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Should Brett Kavanaugh be the next Supreme Court Justice. One Political expert shares his thoughts.

Swearing-in Ceremony for Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Oval. Rose Garden.

<div class&equals;'mailmunch-forms-before-post' style&equals;'display&colon; none &excl;important&semi;'><&sol;div><p style&equals;"text-align&colon; center&semi;"><iframe style&equals;"border&colon; none&semi;" src&equals;"&sol;&sol;rcm-na&period;amazon-adsystem&period;com&sol;e&sol;cm&quest;o&equals;1&amp&semi;p&equals;12&amp&semi;l&equals;ur1&amp&semi;category&equals;amzn&lowbar;dvcs&lowbar;jul3&lowbar;echo&lowbar;show&amp&semi;banner&equals;0MTJBBZG4QSSXE24GPR2&amp&semi;f&equals;ifr&amp&semi;lc&equals;pf4&amp&semi;linkID&equals;82a939a2a307423e0494ef3d5c296fe7&amp&semi;t&equals;hescotusrepor-20&amp&semi;tracking&lowbar;id&equals;hescotusrepor-20" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"250" frameborder&equals;"0" marginwidth&equals;"0" scrolling&equals;"no"><&sol;iframe><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>One of our friends Matt Schlapp recently wrote an Opinion piece for <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;thehill&period;com&sol;opinion&sol;judiciary&sol;395524-with-brett-kavanaugh-america-will-have-a-bold-brilliant-supreme-court">The Hill<&sol;a> &&num;8211&semi; a political newspaper and website discussing the reasons why Brett Kavanaugh would be the best nominee for the Supreme Court&period;<&sol;p><script async src&equals;"&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block&semi; text-align&colon;center&semi;" &NewLine; data-ad-layout&equals;"in-article" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"fluid" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-5175198302130341" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"9182933377"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script>&NewLine;<p>Matt worked closely with Brett at the Bush&lpar;43&rpar; White House&period;  This is where Matt got to know Brett for his solid judgement&comma; respect for others and calm demeanor even while working in an intense environment like the White House&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Brett&&num;8217&semi;s work after the White House speaks volumes on its own to his impressive judicial qualifications and his respect for the Constitution&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Read the piece in its entirety below&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;thehill&period;com&sol;opinion&sol;judiciary&sol;395524-with-brett-kavanaugh-america-will-have-a-bold-brilliant-supreme-court">THE HILL<&sol;a><br &sol;>&NewLine;<a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;thehill&period;com&sol;opinion&sol;judiciary&sol;395524-with-brett-kavanaugh-america-will-have-a-bold-brilliant-supreme-court">By Matt Schlapp<&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>For believers in the original meaning of the Constitution&comma; the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy is a special yet perilous moment&period; For nearly 70 years&comma; Republican presidents have committed repeated unforced errors when it came to making Supreme Court nominations&period; <span class&equals;"rollover-people" data-behavior&equals;"rolloverpeople"><a class&equals;"rollover-people-link" href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;thehill&period;com&sol;people&sol;donald-trump" data-nid&equals;"261287">President Trump <&sol;a><&sol;span>owes his successful capture of the GOP nomination in part to his covenant with conservatives that he would appoint only devoted constitutionalists to the nation’s highest court&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In dramatic fashion&comma; Trump upped the ante by agreeing to pick from a list that would be made public for all to see&comma; vet and scrutinize&period; It was as if James Madison was learning the &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Art of the Deal”&period; It was equal parts political genius and a public change in strategy for a Constitution badly in need of restoration&period; And it helped ensure the eventual elevation of Justice Neil Gorsuch&comma; who became the majority-making fifth vote in historic cases this term&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The list assembled by Trump and his counsel Don McGahn — with the assistance of outside allies like Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society — is stellar&period; I have deep respect for Judge Amy Coney Barrett&comma; a proud Notre Dame graduate&comma; who showed grace during senate persecution for having the audacity to put her faith in Jesus Christ&period; Sen&period; <span class&equals;"rollover-people" data-behavior&equals;"rolloverpeople"><a class&equals;"rollover-people-link" href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;thehill&period;com&sol;people&sol;mike-lee" data-nid&equals;"188274">Mike Lee<&sol;a><&sol;span> &lpar;R-Utah&rpar; is making history in the Senate and quickly becoming a national thought leader&period; If he is not selected&comma; he will be needed to train the next junior senator from Utah&period; Volumes could be written about all of them&period; But now it is time for the president to choose&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>One person on the list&comma; Judge Brett Kavanaugh&comma; is unique&period; I worked closely with him for the first four years of President George W&period; Bush’s administration&comma; and I saw his character&comma; philosophy and temperament&period; I and many colleagues often sought his counsel&period; Kavanaugh is someone you can trust and someone you want assistance from when decisions need to be made and the issues are complicated&period;<&sol;p><div class&equals;'mailmunch-forms-in-post-middle' style&equals;'display&colon; none &excl;important&semi;'><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>I watched him digest thorny legal questions and respond with a calm compassion&period; Judge Kavanaugh was never rattled nor condescending&period; He was thoroughly decent and always respectful — well&comma; maybe not always&comma; as he has a wry sense of humor and loves to poke fun&comma; even at himself&comma; often followed by a choppy&comma; contagious laugh&period; Judge Kavanaugh’s collegiality made me like him&comma; but it was his steadfast commitment to principle that earned my respect&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Too many times&comma; conservatives have been burned by Supreme Court nominees who lack a judicial record that demonstrates their approach&period; But if you want to know why Brett Kavanaugh is the best choice for the Supreme Court&comma; all you have to do is look at his record&period; Over