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Title: Fox News: Kavanaugh and Kethledge new SCOTUS frontrunners?
Source:
HotAir
URL Source: https://hotair.com/archives/2018/07 ... ledge-new-scotus-frontrunners/
Published: Jul 5, 2018
Author: Allahpundit
Post Date: 2018-07-05 14:08:39 by Tooconservative
Keywords: None
Views: 8075
Comments: 54
— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) July 5, 2018 If anyone’s well positioned to know that the winds have changed in the West Wing, it’s a Fox News reporter. And if anything’s likely to boost a shortlister overnight, it’s making a good face-to-face impression on Trump. A more ideological president might look past that sort of thing to more nuts-and-bolts concerns about the nominee’s jurisprudence, but with Trump “personal chemistry” is key. A White House official involved in vetting the nominees told Axios that Trump’s likely to tilt towards “who he feels most comfortable with in a personal setting,” which would explain Kethledge’s stock rising. Although in fairness to POTUS, it’s not like Kethledge is any weaker ideologically than the competition. If Trump can get someone whom he likes personally and whom righties will like on the bench, so much the better. An interesting footnote via Politico: Apparently Ted Cruz is bearish on Kavanaugh. On a call with associates on Monday, Cruz warned that Kavanaugh is the sort of “unreliable” jurist by whom Republicans have been disappointed in the past, and he has worked to bolster the prospects of his colleague, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) also spoke to the president about the merits and drawbacks of each nominee, including Kavanaugh. Cruz can stump for Lee all he wants but Lee’s not going to be the nominee and may not even be in serious contention. What’s his beef with Kavanaugh, though? It must be more than that one ObamaCare ruling, which Kavanaugh defenders like Ed Whelan have argued has been misunderstood. What’s strange about Cruz’s opposition is that he and Kavanaugh have had parallel careers to some extent. They’re roughly the same age (Kavanaugh’s a few years older), both Ivy League law grads, both Supreme Court clerks, both worked on the Florida recount in 2000, both served in the Bush administration in Dubya’s first term. They’ve come out of the same conservative professional legal culture and that culture is very high on Kavanaugh. If anything, you’d think Cruz would be out in front recommending him as the next best choice after Lee. Is there history between the two that explains his chilliness? As for Barrett’s stock dipping, maybe her interview with Trump didn’t go as well as Kethledge’s did. Possibly Trump is worried that Barrett’s reputation, fair or not, as a pro-life warrior will end up spooking Collins and Murkowski and he’ll be dealt an embarrassing defeat in confirmation. Or maybe he’s calculating that he’ll get to appoint Ginsburg’s successor and wants to “save” a woman nominee for that spot, knowing that public pressure to fill Ginsburg’s seat with a female will be particularly intense. It’s unlike him to pass on a chance to instigate a nationwide culture-war street fight, which is what nominating Barrett would do. But if anything could make that fight more vicious, waiting to nominate Barrett as a replacement for the left’s feminist hero would do it. It would be a supreme act of clawing back cultural territory from the other side, practically a provocation. Maybe he’ll announce The Purge on the same day and let Americans really have it out for a day or two. Or maybe Barrett’s stock hasn’t dipped. Per WaPo, she’s one of three finalists, not two: — Robert Costa (@costareports) July 5, 2018 I’d wager on Kethledge. If it’s true that people like Cruz are warning Trump about Kavanaugh, Trump’s not going to roll the dice on him. The one thing he’s done as president that’s united the right entirely was appoint Neil Gorsuch; naturally he wants another nominee in that mold, not someone who’s going to attract ominous grumbles from movement conservatives from the start and maybe end up knifing conservatives on a major case while on the bench. Kethledge seems to be a safer pick despite a last-minute effort by some border hawks to paint him as soft on immigration. There’s a piece answering that charge at NRO today that’s worth your while. One last thing per Axios: Although Trump has said he’ll announce the nominee on Monday, sources say they wouldn’t be surprised if he changed his mind and broke the news early once he’s settled on someone. Don’t wander too far from a computer or TV over the next few days. Poster Comment: Ted Cruz doesn't want Kavanagh but hasn't threatened to vote him down (yet). Rand Paul is threatening to vote against Kavanagh over his actions during the Bush years. And Barrett is probably too pro-life to get past Collins/Murkowski. It looks like Kethledge at this point. And he has most of the personal qualities that Gorsuch has (hunter, fisherman, Michigander) and is considered to have a more polished style in Senate hearings and Kethledge is considered more appealing than Gorsuch to people who know them both. And that personal style factor means a lot with Trump. Kethledge is a better bet to sail through Senate hearings flawlessly than either Barrett or Kavanagh.
Three days ago the alleged finalists were Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, but that was before Trump began interviewing shortlisters. And the interview with Raymond Kethledge reportedly went very, very well. .@FoxNews is told that @realDonaldTrump has completed the interview process for his @USSupremeCourt pick. Raymond Kethledge and Brett Kavanaugh are said to be the front-runners to replace Justice Kennedy. Announcement Monday night. 
Judge Raymond Kethledge Conservatives have also fixated on a 2011 challenge to Obamacare in which Kavanaugh ruled that the individual mandate functioned as a tax and invoked an 1867 law preventing individuals from challenging taxes before they have gone into effect. (The individual mandate went into effect in 2014.) But he also advised that, whatever its constitutional shortcomings, “Congress could eliminate any such potential problem.”… back on the SCOTUS search beat today. The top 3 contenders as of 9:30 a.m., per GOP and WH sources: Kavanaugh, Kethledge, Coney Barrett
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#1. To: All (#0)
Kavanagh may be vulnerable to a #MeToo attack by the Dems. Will Trump and the Senate GOP want to have to defend Kavanagh for not knowing that Kosinski was molesting the female help? It's hard to imagine, especially with Rand Paul insisting he'll be a no vote on Kavanagh. Politico: The document argues it is virtually impossible Kavanaugh, who served on a screening committee for Kennedy’s Supreme Court clerkship alongside Kozinski, was unaware of Kozinski’s behavior — though nobody has stepped forward to make that explosive allegation in public… Conservatives have also fixated on a 2011 challenge to Obamacare where Kavanaugh ruled that the individual mandate functioned as a tax and invoked an 1867 law preventing individuals from challenging taxes before they have gone into effect. (The individual mandate went into effect in 2014.) But he also advised that, whatever its constitutional shortcomings, “Congress could eliminate any such potential problem.”… On a call with associates on Monday, Cruz warned that Kavanaugh is the sort of “unreliable” jurist by whom Republicans have been disappointed in the past, and he has worked worked to bolster the prospects of his colleague, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). . . . Kethledge is a quiet guy, an introvert. He has no interesting rumors to contend with in a Senate hearing.
Alex Kozinski may have been the only sane one on the 9th Circuit Court. His judicial record is outstanding. He's an immigrant from Romania, who really appreciates his US citizenship. If he'd have groped guys, he'd still be there - 9th Circuit HQ, San Francisco.
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Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Kavanaugh’s critics have circulated a six-page opposition research document tying him to former 9th Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski, who abruptly retired in December after several of his former female clerks accused him of sexual harassment.
#4. To: Tooconservative (#1)
former 9th Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski, who abruptly retired in December after several of his former female clerks accused him of sexual harassment.
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