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THE US SENATE is expected to confirm conservative judge Brett Kavanaugh as the next Supreme Court justice today – offering President Donald Trump a big political win and tilting the nation’s high court decidedly to the right.
The months-long battle over Kavanaugh’s nomination has gripped Washington, laying bare the partisan gridlock on Capitol Hill and the political polarisation of America just a month before midterm elections.
The Senate vote – set to begin sometime after 3.30pm (7.30pm Irish time) – will bring an end to a raucous nomination process defined by harrowing testimony from a woman who says Kavanaugh tried to rape her when they were teenagers – and his fiery rebuttal.
If Kavanaugh is confirmed, Trump will have succeeded in having his two picks seated on the court – a major coup for the Republican leader less than halfway through his term.
His promotion to the Supreme Court will also stand as a demoralising defeat for Democrats who battled hard to block the 53-year-old judge at all costs.
Kavanaugh’s confirmation was all but sealed yesterday when he won the support of key Senate Republican Susan Collins and conservative Democrat Joe Manchin.
Their statements of support brought the number of senators supporting Kavanaugh to 51 in the 100-member chamber.
“This is a great day for America,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Fox News late Friday, congratulating his colleagues for “refusing to roll over under all of this intense pressure”.
‘Presumption of innocence’
Kavanaugh’s nomination as a replacement for retiring justice Anthony Kennedy was controversial from the start – but the initial focus was solely on the conservative views held by the married father of two.
But his ascent to the Supreme Court was in serious doubt last week after research psychologist Christine Blasey Ford testified that he had sexually assaulted her at a Washington area party in the early 1980s.
The brutal hearing sparked a supplemental FBI dive into Kavanaugh’s background and a week-long delay of the Senate vote.
While many senators say they were satisfied with the FBI probe, her lawyers say the investigation was insufficient.
“An FBI investigation that did not include interviews of Dr Ford and Judge Kavanaugh is not a meaningful investigation in any sense of the word,” they said in a statement quoted in US media.
Collins – a moderate Republican from Maine – said Kavanaugh was entitled to the “presumption of innocence” as the allegations against him were not substantiated with corroborating evidence.
While acknowledging that Blasey Ford’s testimony was “sincere, painful and compelling”, Collins added: “We will be ill-served in the long run if we abandon the presumption of innocence and fairness.”
Immediately after that speech, Manchin announced his support, calling Kavanaugh a “qualified jurist” who “will not allow the partisan nature this process took to follow him onto the court”.
Manchin faces extraordinary political pressure. He is up for re-election in West Virginia, a state Trump won overwhelmingly in 2016.
The stage was set for today’s final confirmation when the Senate ended debate on the nomination yesterday with a procedural 51-49 vote – a move cheered by Trump, who said he was “very proud”.
‘Elevator screamers’
If he wins confirmation, Kavanaugh – who has faced a bruising process that raised questions over his candour, partisan rhetoric and his lifestyle as a young man – will seal a conservative majority on the nine-seat high court, possibly for decades to come.
His nomination has been met with loud protests, both in Washington and in other cities across the United States. Yesterday, more than 100 people were detained.
Trump dismissed the mostly female anti-Kavanaugh protesters – and claimed that billionaire financier George Soros, a frequent target of conservatives, was behind their demonstrations.
“The very rude elevator screamers are paid professionals only looking to make Senators look bad. Don’t fall for it!” he tweeted.
‘Vote no’
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski described her decision to oppose Kavanaugh as “agonising,” and said that while she hopes he will be a “neutral arbiter” on the court, she “could not conclude that he is the right person for the court at this time”.
However, she said while she would vote “no” today, she would ask that her vote be registered as “present” so as not to jeopardise the majority – and allow a fellow Republican to attend his daughter’s wedding instead of returning to Washington to vote.
Protesters have spent days in Washington urging swing senators like Collins and Murkowski to vote no.
Trump’s reference to Soros, who has supported pro-democracy movements around the world and the US Democratic Party for years, appeared to aim at inciting more support and anger from the president’s conservative Christian base.