his 12 years on the D&period;C&period; Circuit&comma; Judge Kavanaugh has consistently&comma; boldly&comma; and fearlessly applied textualism and originalism to a striking range of legal issues&period; Even more impressive is that&comma; during the past decade&comma; the Supreme Court has adopted Kavanaugh’s position an astonishing 11 times&period; He literally <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;legalsolutions&period;thomsonreuters&period;com&sol;law-products&sol;c&sol;The-Law-of-Judicial-Precedent&sol;p&sol;103914241" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener noreferrer">wrote the book<&sol;a> on judicial precedent&comma; with Justice Gorsuch as one of his co-authors&period; No one else on the president’s list comes even close to that level of influence&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>There are many examples of Kavanaugh’s willingness to take a stand&period; In a major Second Amendment case&comma; he <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;latimes&period;com&sol;politics&sol;la-na-pol-court-kavanaugh-barrett-20180628-story&period;html" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener noreferrer">dissented<&sol;a> from a decision that upheld a ban on semi-automatic rifles&period; &lpar;Justice Thomas has repeatedly cited that opinion in his own writings&period;&rpar; Kavanaugh <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;twincities&period;com&sol;2009&sol;09&sol;18&sol;appeals-court-overturns-campaign-finance-rules-allowing-nonprofits-to-avoid-limits&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener noreferrer">struck down<&sol;a> campaign spending limits on non-profits&period; He <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;nationalreview&period;com&sol;2018&sol;07&sol;judge-brett-kavanaughs-impeccable-record-of-constitutional-conservatism&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener noreferrer">dissented<&sol;a> from a decision that upheld the ObamaCare contraceptive mandate&period; He explained that public prayer at official government ceremonies is constitutional&period; And he sided with the Trump administration in a high-profile abortion case&comma; dissenting from what he called a &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;radical” majority opinion that <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;nationalreview&period;com&sol;2018&sol;06&sol;brett-kavanaugh-conservative-judge-supreme-court&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener noreferrer">invented<&sol;a> &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;a new right for unlawful immigrant minors in U&period;S&period; government detention to obtain immediate abortion on demand&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>One could go on&period; But the point is clear&colon; Judge Kavanaugh’s demonstrated record of bold constitutional conservatism means we don’t have to be told or to take on faith how he will make determinations&period; His <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;nytimes&period;com&sol;2018&sol;07&sol;03&sol;us&sol;politics&sol;trump-supreme-court-judges-kavanaugh-barrett&period;html" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener noreferrer">more than 300 written opinions<&sol;a> reveal his trust in the words of the Constitution and its application to government actions&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I want to hit the critics head-on&period; A few conservatives have raised concerns that Judge Kavanaugh will be &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;another John Roberts&comma;” who sounds great but lets down conservatives in the end&period; Other than the fact that both sat on the D&period;C&period; Circuit &lpar;where Justices Scalia and Thomas also sat&rpar;&comma; the Kavanaugh-Roberts comparison is completely misplaced&period; When Roberts was nominated to the Court&comma; he had a short judicial record that included few significant opinions&period; Kavanaugh’s 12-year record includes dozens of textualist and originalist opinions&period; Kavanaugh is not another Roberts&semi; he’s another Scalia&comma; Alito&comma; or Gorsuch&period; In fact&comma; on issues such as reining in the administrative state&comma; he is arguably more conservative than even those three highly regarded justices&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Brett Kavanaugh is my friend&comma; and I wish him a meaningful life&period; Being nominated to the nation’s highest court will test his character&comma; burden his beautiful family&comma; and create many inconveniences&period;  I know he is up to the challenge&comma; and I know he is the type of person in whom the president will take pride&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>If Brett Kavanaugh gets the nod&comma; I believe he will be confirmed&comma; with many Democratic votes&period; &lpar;Judicial activism&comma; it turns out&comma; is actually not all that popular&period;&rpar; Americans will rally behind Kavanaugh because they will learn what I already know&period; In Kavanaugh&comma; the nation will have a justice who is versed in the law&comma; respectful to those around him&comma; and unafraid to do his duty&comma; which is to uphold the Constitution and nothing — absolutely nothing — more&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em>Matt Schlapp is chairman of the American Conservative Union and CPAC&period; He was the White House political director to former President George W&period; Bush&period; Follow him on Twitter <&sol;em><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;twitter&period;com&sol;mschlapp" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener noreferrer"><em>&commat;mschlapp<&sol;em><&sol;a><em>&period;<&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;<div class&equals;"jetpack-simple-payments-1966 jetpack-simple-payments-wrapper">&NewLine;&Tab;<div class&equals;"jetpack-simple-payments-product">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"jetpack-simple-payments-product-image"><div class&equals;"jetpack-simple-payments-image"><img width&equals;"3257" height&equals;"2443" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;thescotusreport&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2018&sol;02&sol;IMG&lowbar;7949&period;jpg&quest;fit&equals;3257&percnt;2C2443&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1" class&equals;"attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt&equals;"" srcset&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;thescotusreport&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2018&sol;02&sol;IMG&lowbar;7949&period;jpg&quest;w&equals;3257&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 3257w&comma; 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