THOUGHTS ON BRETT KAVANAUGH

I haven't blogged for awhile, but I've been thinking on the nomination to the Supreme Court for several weeks since Justice Kennedy announced his retirement, making my usual anti-Trump snarky comments on FB and Twitter.  I'm not a lawyer, but this requires more.

Ever since that...er...person became President, we have expected he would be able to nominate a Justice or two.  Painful though it is for us Democrats, we have to acknowledge and admit that we knew this was coming and that thoughtful conservative voters (nice people!) who knew how terrible he is elected him anyway for this single purpose of tipping the Court rightward.  At this point, we should be relieved that the nominee isn't Sean Hannity or Ted Nugent.  Instead, we have a thoughtful, conservative Catholic.

Brett Kavanaugh is a graduate of an awesome Jesuit high school that my son attended, where the motto is "men for others." and instills a lifelong conscience of duty to help the less fortunate. His mother was a teacher, then a lawyer, which tells me, well, he had an awesome mom.  He is a Yalie -- not exactly a place to become Attila the Hun. He served at a high level and met his wife in the Bush 43 White House (which in retrospect is...comforting?).  He is father to two daughters.  All of this makes me think that he may not be as bad as the shouters are convinced he is. Having said that, I expect I will not like or agree with many of his opinions, but I know that they will come from a background I respect and that he will have given thoughtful consideration to his views.

It has never been more true that elections have consequences.  2016's are historic -- the yearning for change that elected Barack Obama mutated into, well -- now we have the worst president since 1776; a Supreme Court that will lean right-wing for several generations; conflict and bewilderment among our allies near and far and manipulation by adversaries; serious and passionate divisions among friends, families and states; and an economy that may fly too high to the sun.  All these things make us weaker and a target for a new 9-11.

No matter what the reasons (and there are many) that the 2016 election went the way it did, for now, we must live with it.  Even if he were to be removed from office, much of the policies will remain the same and the Supreme Court will continue to move rightward as long as the Republicans are in charge.  Marching in the streets and carrying signs and wearing pink hats and arguing with our relatives and friends -- these activities only help a little, and in the case of Maxine Waters and others, may actually hurt our side. The true remedy will be the ballot -- first, in 2018, and more importantly, 2020.  So protest and shout, but more importantly, do what the Parkland kids are doing:  get out and recruit and register voters and help them get to the polls in November. If Democrats get back on top, it will be a tourniquet on the general political move rightward.  But don't expect the Supreme Court to revert to 1960s liberalism.  That time is long gone.