The Jewish billionaire is frequently described by arch-conservatives as a behind-the-scenes operator driving liberal and progressive movements – criticisms that have prompted counteraccusations of anti-Semitism.
But Democrats were still arguing that there had been too little effort made to investigate the allegations against Kavanaugh.
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Good luck to judge Kavanagh.
@Martin: Good luck see you later you mean!
@specialsue: But, your comment wasn’t about abortion being curtailed. You pretty much insinuated that women had no authority over themselves. Your comment used abortion as a false pretense for two purposes: the first being to ensure women know they’re place is beneath a man and the second to try and stir as much trouble as possible. Your comment added nothing to the debate over Kavanaugh, either pro or against, and was simply trolling and, hence, per this site’s own rules which are readily available, was deleted.
@Martin: he sure deserves a rub of the green after the witch hunt the democrats subjected him to in last fortnight/ thankfully justice has prevailed.
@Martin: put in a “u” and we ll disown the illsuited person
@john mc carthy: Well done Brett
Great day for America and a better day for the pro life movement .
@DrRexButts: Trump did not make the rules .
@Anthony Gallagher: the democrat party did when they got rid of the 60 vote rule to push through Obama’s agenda.
Unbelievable that they created the stick that’s now beating them.
@Anthony Gallagher: a better day for the ‘pro life’ movement ? All that will happen in certain backward states, is that there will be more poor women leaving their newborn babies at doorways or there will be tens of thousands more kids that will be growing up in the corrupt foster care system.But look,there is good news,which is that the rich can fly into the next state and have a safe,legal abortion.Just like they did before Roe v Wade..
@Fiasco99: And there will come a time when the Democrats will hold not only the presidency but also the two houses,and there would be nothing to stop them from increasing the number of Supreme Court Judges to 11..
@Anthony Gallagher: Comments like this make me embarrassed to be pro-life.
Hey the journal, I see my comment was deleted. What a joke, that I cannot express my opinion that the belief is sky fairies is ridiculous.
@West Cork Lad: Yes there would, the constitution! It was altered to make it 9 after Roosevelt ( a democrat) tried doing that very thing in the 1930’s).
@Richard Smyth: Where does it state in the Constitution that there can only be 9 Supreme Court judges ?
@angryDuck: sky fairies is getting a bit old at this stage, try to be a bit more imaginative.
Guilty or not, this is good for both men and women, women will be encouraged to come forward sooner, as in right after an attack, so that evidence and witness accounts may be recorded more accurately. And it’s great for men because it will dissuade spurious accusations with, in this case, a political undertone.
Times are changing, but rarely does such a shift in attitudes and society come without it’s martyrs.
@Lambo Moonski: The only reasonable comment on here
@Herbert: I disagree, so is yours sir
@Lambo Moonski: now now you’re about correct.
@Herbert: You forgot(or the spellchecker changed) to put ‘un’ in front of reasonable, IMHO
@KingCrisp: oh? Explain….
@KingCrisp: Well said.That Lamb guy & his bff Herbie,obviously doesn’t understand about the effects that a sexual assault has on the victims.
@West Cork Lad: What sexual assault?
@West Cork Lad: Who was the real victim in this case?
@Lambo Moonski: Is it the way that a) you can’t see your opening post,
or
b) that you don’t understand what you wrote
Herbie ; previous,present and future sexual assault victims.
@West Cork Lad: you still haven’t pointed out what part of what I said you have difficulty with. This is the best outcome for female victims and innocent men.
@Lambo Moonski: Guilty or not, this is good for both men and women, women will be encouraged to come forward sooner, as in right after an attack, so that evidence and witness accounts may be recorded more accurately. <- what planet do you live in? First of all,have you ever heard of the word 'trauma' ? It's one of the main feelings that a woman/man has after they have been sexually assaulted.Secondly ;how about the word 'shame' ? It too,is another huge emotion that victims of a sexual assault feels after they have been violated…I could go on,but are you starting to get my drift ?
Trauma can take do many psychological things to a victim
Shame can stop a victim from going to the relevant authorities
I would ask you to read up on why victims of sexual abuse don’t disclose their abuse until many years later..
