Jeffery Ford: Republicans Must Change How They Select Supreme Court Nominees
President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing is happening this week and any sensible person knew what we could expect from the well-rehearsed sideshow.
The Democrats will appear to harshly grill Judge Kavanaugh with carefully scripted questions concerning matters both relevant and irrelevant to his ability to perform as a justice in an apparent effort to frame his responses in the most negative light possible.
Judge Kavanaugh will simply seek to avoid controversy by skillfully engaging in the fine art of deflection. Senators will repeatedly hear Kavanaugh invoking what is now referred to as “The Ginsburg Rule,” which simply means he will refuse to answer many of their questions due to the possibility of his needing to rule on that issue in the future.
The Democrats will then proceed to demonstrate their faux outrage by engaging in outlandish histrionics on every 24-hour news network they can get their much coveted and highly profitable face time on.
But here’s the dirty little secret the Democratic operatives don’t want you to know. Despite all of their caterwauling to the contrary, the Democrats will be perfectly happy to see Justice Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court bench. Kavanaugh was Trump’s potential nominee who was least likely to ever vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. Kavanaugh is also a firm believer in following precedent whenever possible — which means he is also incredibly unlikely to judicially advocate from the bench in the same despicable manner so many left-leaning judges and justices do.
The Democrats might not know much about the sanctity of life or even how to discern their own gender, but they definitely know how to fight dirty for the causes they believe in. After all, when you can’t win an argument on its merits, what other choice do you have but to win “by any means necessary”?
When Democratic presidents appoint Supreme Court justices, they do so with a very distinct purpose in mind. They make sure to only appoint future justices who will always rule in their favor despite any burdensome, antiquated notions such as following legal precedent whenever possible.
The left’s strategy to rule over our country through the court system is not optimal for our nation and it is definitely elevating the power of the judicial branch of government far higher than it was ever intended — and always in a direction that most frequently favors the Democratic Party’s liberal agenda.
Trump campaigned as a pro-life candidate. So it was cruelly disappointing for many of his supporters to learn that Trump never even discussed the issue of abortion with Judge Kavanaugh before nominating him to the Court.
Pro-life conservatives have been perplexed for years concerning why so many Republican presidents refuse to apply certain litmus tests to their potential Supreme Court nominees. A litmus test simply means that if the individual does not hold a certain value, or will not decide on a given issue in a guaranteed manner, they are automatically disqualified from any further consideration.
The liberal mainstream media has successfully convinced a large portion of the population that Republicans should never utilize a litmus test concerning abortion when choosing a Supreme Court nominee. You will notice, though, that you have never heard the same media outcry when Democratic presidents nominate the likes of pro-choice justices such as Ginsburg and Sotomayor to our nation’s highest court.
While it would be wonderful if we lived in an America where the only function of the Supreme Court was to interpret the United States Constitution — that’s not the world we are living in. The Left is advocating for their values, and the Right must immediately begin to be more active in doing the same.
Here are three litmus tests conservatives must insist upon in order for us all to enjoy “a more perfect union”:
The Right to Life is an Unalienable Right
The Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
The right to life for every innocent American citizen from the time of conception must never be compromised.
The Right to Freedom of Speech
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech …”
Freedom of speech includes highly unpopular speech — no matter how politically incorrect it might be. American citizens must be free to use whatever pronouns they see fit without governmental coercion and be able to verbally express any opinions they think, feel or believe as long as they aren’t inciting physical harm to another by doing so.
The Right to Keep and Bear Arms
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution clearly states, “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
We have enemies both foreign and domestic who would love to see American citizens lose their right to keep and bear arms. For our own personal and national security, we can never allow that to happen.
We must demand that all Supreme Court nominees stand up for the greatest of American principles which include the right to life, our freedom of speech and the right to keep and bear arms. Any nominee who fails to defend any of these principles must immediately be disqualified from consideration.
Judge Brett Kavanaugh appears to be a fine man with an outstanding family who is worthy of our consideration and respect. But until he unequivocally demonstrates an affirmative position on all three of our litmus tests — we should withhold our full support for his nomination to the Supreme Court.
We must stand tall in the face of adversity and fight for every freedom we now enjoy, or the America we know will soon cease to exist. Let’s make sure that we can reliably depend on Judge Brett Kavanaugh to stand by our side. He owes us and our country at least that much.
The views expressed in this opinion article are those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by the owners of this website. If you are interested in contributing an Op-Ed to The Western Journal, you can learn about our submission guidelines and process here.
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