Judging by the Book

The Judge:  It’s not surprising that Democrats are pushing back against Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.  He really is the Federalist Society’s poster boy, an “originalist” who believes that Constitution should be interpreted in the way that was intended when it was written.  The Federalist Society believes that most, if not all of the Court’s decisions on social issues are out of line, so no abortion rights and no same sex marriage.  They aren’t all that pleased with anything related to affirmative action and though you won’t hear Kavanaugh say it, he probably doesn’t believe that separate isn’t equal.  That’s not to say that everything Federalist Society members believe adheres to a strict interpretation of the Constitution, they bend in the interest of conservative causes so though the Second Amendment talks about arming state militias they read it to mean that everyone should be able to carry a gun anywhere.  All of this makes Kavanaugh’s addition to the court particularly frightening, unless of course you share the Federalist Society’s views and it’s fair to assume that if you are reading this, you don’t.  Though he will be just one of nine justices, Kavanaugh’s vote really will tilt the Court far to the right unless one of the other judges on the right decides to shift towards the middle in the interest of maintaining the status quo and while that would be nice, and some dreamers think that Chief Justice Roberts will assume the swing mantle, he probably won’t. It’s not surprising that Trump appointed Kavanaugh, he was upfront about outsourcing the his court selections to the Federalist Society, what is surprising is how badly, with all the power resting in their hands, the Republicans are messing up the nomination process. Democrats may not be able to kill Kavanaugh’s nomination but by acting is such an imperial manner Republican leadership appears to have given them the opportunity to win in the court of public opinion.  So yesterday, in an move orchestrated over the weekend, Democrats on the Judiciary Committee did their best to disrupt the proceedings.  They interrupted Chairman Grassley’s introductory remarks by loudly declaring that the whole process was corrupt because more than 100,000 pages of Kavanaugh’s papers are being kept hidden and went ballistic over a dump of more than 42,000 pages that were released just hours before the beginning of the hearing.  California Senator Kamala Harris was the first Democrat to speak out, a strategic move that stunned Grassley who probably didn’t want to be seen yelling at a woman of color on national TV right before the midterms. Connecticut Senator Blumenthal followed by moving for the hearing to be adjourned so that more time could be make available to read the 42,000 dumped pages.  To no one’s surprise, that move was rejected. Nevertheless, what should have been a smooth, though rancorous hearing, continued downhill.  It didn’t help that Justice Kavanaugh got caught on camera refusing to shake the hand of  Fred Guttenberg, the father of one of the Parkland shooting victims who makes it a practice of introducing himself to decision makers in the hopes of making them understand his grief and views on gun control  Guttenberg had been invited to attend the hearing by Senator Feinstein so he was hardly a dangerous intruder.  Pictures of Kavanaugh sneering at the dad went viral, it didn’t help that it’s been reported that he also asked for security to have Guttenberg removed.  Kavanaugh’s handlers want America to view him as a soccer dad and the loving father of daughters, so much for that image. Despite the bad optics, Republicans are probably still on track to vote Kavanaugh through because as of now it doesn’t appear that Senators Collins or Murkowski will rock the boat, they claim to be pro-choice but appear to have convinced themselves that Kavanaugh, the judge who tried very hard to prevent a seventeen year old being held by INS from getting the abortion that she was seeking, would uphold Roe v Wade. Republicans got an added boost yesterday when Arizona Governor Ducey announced Senator McCain’s replacement.  Ducey chose former Arizona Senator Jon Kyl to serve out the rest McCain’s term. Kyl will enthusiastically vote for Kavanaugh, after all he’s been serving as his guide through the nomination process.   

The Book:  Bob Woodward’s much anticipated book about the goings on at the Trump White House isn’t due out until September 11 but yesterday some juicy highlights were revealed by the various news outlets that had received early copies. The title of the much anticipated book is Fear, and judging by what was leaked, we should all be quite nervous about where the country goes from here.  Woodward is known for being a scrupulous and accurate chronicler of White House antics so there is no reason to believe that his version of White House events is anything less than true.  That said, the White House is already up in arms, though no one there appears to have read a galley of the book, Sarah Huckabee Sanders attacked it saying “This book is nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former disgruntled employees, told to make the President look bad,” a particularly stupid statement even for her given that many of those quoted are still at the White House.  Trump, who turned down several attempts by Woodward who tried hard to snag an interview with him for the book,  tweeted that the book has already been discredited.  He denied calling Attorney General Sessions a retarded southerner as asserted in the book, and cited some denials from Generals Mattis and Kelly who are both quoted in the book dissing him but who released statements yesterday denying they’d said what we all know they said.  Those disses include Mattis referring to Trump’s intellect as somewhere around the level of a fifth or sixth grader and Kelly calling him a moron and a series of believably mean names, words that others at the White House confirm that he uses all the time.  The book also reveals that Mattis warned Trump that upturning the status quo on the Korean peninsula and the trade agreement with South Korean would lead to WW III  and that Mattis pretty much ignored a directive to have Syrian strongman Bashar Assad assassinated after he dropped chemical weapons on his citizens by instead preparing the more measured response that was ultimately executed.  The book also reveals that former economic advisor Gary Cohn used to snatch unsigned directives off of Trump’s desk to prevent him from doing things like unilaterally withdrawing from NAFTA.  It also reveals just how shaken Cohn was about events in Charlottesville and how Trump regrets ever saying anything bad about those really nice white supremacists and Nazis.  Notably the book also reveals just how concerned former Trump lawyer John Dowd was about Trump participating in an interview with Special Counsel Mueller.  To prove his point Dowd staged a mock interview, where Trump lied like crazy before erupting, after which Dowd told him that he’d do the same with Mueller and would end up in one of those orange jumpsuits, one that would clash with his hair and faux tan, if he didn’t follow his advice to decline the interview.  Dowd resigned shortly after delivering that ultimatum.  As to interviews,  though Trump initially denied that he even knew that Woodward had tried to speak with him, yesterday Woodward released a tape of a phone conversation that he had with Trump after the book had already been finalized.  On that call Trump first denies knowing that Woodward had approached his office and then admits that Senator Lindsey Graham had actually told him that Woodward was seeking some of his time but that he ignored the request. Trump ends the call saying that he expects that this will be another one of those bad books.  As to that other interview, the one that Mueller is still seeking, yesterday the New York Times reported that though he still wants an interview, Mueller is willing to accept some written responses from Trump but only on Russian collusion not on obstruction of justice.  It’s not clear which lawyer at the White House would be willing to  write up those responses because everyone on the legal team has got to know that Mueller knows more than Trump is willing to tell them and anything they write would likely be full of lies.       

More Primary Results:  Yesterday Boston City Councilwoman Ayanna Pressley upset long term Democratic Representative Mike Capuano in the primary for what had been his seat in Congress.  Unlike the situation in Queens NY where Democratic Socialist Ocasio-Cortez upset long term Representatve Joe Crowley, this wasn’t a case of a difference of philosophy, the two candidates agree on substantially all issues.  Pressley’s victory was more a reflection of changing demographics and a desire for change.  She had said that she was running because she was tired of waiting her turn and it looks like she won’t have to wait much longer.  Capuano conceded early, disappointed but gracefully passing the torch, he said that he agreed, it was time for change in Washington. It’s not just Republicans who should be concerned. Nancy Pelosi’s time might be up too.