@West Cork Lad: where’s the prof he assaulted her?
@Lambo Moonski:go and read what i copied and pasted from you…Hint; i’m not even commenting on the outcome of that FBI “investigation” ..
@West Cork Lad: Sorry bud, this isn’t a perfect world, but it’s improving. There’s plenty of injustice in this world, but if this man was to lose his career and reputation based on a politically motivated accusation with ZERO proof, then what kind of a pandora’s box would be opening for future accusations? The environment and landscape is improving by the day for women to come forward sooner. Also, this will help to prevent attacks by people in authority and power. But if we have a situation where a woman can destroy a man with a mere accusation and no proof, what do you think will happen? Because you have your gut instinct, and allow your judgement to be clouded by emotion you’re incapable of understanding the consequences. Typical mob mentality, just the sort of reaction desired by the ones pulling the strings in this example.
@Lambo Moonski: you obviously do not/or don’t want to understand how very hard it is for ‘any’ person to come forward after they have been sexually assaulted.
‘zero proof’ ? -what kind of ‘proof’ would the likes of you require ? Video ?Audio? Photos ?
Even Collins was saying that she was more than likely ‘sexually assaulted’ ,but by someone else.Imagine that ? Some innocent guy is being blamed by her …wow!
Perhaps the Americans like Trump more than we think. The British seem to like BREXIT a bit more than we think, or at least are being led to believe by the media.
The powers that be are keeping Trump in office and in the UK the next Prime Minister could be Boris. The very man who gave them BREXIT.
@2thFairy: BREXIT
@2thFairy: Supreme Court judges are not elected by the people, nor are UK pre ministers.
@Neal Ireland Hello.: but the person elected by the people chose a person that has a similiar way of thinking and same rhetoric etc etc trump was hardly ever going to support a free lovin’ hippie progressive judge to the supreme court, c’mon now.
@Neal Ireland Hello.: nor are our European leaders. Sooo whats your point
@2thFairy: weirdly true
Irrespective of whether he did what he’s accused of or not, his conduct at the hearings has shown him to illsuited to high office of any kind.
@Herbert: It’s a well-structured, thoughtful and highly articulate point you’ve made. But I’ll decline your kind invitation on this occasion.
@Greg Ward: Awh…. Herbert’s request for me to ‘p.i.s.s off’ has been deleted. Boooo.
@Greg Ward: so, if we cant make accusations stick, we will use the “i dont like your tone” excuse. Demand the same outcome as if he was guilty, that is, no job. As his behaviour during the last week is open to different opinions, we will agree to differ. Thankfully the majority of senetors do not agree with you.
@Tony Harris: That’s how the Left works, just look at Brexit and the campaigning for another referendum
@Greg Ward:
Funnily enough you lot were very quite when Bill Clinton was POTUS and Juanita Broaddrick was pointing fingers at him.
@Otranto: ‘you lot’? What ‘lot’ might that be?
So America has once again chosen to impose the most conservative, restricting, punishing regimes and laws on anyone that isn’t white and male. Designed and forced upon them by the most personally priveleged, immoral and irresponsible. I hope Christine Ford feels at least somewhat vindicated in her bravery. I hope she has inspired more victims of abuse to stand up to their abusers.
@Donnachaín Ní Uallacháin: I know – it’s wonderful!
@Donnachaín Ní Uallacháin: seems to be a backlash by white conservative supremacists to Obama’s era. America is great again with economy on up and that seems to be his get out of any jail card
@john mc carthy: Pesky whites and their majority in demographics
@Donnachaín Ní Uallacháin: in the light of what her ex-partner said of her it may just inspire people to lie for political reasons. Holding her up as a shining example of a victim might not be a good idea
@Donnachaín Ní Uallacháin: How do you know she is a victim of abuse?
@Donnachaín Ní Uallacháin: what laws do you speak up that favour white man over anybody else?
@Donnachaín Ní Uallacháin: What laws do you speak of that favour one group above anybody else? I mean actual laws!
@Donnachaín Ní Uallacháin: what laws favour one group over another? And I mean laws!
