Today, at 4:00 PM Eastern Time, the Senate voted 50-48 to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Senators Flake(R), Colllins(R), and Manchin(D), crucial swing votes, voted in favor of Kavanaugh while Sen. Muirklowski(R), another swing vote, voted no. Kavanaugh may likely go onto the court next week, replacing Justice Anthony Kennedy who has been know for being the swing vote in the court. This has been by far the most divisive nomination of any Supreme Court justice in our lifetimes as the typical stability of each president nominating only two justices has broken down. Bush Sr. appointed one justice while both Clinton, Buh Jr., and Obama each got two. This pattern of one justice per presidential term has been completely broken with the series of events following the death of Justice Scalia the Supreme Court has become yet another part of the increased political polarization in the nation. Within two years President Trump has nominated two judges to the court likely swinging the court to the right for decades to come. However, the long term implications of this have been overshadowed by the complete breakdown in respect for the process. In late September Kavanaugh was accused by Dr. Ford of sexual assault and what followed may scar the Senate for years to come. Republican leadership rushed the process following a tense public hearing. The questions concerning sexual assault in this nation has become an even deeper wound due to Republican attacks on Dr. Ford and protesters. The President publicly questioned the credibility of Dr. Ford while Sen. McConnell said that the "mob" of protesters against Kavanaugh granted them a huge political victory. In total the nation, just six weeks before the midterm elections, has experienced deeper division as partisan politics has seeped into the Supreme Court. Both the Republican and Democratic bases will be energized by this, especially the former as more have tolerated the personal deficiencies of President Trump simply because he can deliver the justices (something that even Flake admits to being a key reason why he voted for Kavanaugh after delaying the vote by a week). In many ways it is simply political theatre which this viewer has no doubt been left on the edge of his seat.
1. How will the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh affect the November Midterms? (explain how each base will be energized)
2. Can we expect Judge Kavanaugh to be an impartial judge given his behavior during his testimony? How will he change not only the rulings of the court, but the position of it in society?
3. What do these recent partisan events tell us about the MeToo movement. Is it losing potency or does it simply not transcend the partisan divide in this country? Can either the political polarization and sexual assault be resolved in the near future?
4. Are these questions really answerable or am I intentionally asking questions that will take decades to answer in order to incite a political firestorm in the comments?
3. What do these recent partisan events tell us about the MeToo movement. Is it losing potency or does it simply not transcend the partisan divide in this country? Can either the political polarization and sexual assault be resolved in the near future?
4. Are these questions really answerable or am I intentionally asking questions that will take decades to answer in order to incite a political firestorm in the comments?
Clara Kennedy
ReplyDelete1. I believe that the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh will likely increase turnout for the midterm elections from both parties. Due to the large amount of press coverage of and public involvement in Kavanaugh’s hearing, people are already more actively engaged in the political process approaching the midterms. Additionally, with the highly partisan divide being exacerbated by the hearing and nomination, people will be more incensed by the opposing party than in prior years. Democrats, in particular, may capitalize on the anger felt due to Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Republicans, on the other hand, may have greater turnout due to the Republican success in nominating justices and obtaining conservative majorities.
2. I do not believe that Judge Kavanaugh will act as a fully impartial judge. It is extremely difficult to separate personal biases from decisions of any sort and, given Kavanaugh’s behavior during the hearing, I find it highly unlikely that he will be able to put aside personal opinion. Kavanaugh is so strongly partisan and has demonstrated a tendency to make inconsistent statements, which, in my opinion, renders him incapable of acting as an impartial judge. Due to Kavanaugh’s conservative positions, the court will more firmly shift to the right as a prior middle ground judge is replaced by one firmly to the right. The court’s position in society will change due to Kavanaugh’s confirmation as some people may hold the court in lower regard with multiple judges now accused of sexual harassment and the very strong conservative lean of the court.
3. I believe that recent events tell us that the MeToo movement is increasing in potency but that it is limited by the bounds of our country’s partisan divide. The MeToo movement has only strengthened in response to the allegations in the hearing, but little progress has been made to transcend the partisan divide, as evident in the voting patters of the senators. Although senators may have voted primarily based on their impression of Kavanaugh’s political viewpoint, the MeToo movement is primarily driven by a more left-leaning population. I do not think that either the political polarization or sexual assault issues in our country can be resolved in the near future simply due to the enormity of the task. However, I think that they are significant problems that must be resolved and that, with dedication, can be fixed over time. We must begin pressing for change now, even though the issues will not be resolved quickly, because the issues will only grow and take longer to fix if measures are not taken now.
4. I do not think that these questions are easy to answer as they require a lot of personal interpretation of events and inference as to what may happen in the future. Additionally, responses to these answers depend a lot on people’s political viewpoints. Therefore, answers can be given to these questions without much difficulty, but the validity of the responses may vary based on the perspectives taken into account by the author.
