The hypocrisy of the Democratic Party
Right after Saturday’s vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, Democrats began expressing their harsh remarks toward their political rivals. As has usually been the case over the past three years, they had plenty to say about their No. 1 enemy.
“This controversial and partisan choice further deepens the divisions in America and profoundly undermines democratic governance,” Gov. Jerry Brown said on his Twitter page. “A real tragedy.”
“The American people are raising their voices to a deafening roar today,” said Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Pérez continued. “We will not stop marching; we will not stop fighting, and we will vote on Election Day for leaders who share our values.”
The left fears the Supreme Court now would get imbalanced turning it more conservative, putting in jeopardy civil rights and women’s reproductive rights, and potentially undermining the court’s ability to hold our president accountable.
During Saturday’s session several women had to be escorted out of the Senate Chamber for yelling at lawmakers who voted in favor of Kavanaugh. One of the loudest was heard right after West Virginia Sen. and former Gov. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, voted in favor of the nominee.
Just in case you are unaware, the final vote tally was 5048, and a simple majority was needed to make Kavanaugh an associate justice of the Supreme Court. Before the meeting, Republicans knew they had enough votes to move forward with the nomination even though Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski abstained and Steve Raines from Montana preferred to attend his daughter’s wedding.
Bottom line: Manchin cast the decisive vote Saturday. When the West Virginia lawmaker (who is at risk of losing his seat to Republican Patrick Morrisey) voted, all Democrats remained silent. This was also true in the emails they sent and Twitter messages they shared after the confirmation vote.
Ironically, these same Democrats are asking for help to defeat Republicans in November, especially those under threat of losing their seats. They are even asking voters to chip in funds to support their hopes of regaining the Senate and challenging the president.
None, however, mentioned their colleague Sen. Manchin. West Virginians, however, have spoken loud and clear on Manchin’s Twitter page. Most of his constituents had criticized his vote and even asked for his expulsion from the Democratic Party. Some others had called him a closet Republican and requested the senator to switch to where he truly belongs — the GOP.
It was obvious conservatives wanted Kavanaugh to become Justice Anthony Kennedy’s successor and would do everything to confirm the nomination regardless of the accusations against him or if he was the appropriate candidate for the job.
The effects of the confirmation are yet unknown as only days have passed since Kavanaugh’s appointment.
But whatever consequences come due to the new associate justice and the conservative majority in the Supreme Court is the responsibility not only of the Republican Party, but of the Democrats as well by not forcing Sen. Manchin to stick to party lines.