like his accomplishments rivaled the accomplishments of his forbears.

According to Wikipedia, in 2015, McCain became Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and in 2016 did not back the nomination of Donald J. Trump for the presidency. In 2017 he reduced his active role in the Senate in order to obtain treatment for his newly diagnosed brain cancer.  Wikipedia described McCain as a practicing Republican conservative who broke with the party on matters he disagreed with.  He therefore became known as a “maverick” because he continually chose “principle” and “country” over party.  In the Trump administration, where “party over principle” became the norm, Mr. McCain continued to put principle and country before party. Particularly noteworthy was his “thumbs down” vote which effectively “killed” the repeal of The Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) in 2017. Donald Trump never forgave McCain for that!

Senator McCain’s adherence to the principles of duty, honor, and country, as well as his tendency to “tell it like it is”,  gained him the respect and admiration of many American citizens who felt that these virtues had been rapidly and steadily declining in the Trump Administration.

Unfortunately, John Sidney McCain III died on August 25, 2018, just four days prior to his birthday of August 29^th. He was four days away from reaching age 82. He left behind his wife of 38 years, Cindy McCain, seven children, and a host of other relatives.

Among those eulogizing McCain at memorials or at the funeral were former Vice President Joe Biden, former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and his daughter, Meghan McCain. Though the eulogies effectively spoke of McCain’s life and accomplishments, they also cited the divisive climate on Capitol Hill today and spoke of the need to return to civil discourse as well as the need to return to the more “bipartisan” congressional relationships that characterized other administrations.  As the eulogies progressed, Donald Trump’s name was never specifically mentioned. However, it became clear (as they delivered their messages) that each of the above eulogists blamed Trump for the divisive and partisan climate that exists on Capitol Hill today.

Senator John McCain exemplified independence, integrity, and love of family, country, and peace. He always displayed America’s great virtues and values at home and abroad. He was a unifier of Americans, and he understood our important role in the world. He has “earned” his rest. He has earned his peace.

In 2 Timothy 4:7, Paul said: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” So too has John Sidney McCain III.

Senator McCain, an appreciative America salutes you.  Rest in Peace.