The trend towards more severe political polarization in the US has been exacerbated by the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Not only was his confirmation itself controversial, but the events that are likely to ensue from the Supreme Court will likely tilt legislature towards the right. Nonetheless, the effect of the appointment and hearing on the voting base will likely lead those already with party affiliations to strengthen their affinity for either the right or the left, and leave those not already affiliated at higher risk of complete political dealignment. Thus, the results of the midterm will lend itself to voters trying to reinforce their Republican allegiance and fiesty Democrats attempting to win back one of the houses of Congress.
ReplyDeleteKavanaugh has clearly demonstrated that when placed under pressure he fails to adhere to a tone of objective discourse. However, that said, the trial did pry a good amount into the personal life and information of Brett Kavanaugh, which is not normally part of the procedure in confirming a judge. During the hearings, Kavanaugh did allude strongly to his support for the right of the court to grant presidential pardon, and further, strengthen the power of the executive branch beyond its rightful place. This violation of the original, deliberate, structure of the US government as established by the constitution is in direct contrast to the typical originalist perspective sported by today’s political conservatives.
Ironically, the #MeToo movement is so strong that it shifted the focus of a senate confirmation hearing from the ruling-based credentials of Kavanaugh to his personal acumen, which, in comparison, should not carry as much weight in his appointment as a judge on the Supreme Court. The sexual misconduct claims could be a blessing in disguise given that - with the exception of Cory Booker - following the accusations, all of Kavanaugh's experience and decisions in court had pushed to the wayside. Thus, we now have a judge sitting the Supreme Court about whose work-related credentials we know very little.
1) The conformation of Kavanaugh may lead to more people Republican or Democratic to vote in the midterms because the Republican’s base will be energized by him being elected and a conservatism shift in the Supreme court. In additon, they would have tolerated Trump more as he was able to influence the Supreme Court for decades. On the other hand, Democrats’ bases would also have been energized because they have realized that they are losing control of the government due to a recent shift of conservatism. Therefore, they would be more likely to vote because they want to limit the influence of Republicanism. Since, they are more angry on the outcome of the nomination, they are more likely to vote in the midterms.
ReplyDelete2) I believe that based on his performance on the hearings, it shows how Kavanaugh likes to avoid questions and makes it very difficult to ask him questions that he does not want to hear. Therefore, I believe he will also be an impartial judge because he already has demonstrated to be very hard to work with. Since he is Republican, he may influence court decisions to be more right-winged. It could change the impact of future civil rights decions such as gay rights and abortion rights. Both issues he was very unclear on his position during his hearings. It may lead to a shift to conservatism in society, but then again many youth tend to be more liberal.
3) It tells us that some people tend to think that the MeToo movement can be used in a bad way to derail a politicians nomination. As Lisndey Graham said, it makes other women who accuse others of sexual assult less credible because he thinks Kavanaugh is innocent. On the other hand, this nomintion shows how powerful the MeToo movement is because of how many headlines this nomination made. It shows how accusations of sexual harrassment are very powerful and almost costed him his nomination. I hope political poloarization and sexual assult be resolved in the future, but I think it will take lots of work and time.
4) I think these questions are more open ended and take a little more thought to answer and explain rather than just a one word answer.
1. The confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh will probably influence voters to have a greater turnout. Republicans, having won Kavanaugh into the Supreme Court, will expect to see this momentum shift in the favor of them in the November midterms. On the other hand, Democrats can also expect to see voter activation, with anger towards Kavanaugh being confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice. We can expect an increase in polarization because both parties are trying to gain majorities in Congress. This controversy has caused a lot of discussion and will probably activate voters to pursue their beliefs by voting in the November midterms.
ReplyDelete2. I believe Kavanaugh will not be an impartial judge and will cause the court to shift in favor of conservatism. The Democrats also questioned his impartiality after his “defiant, emotional, testimony”, demonstrating that he is not really impartial and will fully support his own beliefs. This will lead to court rulings to favor conservative policies, which could further lead to turning controversial ideas of society today in favor of conservatives. Society could become more conservative as a whole, however many Democrats who are outraged by Kavanaugh’s confirmation could cause an increase in liberal strength in other parts of the government.
3. These recent partisan events tells us that the MeToo movement is increasing in potency because it was part of the discussion about Kavanaugh and ended up superseding the discussion about his judicial views. I believe the movement does not transcend the partisan divide in this country because it seems as more of a liberal movement and did not really influence the votes of Republicans in the Kavanaugh debate. I believe political polarization and sexual assault will be unable to be resolved in the near future because people will always have different beliefs about a specific issue and sexual assault seems to be more of a problem with individuals, whose beliefs and opinions cannot be forcibly changed.
