Editor,
With President Trump’s grand European adventure in wonderland completed, and after the furore it has created among the talking heads dies down, their focus will inevitably return to his Supreme Court nominee.
From the moment Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement in June, pundits from both sides of the political divide were out in force; with pompous pontifications about nominee Brett Kavanaugh, and predictions of how his upcoming congressional confirmation hearings will play out. Some of us can remember when President Reagan nominated Justice Kennedy, following the failed confirmation of his first choice Judge Robert Bork, whose hearings provided days of fascinating television in 1987. Soon afterwards came more remarkable and memorable moments during similar contentious televised hearings for Judge Clarence Thomas, nominated by President George H.W. Bush. In both occurrences the Democrats were up in arms that a judge with very conservative leanings would sit on the Supreme Court for several decades.
So when President Bill Clinton appointed Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1993, then Justice Committee Chairman Senator Joe Biden ruled that the nominee would not have to answer questions on her previous legal opinions that may come before the Supreme Court in the future. That rule greatly changed the confirmation process, and still applies. For all those politicians and pundits frothing at the mouth about Nominee Kavanaugh possibly voting to change abortion rights and other key liberal laws, they have to look no further for somebody to blame than Democratic Party Leader, former Vice President Joe Biden.
He’s the one who introduced the Ginsburg Rule in 1993 to shield Ginsburg from embarrassing questions about previous activism. With Judge Ginsburg now 85 years old, her retirement may be sooner rather than later, thus giving Trump a chance to replace her with yet another conservative, and further exacerbate the political divide in America.
Bernie Smith
Parksville, B.C.