Kavanaugh endorsement rescinded

[phil19034]

He already has a lifetime appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals and even if the Democrats take the House after the next elections and decided to impeach him (which seems unlikely to me), he’d still have to be convicted by a two-thirds majority of the Senate to be removed from office which would never happen.

This is true, you are correct. I forgot about the 2/3rds majority.

But still: would have been much better to do this is private. The Judicial Committee could have gotten Trump to remove the nomination before this went public.

 

[pnewton]

I would rather 1000 guilt people go free than 1 innocent life be ruined.

Ruined? He is left with nothing but a federal judgeship for life.

I get what you say about the court of public opinion being unjust, but saying he is ruined because he cannot be a Supreme Court just is a little melodramatic.

 

[phil19034]

Who keeps a calendar from high school for all those years? More than that, what high school kid keeps a calendar at all?

Did you see the calendar? Did you hear him explain why he did it, and the view on his wife’s face when he explained it?

He explained it very well… It was because his dad did it. So he was following the example of his father.

And those kinds of kids are the ones who wind up becoming Supreme Court nominees.

 

[chessnerd321]

I wasn’t going to comment, but there’s no way that math is right. You think all kids who were aborted would’ve been give up for adoption instead? I find that really suspect.

Regardless I find it a moot point to the moral issue. Yes we would also have the moral responsibility to support these kids. But I don’t think it’s ok to kill people because we don’t know where the money to support them will come from. Abortion preferentially kills minorities and the poor. That seems like the bigger social justice issue to me.

 

[phil19034]

phil19034:

I would rather 1000 guilt people go free than 1 innocent life be ruined.

Ruined? He is left with nothing but a federal judgeship for life.

I get what you say about the court of public opinion being unjust, but saying he is ruined because he cannot be a Supreme Court just is a little melodramatic.

I was not directly referring to Kavanaugh when I said “I would rather 1000 [guilty] people go free than 1 innocent life be ruined.”

I was making a general reference to the principle of innocent until proven guilty.

 

[on_the_hill]

I was just thinking: I’ll never be appointed to national office. I’ve never kept a journal, a diary, a calendar, or anything like that. There’d be nothing for investigators or the media to find. The headline would be, “On_the_hill nominated for U.S. Secretary of Excellence; Senators Grassley and Feinstein agree: There is no diary–On_the_hill must be hiding something big!”

I always wonder about public figures who go on trial and investigators and the media read through his journals. I’m like, why would you record your misdeeds? Where’s the sense in that? So you can remember them? 'Hmmm…when was it that I embezzled from the student government account? Was it before or after I spiked the punch at prom?"

 

[on_the_hill]

And those kinds of kids are the ones who wind up becoming Supreme Court nominees.

You have a point there.

While I’m sitting here with three calendars and still can’t keep my life organized.

 

[Rubee]

But now it is public. If they do not confirm him, they will in effect ruining this man’s life. No one will ever hire him again and he will be impeached from his current bench job once Democrats have congress.

The consequences to him and his family for a no vote is just as big if this actually was a court case.

Congress MUST treat this like a trial at this point, because it now is a trial in the “Court of Public Opinion.”

Hear hear. I don’t understand people who struggle to see how ruinous this is for the man. If they drop him now they are essentially passing a guilty verdict. The only thing fair they can do now is confirm him on the basis of no evidence. I’m not American and have not cared before this week about Kavanaugh but I now do. Poor man. That Flake guy just decided to continue his ordeal knowing very well there’s no chance of getting more information. I pray Our Lady grants him this confirmation. Who knows? Perhaps God knows Kavanaugh will face a difficult case in the future in which understanding the pain of being wrongly accused will be crucial to a good judgment? I keep asking myself why God would allow this and that’s all I can come up with. God doesn’t burden us with more than we can carry. Maybe Kavanaugh will have to alone be the voice of a vulnerable group in the future.

 

[Augustinian]

Ruined? He is left with nothing but a federal judgeship for life.

I get what you say about the court of public opinion being unjust, but saying he is ruined because he cannot be a Supreme Court just is a little melodramatic.

Not really. He really can’t go back to his old job if he’s tarred as a rapist.

Afterwards if Kav will be spending the rest of his days recovering his character if he can.

 

[Rubee]

The whole episode reminded me of the crowds that screamed for Jesus’ crucifixion in Pilate’s courtyard or that tried to stone the adulterous woman. At least I’ve seen a few people hold out for the possibility they are both telling the truth and since we can’t be there, lets allow the facts speak for themselves. I’ve seen so much lack of empathy from people who believe Kavanaugh’s guilt though. So sure are they of his guilt, they are ready to mock, jeer, pile on, insult…really sends a chill down your spine. You don’t know what happened but you feel comfortable being this cruel to a person who may have done none of this for all you know? So sad to witness. Why would you err on the side of destroying someone’s reputation or ruining him? Why not err on the side of facts?

 

[Augustinian]

The situation to me is reminiscent of the Duke Lacrosse case from a few years ago. A believable witness came forward and for political motivations they moved it forward full steam ahead. Thousands showed support for the woman.

They finally got a handle on it, but it took time. This has a lot shorter time frame to be resolved.

