Enough Bickering... Let's Get Down to Business

 Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh 

Two weeks have passed since President Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to replace the retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.   Judge Kavanaugh has been available to Senators in Washington almost every day since Trump nominated him on July 9, 2018.  So far  Kavanaugh has met with 23 Republican Senators but not a single Senate Democrat.  Many Democrats have refused to hold the usual meet and greet events with Kavanaugh claiming they need to see more documentation on his time working in the White House for the Bush Administration.  The delay in meeting with Judge Kavanaugh has Republicans worrying about meeting the October 1st deadline -- the beginning of the next Supreme Court term. Some key players in this political debate are Senator Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), Senator Diane Feinstein (D-California), Senator Chuck Schumer (D-New York), Senator Joe Manchin III (D-West Virginia), Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-North Dakota) and Senator  John Cornyn (R-Texas)  Senator Schumer, a Democratic leader, insists on waiting indefinitely for relevant documents and claims that most Democrats are following his lead.  Kavanaugh's past statements about the 1974 Supreme Court ruling that forced President Richard M. Nixon to turn over the Watergate tapes suggest that it might have been wrongly decided.  Democrats could see this as a reason to object to Judge Kavanaugh.  Senator Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senator Grassley, Republican Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, need to come to an agreement on which of Kavanaugh's documents must be produced to resolve this standoff. Although nearly all Democrats have not been able to fit a meeting with Kavanaugh into their schedule, Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, is agreeing to visit Kavanaugh on Monday, July 30th. Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota is also intending to schedule a meeting with Judge Kavanaugh, regardless of any agreement on records. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn who is on the Judiciary Committee will play an important role in the confirmation proceedings.  Cornyn is concerned about the implications of a lengthy confirmation process, "...I don't think it would be a good idea to just drag this out for the sake of extending it beyond the midterm elections."   Hopefully, these politicians will get to work evaluating Kavanaugh's background and credentials and cooperate on a comprehensive review of the candidate soon. 

Questions for Discussion

1. Why might some candidates approve of President Trump's nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh?


2. Why do you think that Senator Chuck Schumer of New York is urging other Democrats to wait
    before meeting with Judge Kavanaugh.

3. Why are Democrats concerned over Judge Kavanaugh's view of presidential power?

Sources 

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Texas-Senator-John-Cornyn-on-Judge-Kavanaugh-nomination-487804001.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/us/politics/democrats-brett-kavanaugh-documents.html

http://www.pellachronicle.com/gallery/grassley-prepares-for-kavanaugh-confirmation-process/article_6652fdce-8493-11e8-9b4b-632d768f421a.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2018/07/18/dianne-feinstein-expects-at-least-1-million-pages-of-documents-on-kavanaughs-career-in-politics/?utm_term=.1deba8829965

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/congress/brett-kavanaugh-comes-knocking-but-democrats-wont-meet-with-him