@Donnachaín Ní Uallacháin: what law do you speak off that favours one group over another? And I mean laws
@Donnachaín Ní Uallacháin: what law do you speak of that favours one group over another? And I mean law!
@Donnachaín Ní Uallacháin: what law do you speak out that night was one group over in the other room? And I mean law
@Donnachaín Ní Uallacháin: what law do you speak of that favours was one group over an other group? And I mean law
@james s: jesus relax there, you have had 1 to many ballygowans.
There was a time when segregation ended that america introduced jim crow laws
@Lisa Byrne: Lol, to be fair the same thing happens with me. I get the “error posting comment” notification
@Herbert: Only yesterday you said it was progressives where authoritarian zero-tolerance “the increasingly authoritarian zero-tolerance progressives are losing their minds because there is a growing movement to restore a normal balance.”
Now you have celebrated the opposite “So America has once again chosen to impose the most conservative, restricting, punishing regimes and laws on anyone that isn’t white and male. Designed and forced upon them by the most personally priveleged, immoral and irresponsible”
“I know – it’s wonderful!”
Juggling juxtapositions is the order of the day.
@Herbert: I am a crisp and a king amongst my brethren. What is a ‘Jake’. Is that something like a rake, or possibly a hake or a cake. Why are you shouting and insulting me, a humble crisp. Even though I am the King of all the crisps, i don’t let that get in the way of been a humble crisp.
Why do you call me a “Jake boy” and why do you want me to sleep. Why don’t you like crisps. The last crisp to insult me was Mr Tatyo. Did he put you up to this. Mr Tatyo is a bold angry crisp
@Herbert: Your confusing a crisp with a rascal, who is Dizzee
@james s: the legacy of the Jim Crow laws still have an effect on black people today.But anyway,what do you make of the stricter ID voting law that some Southern states have tried to bring in ? Do you think that they might now try get it past a Conservative controlled Supreme court ?And if they did,what group of people would they be focusing on ? Would love to hear your thoughts on this ?
@West Cork Lad: how would stricter ID for voting affect any one group more than another?
@Seamus Mac: Have to go out,but i’ll leave this here with you..
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/15/us/politics/voter-id-laws-supreme-court-north-carolina.html
@West Cork Lad: wow, shocking stuff
@Seamus Mac: It sure is…
There’s a lot more that the likes of James haven’t looked into..Another one is Florida,where they don’t allow people that have a felony record a vote,even after they have been released from prison.You can read it here ;
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/01/15/florida-felon-voting-ban-dates-back-jim-crow-unfinished-business-civil-rights-movement/1033317001/
@Seamus Mac: It sure is…
There’s a lot more that the likes of James haven’t looked into..Another one is Florida,where they don’t allow people that have a felony record a vote,even after they have been released from prison.You can read it here ;
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/01/15/florida-felon-voting-ban-dates-back-jim-crow-unfinished-business-civil-rights-movement/1033317001/
@West Cork Lad: I don’t know, maybe it was focused on illegal immigriants!!
@Richard Smyth: you are right when you say that you don’t know.But look,at least you have been consistent on not knowing things..
If this means that this story which has zero impact on the lives of Irish people stops being covered by the media and commentariat here then it is good news.
I really have to ask – what has this got to do with anything here in Ireland ?
In the past some religious people where that extreme they left to settle in the US. This was in the setting of where the normal religion of the day, would be considered extreme by today’s standards. This is now the religious theocracy that is going to be the rule of law in the US. They are forcing theocratic laws on all people. Luckily Ireland is a shining beacon for humanity, whereas the US, sadly is the opposite IHMO
“religious people are fleeing the country like the Pilgrim Fathers aboard the Mayflower because they are being denied the freedom to live in accordance with their beliefs”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8610141/Flashback-the-Pilgrims-who-set-sail-on-the-Mayflower-to-escape-religious-persecution.html
@KingCrisp: I think you need to stop watching “the handmaids tale”. Have you watched it more than once?
Kavanaugh will be figure head for every man falsely accused of rape or railroaded by baseless charges.
The Dems have created a monster
So depressing ………. he has now been investigated by the FBI seven times !!!!
What is with the u in kavanuagh
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