Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Kavanaugh: “I Will Not Be Intimidated”
Brett Kavanaugh sent a letter to the Republican and Democrat leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday. In it, he calls the allegations against him “smears, pure and simple” and “grotesque and obvious character assassination.”
He also restated his intention to follow through on his nomination. “I will not be intimidated into withdrawing from this process,” Kavanaugh writes. “The coordinated effort to destroy my good name will not drive me out. The vile threats of violence against my family will not drive me out. The last-minute character assassination will not succeed.” Below is the text in full.
Published in GeneralDear Chairman Grassley and Ranking Member Feinstein:
When I testified in front of the Senate three weeks ago, I explained my belief that fair process is foundational to justice and to our democracy.
At that time, I sat before the Senate Judiciary Committee for more than 31 hours and answered questions under oath. I then answered more questions at a confidential session. The following week, I responded to more than 1,200 written questions, more than have been submitted to all previous Supreme Court nominees combined.
Only after that exhaustive process was complete did I learn, through the news media, about a 36-year-old allegation from high school that had been asserted months earlier and withheld from me throughout the hearing process. First it was an anonymous allegation that I categorically and unequivocally denied. Soon after the accuser was identified, I repeated my denial on the record and made clear that I wished to appear before the Committee. I then repeated my denial to Committee investigators—under criminal penalties for false statements. All of the witnesses identified by Dr. Ford as being present at the party she describes are on the record to the Committee saying they have no recollection of any such party happening. I asked to testify before the Committee again under oath as soon as possible, so that both Dr. Ford and I could both be heard. I thank Chairman Grassley for scheduling that hearing for Thursday.
Last night, another false and uncorroborated accusation from 35 years ago was published. Once again, those alleged to have been witnesses to the event deny it ever happened. There is now a frenzy to come up with something—anything—that will block this process and a vote on my confirmation from occurring.
These are smears, pure and simple. And they debase our public discourse. But they are also a threat to any man or woman who wishes to serve our country. Such grotesque and obvious character assassination—if allowed to succeed—will dissuade competent and good people of all political persuasions from service.
As I told the Committee during my hearing, a federal judge must be independent, not swayed by public or political pressure. That is the kind of judge I will always be. I will not be intimidated into withdrawing from this process. The coordinated effort to destroy my good name will not drive me out. The vile threats of violence against my family will not drive me out. The last-minute character assassination will not succeed.
I have devoted my career to serving the public and the cause of justice, and particularly to promoting the equality and dignity of women. Women from every phase of my life have come forward to attest to my character. I am grateful to them. I owe it to them, and to my family, to defend my integrity and my name. I look forward to answering questions from the Senate on Thursday.
Sincerely,
Brett M. Kavanaugh
The only quote I would have liked to hear from Kavanaugh to the Judiciary Committee: “Can we be serious for a moment?”
The words I want to hear from him are, “I accept the appointment to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.”
Good for him. When I first heard, “he sent a letter,” I was a bit nervous.
This is great. He’s not going wobbly. Republicans would do well to follow his example and find their spines.
Let’s fight to the death with Senate Democrats and the deep state! I want blood!
I could kiss him. Oh wait, that’s not a good idea.
Very good Mr. Kavanaugh. God bless and protect you and your family.
The real question is whether any of the 51 Republicans will be intimidated.
Sean Davis of The Federalist:
”For all his talk about the need for civility in politics and for Congress to reassert its rightful role as the most powerful branch of federal government, Twitter gadfly @BenSasse has been MIA since the vicious smear campaign against a nominee pending before his committee began.”
Paging Senator Schoolhouse Rock!
Good man.
Very good. I hope he sticks to his guns, as this whole circus reeks of a setup. I do agree, as many have said here, that women need to step up in this matter. However, men need to stop wussyfooting around and contributing to the mess, either by folding like cheap suits, or by feeling sorry for themselves and sniping from the sidelines. This will only get fixed when clear-headed and right-thinking people of both sexes (and there are only two), get together to solve it. Let’s start now.
I wish him well. While I am pessimistic, it is his prerogative to fight. Buckle your seat belts!
This guy is a gem. How refreshing to see a conservative with a functioning pair. The GOP should mobilize, vote tomorrow and get him on the court.
Beautiful letter. I hope Republicans are prepared for war. It appears Leader McConnell certainly is.
It’s great to know Kavanaugh has the fortitude and apparently the backing of his wife and children to continue through this process, even as the Left reaches for every tablespoon of mud they can throw at him.
Old style wrestling cage match. Think Dusty Rhodes vs. Ric Flair. Great PPV. Proceeds to Hurricane Florence victims.
Possible silver lining: the Thomasization of Judge Kavanaugh. Thomas was affable, accommodating and tactically evasive during his initial hearings. After the attempted lynching, he emerged on fire and it’s been a slow burn for nearly three decades.
I worried that Kavanaugh would be hesitant to face the scorn of making the decisions that need to be made to save this country’s Constitutional integrity. Well he’s suffering the full puerile vile scorn of the American left and, if this letter is a hint, about to emerge as a conservative justice in full.
That New Yorker article was the last straw. Time to kick ass.
Where does this stop? Do we maintain this umpire pose as the FBI is directed to interview every little girl Kavanaugh has coached?
