| NightlyPoe said: I somewhat agree and that's more or less my official position. However, the counterargument is valid as well. What does it mean when anyone who submits their name to the Supreme Court can be defeated with unconfirmed and unconfirmable charges? What does it mean for future nominees and their willingness to put their families through this? And we're not talking about equal share here. This is typical of the treatment of conservative appointments. I cannot tell you how many nominees have been smeared with baseless charges of racism and such over the years even for lower courts. While it is a political post and it does not take a criminal conviction to drop a nomination, the consequences of removing Kavanaugh are not as simple as moving onto the next nominee. We will have established the Kavanaugh Precedent. The real world result of which would be that any person who may or may not have known you in your past has veto power over your nomination and will wreck your reputation in the process. I find it persuasive that such a system, particularly one uniquely stacked against Republican nominees, is not tenable. |
This "Kavanaugh Precedent" is nothing to fear. Those "baseless charges of racism" didn't stop those appointments from being confirmed. Gorsuch got multiple Democratic votes, and no accusations. The only reason this would stop Kavanaugh is the combination of national attention and a story that convinced a sufficient portion of the population that it becomes a danger to the SC's reputation. Thomas had similar accusations, and was confirmed, but there wasn't as much of a public outroar or cries that the SC would not be trusted by women again. Thomas just became yet another conservative judge that liberals didn't like or trust, especially liberal women. Kavanaugh's situation is a different animal altogether. Even if Dems are doing this on purpose and will try to do so for every Rep nominee, and even if Reps never try to do it, it wouldn't create a system stacked against Rep nominees, because not every nominee will have an accuser, and not every accuser will be believed at the level Ford is. If Dems try to force the issue, all they'll accomplish is to destroy their own reputation in the public's eye. Better that the Democrats destroy their reputation than that the Republicans destroy the Supreme Court's reputation.
