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‘I Would Never Do to Them What You’ve Done to this Guy’
How could anyone forget Senator Lindsey Graham’s diatribe over Bret Kavanaugh’s treatment by the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2018?
Since Justice Ginsburg passed, people have been expressing either their glee or dismay that whomever President Trump nominates for the seat on the Supreme Court will experience a virtual lynching by the Senate Judiciary Committee. But I’d like to suggest that Senator Graham, who is now head of the Committee, consider including the following remarks in his opening statement:
To My Colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee—
Two years have passed since the vote to seat Justice Bret Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court. The memories of that process still sicken and distress me; I fear that no one has learned from that experience and decided to restore dignity to this committee or its interview process, and that the nominee will be treated as outrageously as Justice Kavanaugh.
Some of you are also upset because the President acted so promptly to fill that position. It is his right and obligation to do so. You may feel that it is disrespectful to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. So instead of dwelling on that proposition, I suggest that we use Justice Ginsburg’s life as a testament to the way this Committee should proceed.
First, when interviewed following the approval of Justice Kavanaugh, Justice Ginsburg was disturbed by what had taken place. Her own nomination and interview process and that of her dear friend, Justice Antonin Scalia, were handled with dignity; both of them were overwhelmingly approved, in spite of their differences in viewpoints. She responded to a question about the past and the present:
California Supreme Court Justice Goodwin Liu interviewed Ginsburg during the live discussion, asking her to compare her confirmation process to what was presently happening with Kavanaugh’s.
Ginsburg offered a succinct response, which was met by applause and laughter from the audience: ‘The way it was, was right. The way it is, is wrong.’
Justice Ginsburg also did not let politics get in the way of her working relationships with her colleagues, who were on both sides of the political spectrum. Here is Justice Thomas’ response to her death:
Thomas wrote he was heartbroken to learn of her passing. ‘Through the many challenges both professionally and personally, she was the essence of grace, civility and dignity. She was a superb judge who gave her best and exacted the best from each of us, whether in agreement or disagreement. And, as outstanding as she was as a judge, she was an even better colleague – unfailingly gracious, thoughtful, and civil.’ [italics are mine]
Justice Kagan also shared her thoughts:
‘Ruth reached out to encourage and assist me in my career, as she did for so many others, long before I came to the Supreme Court,’ Kagan said. ‘And she guided and inspired me, on matters large and small, once I became her colleague. I will miss her — her intellect, her generosity, her sly wit, her manifest integrity, and her endless capacity for work — for the rest of my life.’ [italics are mind]
Let’s remember Justice Ginsburg’s legacy today and throughout these procedures by pointing to her gift for kindness, professionalism, and courtesy, in our own interview procedures. Let’s transcend the past. Let’s remember her example of treating people with respect, no matter whether she agreed with their points of view or not.
Let’s use this moment to demonstrate to all Americans that the process for interviewing a nominee to the Supreme Court is not broken, and rise above our differences as we move forward.
Let’s honor the legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
* * * * *
The possibility of Senator Graham beginning the hearings in this manner is slim to none. If he does, he will not only have put the Committee members on notice regarding their behavior, but he will be telling the country that there is one place where Justice Ginsburg will be honored, no matter who appears before the Committee.
We can hope.
Published in Politics
Spot on.
Graham’s re-election is by no means assured, mainly because of disaffected conservative voters in South Carolina. So between now and Nov. 3, conservative voters there hold a lot of power over Lindsey, unless he somehow thinks not starting the hearing process ASAP for Trump’s nominee is a winning strategy.
If he’s seen as dragging his feet over the next five weeks in order to make people inside the Beltway happy, he could find himself a lame duck Senator come Nov. 4. Win or lose, once we get past Election Day, Graham no longer has to be responsive to the voters, just as John McCain was all for the border wall right up until the votes were counted in his final election (and while I do think Lindsey’s outrage at the Democrats was real during the Kavanaugh hearings and not just for show, he does seem to still have vestagaes of the Charlie Brown-and-Lucy-with-the-football attitude towards either forgetting what Democrats did the last time, or somehow thinking the next time is going to be different).
The entire process of Supreme Court confirmations went into the sewer with Ted (Lion of the Senate) Kennedy’s behavior during the Bork confirmation hearings. Since then, it’s been open season on all nominations from a Republican President. For their part, Republicans have merely rolled over for virtually every nomination from a Democratic President. Absolutely shameful behavior on their part.
The Democrats merely raised (or lowered, depending on your definition) the bar during the Kavanaugh hearings. I don’t believe that these hearings were ever meant to be the circuses that they have turned into. However, for Democrats, no sort of deviant behavior on their part will ever be off the table.
The best argument for supporting Graham’s re-election is what he does to get a Supreme Court justice confirmed by election day. The effect of that nominee is of more consequence than a weasily Senator continuing to betray his constituency on other issues . That bargain must be firm and express.
@jon1979, I’m not clear on why you think it wouldn’t be a winner strategy for him to go whole hog?
I don’t. I’m just saying if Graham has some consultants who are telling him going all-in on pushing the nomination through the Senate would cost him more votes of suburban moderates than it would gain him conservatives, then he could end up trying to drag his feet over the next month-and-a-half, while at the same time, trying to figure out any way possible to convince South Carolina conservatives he’s not slow-walking the confirmation process.
