Yesterday, the New York Times noted that Senate Democrats hope to send a message to the White House with a narrow confirmation victory for Samuel Alito. “Democrats said a close vote would warn President Bush not to name such conservative judges,” the Times reported.
I’m not quite sure if I understand the logic of this approach — by winning a confirmation vote on a conservative judge, why would Bush change? — but in practice, the White House is doing the opposite. In fact, it’s decided to reinstigate a fight that appeared to have ended a couple of years ago.
[T]he White House renominated Brett M. Kavanaugh to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. President Bush nominated Kavanaugh, the White House staff secretary, in July 2003, but he fell victim to intense battles between Senate Democrats and Republicans over numerous judicial appointments. A May 2005 bipartisan pact averted a showdown over judicial filibusters and enabled some contested nominees to win confirmation. But it left Kavanaugh in limbo.
The Senate Judiciary Committee’s eight Democrats complained last year that Kavanaugh took several months to answer their written questions about his qualifications. Other Democrats have noted that Kavanaugh, 40, has limited courtroom experience and helped independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr pursue the Monica S. Lewinsky case during the Clinton presidency.
As nominations go, this is effectively Bush giving Senate Dems the finger. Bush is more or less saying, “You couldn’t stop Alito, so I’ll dare you to stop Kavanaugh.”
I’m not responsible for Senate Dem strategy, but Kavanaugh is clearly worth fighting over. You may not recognize his name, but you probably know his handiwork.
Kavanaugh was a key member of Ken Starr’s impeachment team and helped lead the investigation of Vince Foster’s suicide. Indeed, Kavanaugh personally wrote the portion of the Starr report that outlined Starr’s reasons for Congress to impeach Clinton in 1998.
As Roll Call reported way back in April 2004:
From Starr to Monica Lewinsky to Manuel Miranda — the former GOP staffer at the center of the improperly accessed Democratic memos — Kavanaugh has connections directly or indirectly to a host of scandal figures who have irked Democrats in recent years. […]
While in the counsel’s office Kavanaugh was also at the center of a few other decisions, including one to restrict access to presidential documents traditionally released after 12 years. Democratic staff said this was a bit of legal irony since, while working for Starr, Kavanaugh spent a lot of time and effort trying to unseal documents on which the Clinton administration claimed executive privilege.
Even if we put his connections to GOP scandals aside, Kavanaugh is an odd choice for a lifetime position as a U.S. Circuit Judge for the DC Circuit. He has no judicial experience, a fairly limited legal background outside partisan political work (he has never even participated in a trial), and if confirmed, would be one of the youngest judges in the history of the DC Circuit.
So, what’s Kavanaugh been up to? He’s been helping Bush pick judges like John Roberts and Samuel Alito.
This nomination serves two purposes — it picks a fight with Dems that Bush thinks he can win and it rewards a partisan lawyer who’s helped the GOP with some key fights.
Note to Senate Dems: go after this nomination.