4. These questions are actually answerable because they generate thought and take into account every individual’s perspective about recent events and predicting the future.
1. I think the confirmation of Kavanaugh into the Supreme Court will mean a greater voter turnout in the midterms this November on both sides. Republicans in support of Kavanaugh will want to support their new advantage in government operations, while Democrats will likely use their vote to profess their anger towards Kavanaugh's confirmation. I think overall, participation in the midterms will be high since the government issues/scandals have been prominent in the news lately and citizens will want to support their interests.
ReplyDelete2. As a judge I think Kavanaugh will most likely vote in favor of more conservative rulings since he is a Republican. However, just because he is not a moderate like Justice Kennedy does not mean he will always vote in favor of more right-wing interests. I think there's no way of knowing how he will act in court until he votes in his first Supreme Court case.
3. The recent partisan events have most likely increased the MeToo movement since so much attention has been put on the issue of sexual assault lately from the Kavanaugh investigation. The movement itself is most likely supported by both parties, however has proved to be a more liberal movement since Republicans still chose to support Kavanaugh being on the Supreme Court after his allegations. The issues of political polarization and sexual assault are immensely difficult issues to resolve since their are such differing opinion and social, economical, and ethical divides on these topics. Individuals will always have differing opinions, therefore big topics like these will most likely never be agreed upon or resolved.
4. These questions are hard to answer but help to think about the implications of Kavanaugh's new seat on the Supreme Court and how it could affect other larger issues.
1. With the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh, some people have started to get a feel for where they stand on highly emotional and political controversies like Kavanaugh's sexual assault case. Knowing their stance and feeling energized to make a difference, voters might be more inclined to tell the government their views through voting. The case also demonstrates how an important decision can be made by a couple of swing votes, which can help voters see that their vote can make a difference.
ReplyDelete2. Although Kavanaugh claims to be an "independent, impartial" judge, he clearly emotional this during the court hearing. I suppose because the trail threatened his own livelihood, he is more likely to be emotional; nevertheless, I doubt he will be totally impartial based on his very passionate reaction in court. Kavanaugh will likely vote on the conservative side, which can push the Supreme Court to the right for years compared to the previous court with a judge who was often a swing vote.
3. The controversial events demonstrate that the MeToo movement is still relevant because of the popularity of this sexual assault case around the country. It shows that the MeToo movement and sexual assault advocacy has the ability to almost alter the entire Supreme Court. Although the MeToo movement might not have won this battle, the strong support for Ford also tells us that the MeToo movement still is still supported and resonates with many Americans. I don't think it is possible to resolve polarization or sexual assault in the near future, but we can take steps to get closer to it.
4. At a first glance, they seemed a little hard to answer but after thinking about your questions, they weren't too bad
1. I believe that the confirmation of Kavanaugh will encourage both Republican and Democrat voters to turnout to the Midterm elections. The Democrats see this confirmation as a loss, so they would likely feel the need to get out and vote in order to change something that they have the power to change. I do not feel this increases a Republican turnout as much as the Democrats, but I still think the confirmation allows Republican voters to become energized as they view this moment as a win. They would then want to build off this moment by going out to vote in an attempt to sway the midterms in the favor in the same way this confirmation was in their favor.
ReplyDelete2. I do not believe that Kavanaugh will be an impartial judge given the handling of the accusations, the investigations, and his history. Kavanaugh seemed to aim to answer many questions and accusations by putting out another statement that never truly answered the original question in the beginning. If he was truly impartial he would consistently respond to these questions and accusations directly, instead of trying to find another way to avoid further defamation.
3. I believe that the MeToo movement has both lost some of the power and influence it had in the past and I do not believe it can truly overcome the political divide. In the past many news medias and celebrities supported the movement very openly, thus causing it to become a very large story that benefited women all over the country. However, the movement has died down because there isn't much any notable person can do if they have already done something in the past that was temporary. In addition, the political divide is a very tough subject to overcome given differing political views which I believe some individuals hold higher than movements such as the MeToo movement. I do not believe that political polarization or sexual assault can be resolved in the near future. However, I believe there is still a possibility of a gradual resolution farther down the line.
4. These questions are answerable because they require critical thinking and societal based knowledge, as opposed to only responding to a summary of an article. In addition, I believe these are important questions that offer insight into both political polarization and sexual assault.
Now that Kavanaughis a part of the Supreme Court, some people might feel conflicted after the controversy over the sexual assault case. People that tend to be independent might show their opinion against Kavanaugh and the Republican party and possibly leaning towards the democratic side. The case demonstrated how swing votes make a huge difference
ReplyDelete2. For years to come, Kavanaugh will make the vote lean conservative in comparison to the judge who used to be a swing vote and was basically the decider of the case because the Court was usually split pretty evenly.