I see where you’re going. Yes, it’s possible. It would be foolish move, but it’s certainly possible in these crazy times.
How could anyone forget? Easy. The terrible thing they did to Kavanaugh, and it was terrible, is probably only the fourth most terrible thing they’ve done in the recent four years. Where is Berserker Lindsey? Safely stowed away for more opportune PR moments. There is a place for PR moments for sure, but I am deeply disappointed that no one, including Sen Graham, seems to understand just how far the Dems have gone and are willing to go. Is mystifies me that there isn’t a broader and louder and more unified Republican campaign of outrage at the real outrageous things that are happening.
Russia Collusion Hoax is 100 times worst that Watergate IMO. Naked and unprecedented politicization of the intelligence and law enforcement apparatus.
Ukraine Hoax, was bad too. I listened to the hearings – even reasonably smart people have to know that the case came down to 1) the careerists tried to veto Trump’s policies, and 2) the legitimacy of suggesting an investigation of apparent corruption which was obviously legitimate to suggest.
COVID disingenuousness. They’ve been playing politics with covid from the start and now seem to have settled in to using it as cover to expand and normalize state power over our lives.
BLM and Antifa lies. The ideas that black people are being hunted or that cops aren’t subject to justice or that police brutality is a major problem are simply wrong, and the Dems are pushing these ideas in the most dangerous of ways which I think has contributed to real violence, looting, rioting, death, destruction, and human misery.
I agree with you, @edg. It is pathetic and tragic that the Republicans are so stuck and feckless regarding these and other disgusting events. I’m frustrated, too, and I wish I knew how to put a fire under them. I don’t want to imitate the lying, deceit and misrepresentations of the Dems, but there must be more they can do. But they are either unwilling or unable to act.
Graham needs support and donations now, not in December.
Both Lindsay Graham and Susan Collins showed a lot of courage and spirit during the Kavanaugh process, and without them, the mobbing attempt might well have succeeded. That is why I’ve contributed to both of them.
Graham is great on TV, fierce and unapologetic. But he always seems to disappoint when the cameras are turned off.
Keep the cameras on him.
Let’s hope that Senator Graham reads your post, Susan.
As a SC resident, I endorse this message.
Lindsay Graham was the congressman in my district for severable years and one of my sons worked as a top aide in his DC office before he became a senator. So I am very confident in saying that there is no way in hell he will not be re-elected. South Carolinians know exactly who Lindsay is. He is is not what most of us would want as the perfect senator but he is what we have and that is good enough.
And his ads tell us who Harrison is.
They weren’t, in fact for most of our history nominees didn’t even attend the confirmation hearings. There’s nothing in the Constitution that requires the Senate to subject nominees to public grillings in order to fulfill its role of “advice and consent.”
I say the Judiciary Committee should cancel the public hearings this time around. ACB can meet privately with any Senators who wish to interview her, then skip the hearings and schedule the confirmation vote. If the Democrats complain, point to how they mistreated Kavanaugh and say “this is why we can’t have nice things.”
“Lindssey, what is best in life?”
“To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their media tools.”
And then-Sen. Joe Biden furthered the trip into the sewer during the Thomas confirmation hearings. (I know, Sen. Graham is the principal subject of this post thread, but I feel an almost uncontrollable urge to remind people of the often neglected fact that presidential candidate Biden is at least as dishonorable as people claim President Trump is.)
Yes, at least. Last night, at the curious time of 11:30 PM, I watched an interview of Jill Biden’s ex-husband. Of course, it is to be expected that there is a lot of sour grapes coming out of this guy but there was one thing that stuck out in my mind.
The ex-husband said that he had no doubt that Joe was bird-dogging his wife (Jill) when he received a call from the State Police. The ex-husband’s prized Corvette had just been involved in an accident. The driver of the Corvette was not Jill; it was Senator Biden.
Joe, Jill and the ex-husband should be on the Springer Show; not in a Presidential campaign.
What’s bird-dogging?
Chasing after.
Good thing our candidate has never been accused of anything like that. Donald Trump would never do anything like that. Never! He prefers chauffeur-driven limousines, so I am sure he has not crashed another man’s Corvette. I remember seeing Donald Trump on TV saying he doesn’t even like to drive his own sports cars, he just likes owning them.
Randy, I think the point of bringing it up is to counter the argument in support of Joe Biden: that at least he’s a man of character. He isn’t, and it’s no justification for supporting Biden over Trump.
For the #NeverTrump people, they like Biden’s schmoozing style, in which he treats people nicely he might someday need, while limiting his crap treatment to those he doesn’t see as being helpful to him, such as the husband of his adultress, the Secret Service staff forced to silently view his skinny-dipping, or the not-at-fault driver of the other vehicle in that awful 1972 accident that killed his first wife and child. Biden’s mistreatment of people tends to stay away from Beltway types with any clout/media influence, so that’s OK, while Trump is far less selective of what egos he bruises or who he treats like crap.
I suspect Jill wants the White House more than he does. If he wins, there won’t be any love lost between Kamala, eyeing Biden’s seat, and Jill. Cat fight.
See my latest post on Jill.
Thanks. Yep, agree totally.
Sorry, I’m showing my age again. The term came from an old song by the Everly Brothers. If you follow the lyrics below, you can see why it would pertain to Joe.
https://g.co/kgs/VaqQor