Yesterday, Brett Kavanaugh was sworn in as the newest associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. There were a lot of different reactions coming from both sides: some positive, some negative, and some conflicted. I will be discussing some of the most talked-about potential impacts of Kavanaugh’s confirmation in the most impartial, compact way possible.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Due to the sexual assault allegations recently brought against Kavanaugh, this is a very delicate issue, and I am going to try to remain as impartial as possible by sticking with the facts surrounding the relationship between Kavanaugh and the Women’s Rights movement.
When asking my friends how they thought Kavanaugh’s confirmation would affect the U.S.. moving forward, a lot of them brought up women’s rights, specifically the possible repeal of Roe V. Wade.
For those who don’t know, Roe V. Wade was a landmark case in 1973 that granted women the constitutional right to receive an abortion, which is still a controversial ruling that is challenged to this day.
During the hearings, Kavanaugh was asked for his opinion on Roe V. Wade. He restated multiple times that the case was “precedent,” being reinforced by Planned Parenthood V. Casey in 1992. He also said that “my personal beliefs are not relevant to how I decide cases.”
Although to those in favor of pro-choice this might seem reassuring, his track record says otherwise.
In 2013, a Catholic group, Priests For Life, tried to get Roe V. Wade repealed, which was shot down by the Supreme Court in 2014. Kavanaugh, who at the time was a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, dissented, saying that he would have ruled in favor of Priests For Life.
INDICTMENT
One question on a lot of people’s minds: would Kavanaugh rule in favor or against Trump being indicted, making it mandatory for him to testify in Mueller’s investigation into the possible Russian interference of the 2016 election?
When asked about this during his hearings, he gave a very vague answer, saying that he could not “give an answer on that hypothetical question.” There could be a few reasons why he gave such an ambiguous response, but the one that makes the most sense to me is that he wanted to remain in the good graces of the Republicans and the President during his hearings in order to secure their votes.
Previously, Kavanaugh has praised the Supreme Court’s decision to force Nixon to hand over evidence, including the infamous tapes from Watergate. If Kavanaugh still stands by this opinion, he would also agree with Trump having to testify. Although if during the hearings he wanted to stay on the Republicans good side, he might not.
Of course, this is all theoretical and we do not actually know Kavanaugh’s stance. The probability that Trump’s ability to be indicted or not is likely to come to the attention of the Supreme Court soon, so the answer is inevitable.
THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS:
This is probably what Kavanaugh’s confirmation will have the most immediate effect on. In less than a month, the 2018 midterm elections will take place, where citizens will vote for their local government officials. Midterms are usually seen as an unimportant event, with the majority of voters not taking part.
But this year, that could change.
The election of the new associate justice has people fired up from both ends－here are the possible ways this could go down.
Number One: People Forget
With the 24/7 news cycle, it’s very easy for the general public to forget about today’s biggest event and on to tomorrow’s. This is honestly a very real possibility and I would not be surprised if this was the ultimate reality.
Number Two: The Republicans Stay On Top
It could also be a positive for the Republicans, having accomplished keeping the Supreme Court majority as conservative which boosts their confidence. Wanting to keep their status, they will show up to the polls, ultimately saving their spot of having the majority in the trinity (The Supreme Court, The Senate, and The House of Representatives).
Number Three: The Democrats Rise To Power
Many Democrats are angry about Kavanaugh’s confirmation, and predict that this anger will fuel them to have a greater turnout to midterms, and in return take back the The House of Representatives.
Personally, this seems like the most likely outcome. The Democrats have been fired up since 2016, and with the confirmation happening less than a month before midterms, a huge deal since justices serve for life, it’ll be hard to forget when it’s time to vote.
What I want everyone to take away from this is to please vote during the midterms.
Your vote matters, especially during the midterms. It’s the time when the majority can change or grow stronger, curving the political balance as we know it.
It’s important. You’re important.
Vote.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brett_Kavanaugh
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/brett-kavanaugh-birth-control_us_5b917b79e4b0162f472b3cb8