3. The meToo movement is still relevant and is growing because of this incident. Since it happened to lean in favor of Kavanaugh, this has led to outrage among many powerful figures and liberal people calling this case bogus because they are "not listening to the victims". Although the movement did not win this time, it will be supported even more since they did not win, especially in liberal areas such as the bay area and east coast. This problem probably will not get solved just like the discrimination from police with black on white crimes.
4. They were gooder
The confirmation of Kavanaugh will hopefully encourage Democrats to turnout, as Republicans control all three branches. Republicans will vote, yet I am curious to the extent they will turnout.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely not; his decisions will not be non-partisan. He clearly stands with the Republican party and Trump. His votes as a Supreme Court Justice will lean conservative and to towards the GOP's agenda.
The Me Too Movement is peaking because Ford's accusations were not taken seriously by the Trump administration. I didn't see a thorough FBI investigation with the short time they had. Survivors feel disregarded and extremely hurt by the recent news.
A political firestorm, Josh. Lol.
1. As Kavanaugh has been confirmed, both parties will become more polarized and this will cause more people to come out for the Midterm Elections. After this controversy people are more willing to take a stance for their beliefs and this will cause people from both parties to take part in the election. Also with the Republican win, the Republicans are most likely going to increase their voter turnout for the midterm elections as they can see a midterm going in favor of them.
ReplyDelete2. After seeing Judge Kavanaugh's behavior during his testimonies it is hard to see him as being an impartial judge. With the knowledge that he is most likely not going to be an impartial judge this means he will most likely swing Supreme Court decisions towards his own beliefs. This will change the stance on controversial topics in society and it will cause his decisions to be the deciding factor on these cases.
3. Today the MeToo movement is still relevant as we can see through the attention this controversy has drawn. I don't believe that it is losing potency but rather it was not strong enough to truly force the final vote against Kavanaugh. This specific controversy is difficult for the MeToo movement to force against Kavanaugh due to so many factors that made it difficult to prove, such as the fact that it occurred such a long time ago.
4. I feel like these questions are similar in difficulty to the ones others posted as it makes us step and think about how we are going to answer the question.
1. I think it helped Democrats win the House and gain more votes, because a lot of people seem to agree that he shouldn't have been put on the court. I definitely think that this will energize both bases, because Democrats, especially woman, will turn out more because of the testimony of Dr. Ford. Moreover, I think Republicans will want to come out and vote because they feel like they're guy is being attacked by the "evil" Democrats.
ReplyDelete2. I think we should expect him to be impartial at the beginning because of the controversy surrounding his nomination, however I think overtime he will become less impartial and more conservative. In addition, I think he will destroy the balance the court had, with it now becoming more right leaning.
3. I think the MeToo movement did what it could, but there wasn't much they can do because Republicans controlled the voting process and they for the most part don't care about what they want. Like I said before, I think this got Democrats to go out and vote.
4. Yes.
1. As Kavanaugh has been confirmed, both parties will become more polarized and this will cause more people to vote and show their interest in the midterm election. After this controversy, people will be voting based off of their beliefs and will be more independent. As for the republican side, I believe that there will be a massive turnout as Kavanaugh was allowed to join SCOTUS, which will end up being largely republican for a long time.
ReplyDelete2. After seeing Judge Kavanaugh's actions and beliefs showcased during the case, I do not believe he will be an equal judge and will end up always leaning towards the more conservative belief in cases. This will give the republicans the majority most of the time and might lead to some controversial precedents being set.
3. Today the MeToo movement is still relevant as we can see through the attention this controversy has drawn. I don't believe that it is losing potency but rather it was not strong enough to force Kavanaugh out of SCOTUS. I think it has a lot of opinions and word out to people, but no direct power which will change people’s opinions immediately. It’s more like getting the word out instead of making me want to understand something.
4. They are pretty difficult and the last question was pretty hard to decide on since I feel like word is getting out about this movement, but nothing is really being done in terms of rules and precedents.
The confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh will make liberals upset, pushing them to vote in larger numbers to secure Democratic representative in the House, and it will make conservatives excited about the future but worried about liberal backlash and vote more to retain their seats.
ReplyDeleteNo, I do not expect Judge Kavanaugh to be an impartial judge given his behavior during his testimony. Even before his testimony, it was clear he would be a conservative judge, and his statements on women and sexual assault may cause him to vote against Planned Parenthood and abortion.
The MeToo movement simply cannot transcend the partisan divide in this country, for partisan politics have become so ingrained in the nation over the years. I do not think political polarization can be resolved in the near future; however, as the gender pay gap narrows and women slowly rise to the same status as men, sexual assault may become much less common in the near future.
These questions are answerable, they just require some thought and are undoubtedly going to be influenced by ideological differences.