 

[Thorolfr]

Not really. He really can’t go back to his old job if he’s tarred as a rapist.

Afterwards if Kav will be spending the rest of his days recovering his character if he can.

Even if Judge Kavanaugh gets confirmed to the Supreme Court, a lot of people will still believe that he was a rapist. Just like a lot of people believed Anita Hill’s testimony and still think that Clarence Thomas was a sexual harasser. But Justice Thomas’ life was hardly ruined and he’s done OK for himself. Regardless of whether he is confirmed or not, Judge Kavanaugh’s life will not be ruined.

 

[Thorolfr]

The whole episode reminded me of the crowds that screamed for Jesus’ crucifixion in Pilate’s courtyard or that tried to stone the adulterous woman.

So, Judge Kavanaugh’s ordeal is now being compared to that of Jesus?

 

[Rubee]

The mobs are being compared, yes. Why do you have a problem with that? I did not compare Jesus’ entire ordeal with his, I did however compare the attitudes of the mobs. Mobs blinded by ideology so much they don’t care for facts when a person is accused. Consider how his heartbreak in the testimony was interpreted. Why go there unless you know for sure he did it? Just don’t understand that confidence. It’s a lack of empathy.

 

[phil19034]

But Justice Thomas’ life was hardly ruined and he’s done OK for himself. Regardless of whether he is confirmed or not, Judge Kavanaugh’s life will not be ruined.

Well… I don’t think Clarence Thomas was his daughter’s sports team coach.

I doubt Kavanaugh is going to be able to continue coaching his daughters’ teams.

It’s sad

As a previous poster said, “those without sin cast the first stone”

 

[redbetta]

This whole Kavanaugh debacle has got me scared for any sons I might have in the future.

 

[Godfollower]

Not really. He really can’t go back to his old job if he’s tarred as a rapist.

Afterwards if Kav will be spending the rest of his days recovering his character if he can.

Salary of an associate justice of the Supreme Court: $244,400.00.
Salary of a circuit court judge: $211,200.00.

So he’ll lose $33,200.00 a year if he has to stay a Circuit Court Judge for life. Granted, that’s no small amount of money. But I’m having a hard time believing that his career is over. He won’t lose his job unless a majority of the House votes to impeach and two-thirds of the Senate votes to convict.

Now, don’t get me wrong: the damage to his reputation is incalculable, and I can’t imagine what this has done to his family. But that damage isn’t coming from failing to confirm him; it comes automatically from the allegation being made in the first place, and I’m not comfortable saying that victims of sexual abuse aren’t allowed to present their story before someone is appointed to the Supreme Court for life.

So we’re stuck with what our bishops would call “a credible accusation” and the need to take a job action in light of that accusation; and, just as a bishop can’t appoint an accused priest to be pastor of a parish while an accusation is pending without doing a thorough investigation, the President and Senate should not make an irreversible appointment to the highest court in the land without a thorough investigation.

 

[Rubee]

So we’re stuck with what our bishops would call “a credible accusation” and the need to take a job action in light of that accusation; and, just as a bishop can’t appoint an accused priest to be pastor of a parish while an accusation is pending without doing a thorough investigation, the President and Senate should not make an irreversible appointment to the highest court in the land without a thorough investigation.

They did their investigation, witnesses either fail to corroborate it or refute it. If you allow that you’re saying no one will ever be confirmed because interest groups now know all they need to derail a nomination is an accusation that does not need any corroboration and can even have been refuted but will still suffice.

 

[Thorolfr]

The mobs are being compared, yes. Why do you have a problem with that? I did not compare Jesus’ entire ordeal with his, I did however compare the attitudes of the mobs. Mobs blinded by ideology so much they don’t care for facts when a person is accused. Consider how his heartbreak in the testimony was interpreted. Why go there unless you know for sure he did it? Just don’t understand that confidence. It’s a lack of empathy.

When President Trump was considering who to appoint to the Supreme Court, Mitch McConnel, the majority leader in the Senate, warned him that Judge Kavanaugh would be difficult to confirm because of his past heavy involvement in partisan politics and a long paper trail. But Trump appointed him anyway.

Appointments to the Supreme Court have become increasingly political and if Judge Kavanaugh was really concerned about his family, he could have declined the appointment and stayed on the Court of Appeals which is already a very prestigious position. Any person who decides to accept an appointment on the Supreme Court knows the risks involved and if they don’t think they can take the heat and the intense scrutiny that comes with the nomination process, then they should decline the appointment.

 

[Rubee]

Appointments to the Supreme Court have become increasingly political and if Judge Kavanaugh was really concerned about his family, he could have declined the appointment and stayed on the Court of Appeals which is already a very prestigious position. Any person who decides to accept an appointment on the Supreme Court knows the risks involved and if they don’t think they can take the heat and the intense scrutiny that come with the process, then they should decline the appointment.

I’m pretty sure if he had foreseen the past 2 weeks he’d have declined. He can’t be blamed for assuming a basic level of decency on the part of everyone involved. He knew he’d be hit on his philosophy, that’s what he was prepared for, not gang rape stories. He’s been through several background checks and occupied high office for years already. I’m sorry but you’re asking him to have been able to see the future.