Do you mean the way the anti-Trump Republicans and conservative pundits have maintained their umpire pose as the Mueller investigation has ground on, investigating every associate Donald Trump has ever had, hamstringing a Republican administration, creating a two-tier justice system and bankrupting innocent people?
Or is this farce different?
Anatomy question. Is there some way Kavanaugh can share his backbone with Senate Republicans?
I was lukewarm on his nomination but this doesn’t sound like a guy who can be schmoozed into changing a vote by a colleague (unlike his predecessor).
I’d backdate the umpire pose to August 2016, when it became the go-to cover for Better Hillary conservatives. The pose is now so habitual for some — Sasse and Goldberg are poster boys — that breathtaking leftist insanity has to be evaluated with evenhandedness, civic homilies and throat clearing about the comparable sins of conservatives.
On a tactical level why shouldn’t the leftists continue to delay? They dominate the media and popular culture. If conservatives adopt an umpire pose for three weeks while Democrats and their allies assert Kavanaugh is a rapey monster who wins this game?
The Democrats may continue to make errors and give us some unearned runs, but we have no conservative leaders other than Trump swinging for the fences. Umpires don’t win games.
And, yes for the thousandth time, it is why we have Trump and should be happy to have him right now.
This reminded me of a quote from (I think it was) Mark Steyn, during the 2012 (I think it was) Presidential primaries, having to do with Rick Perry’s spine surgery. Of course, the comment was to the effect that he was surprised to know that there was a Republican who had one.
Julie Kelly of American Greatness is preparing a piece on the culpability of the “Better Hillary” so-called conservatives for the sewer our politics has become. Look for it later this week on that fine site.
Her appearance with Steve “Chuckles” Hayward on the Powerline podcast was terrific. I recommend everyone listen to it, bearing in mind you’ll have to contend with “Chuckles’s” endless and off-putting joking.
Speaking of umpires, I’ve been trying to page Senator Ben Sasse of the red state of Nebraska to find out why he’s gone radio silent about the Kavanaugh circus. Senator Schoolhouse Rock was making a lot of noise a couple of weeks ago, before things got nasty.
Do you think maybe he’s riding tandem up-up-and-away in an Asness Chair?
I’ve always been astonished by the vehemence with which progressives attack those who abstain from sexual intercourse and particularly those who promote abstention as a means of avoiding some of the negative consequences that may ensue. I fear that Judge Kavanaugh’s disclosure of his own prolonged virginity will backfire.
Its all horribly unjust and I hope the man is confirmed but for the first time I have doubts- about the confirmation, not the man.
Same site, something else here.
Sorry to see Jim Geraghty gets a mention.
EDIT: Interesting to see David French, who infuriates me sometimes and is also mentioned in the column, with a strong pro-Kavanaugh piece at NRO today.
Hayward is a real conservative mensch. A major league intellect and a fine historian, with commendable willingness to try to bring conservative ideas to the most hostile precincts of American leftist insanity, and a goodhearted sense of humor.
He was clearly made uncomfortable by the attacks on his Never Trump pals and trying to joke his way to the closing theme music while remaining detached from any personal attacks.
It’s the natural reaction of a good guy when the ladies go for the jugular (and I love it when conservative ladies go for the jugular!).
Listen, I suffer from Jonah derangement chronically but Jonah is a very entertaining and talented middlebrow writer who really has zero influence over this issue. Sure, it would be nice if Jonah didn’t confine his opinions on this outrage to retweets. If Trump had done something unusually dopey 10 days ago we’d have five columns by now.
But Goldberg is really politically irrelevant.
Sasse is a United States senator and, putatively, deeply concerned with civic culture, American institutional decency, and the ideals of republican virtue, all of which are being overthrown over the past two weeks.
Yet Sasse is MIA. Why?
My sense is Sasse prefers to retail faux folky nostrums and balanced disappointments and simply won’t fight the leftist cultural and political jackals except with his votes, which are reliably conservatarian. Glad he’s in the Senate. He’s a big improvement over an Ag state republican with a 60 rating from Heritage Action.
But looking to him in a political firefight is kind of pointless.
If you did it on camera we’d all know you started it.
Mostly I agree with you. But you’re too easy on Sasse.
Nebraska is pretty reliable red state. Like many other Republican flyover states, local commodity businesses have long dominated its GOP politics, to the detriment of American conservatism.
It is the reason that while a whole panoply of leftist issues describe what a “Massachusetts liberal” or a “San Francisco progressive” means, saying the words “Nebraska or Wyoming conservative” calls up a firearm and a good bidnis climate.
If we give Alabama, Idaho and Nebraska Republicans — like Sasse — a pass to take a pass on tough issues, we will never have the kind of senatorial leadership that we are going to need in the coming years, because firebrands are not going to come from Connecticut or Florida.
We will just get played.
We can’t make them stand up, but we shouldn’t easily accept their lying down.
Yet we give them all passes. Where has Deb Fischer been the past ten days? Or Jim Risch? Is Mike Crapo a firebrand?
We measure Sasse against his imagined potential. But he’s more a poseur than a fighter. Lord his book was lame.
In a fight, I’ll take Cotton every time.