We Must Not Let Kavanaugh Be Confirmed
As you know, President Donald Trump recently nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court. Fortunately, Kavanaugh must go through confirmation hearings prior to being confirmed. Democrats were immediately set into a tail spin, worried about everything from Roe vs. Wade to the environment, to the fact that Kavanaugh does not believe a sitting President can be investigated or charged for a crime.
It’s this last subject that gives me the greatest pause. Every American, regardless of wealth, political status, sex, or anything else should be required to follow the same laws as everyone else. If you break a law, you are treated just like anyone else. Donald Trump has a litany of ongoing investigations, many of which could lead to criminal charges. So is he stacking the deck of the Supreme Court, expecting criminal charges? Expecting to appeal the charges and convictions all the way to the Supreme Court? Anticipating that Kavanaugh will give him a get out of jail free card? Of course we can’t know, but is is very suspicious.
Once nominated, the candidate must go through a series of hearings before finally seeking approval from the Senate. All the Senate needs to do is have a majority vote to confirm the nomination. Right now the Senate sits at 51 Republicans and 47 Democrats. An additional 2 seats are held by Independent (Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont). The two independent votes are likely to go Democrat, making the split 51-49. So a majority vote is a very fragile thing.
So what do we do? Two senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine may hold the key to keeping Kavanaugh off of the Supreme Court. They are both Republicans, but they both have a pro-life stance and they have both voted against Trump in the past. Murkowski has disagreed with Trump on tariffs, net neutrality, immigration, abortion, healthcare, foreign relations, and more. Similarly, Collins has disagreed with Trump on tariffs, net neutrality, the budget, immigration, abortion, and more. It is imperative, that regardless of where we live we contact Murkowski and Collins and implore them NOT to confirm Kavanaugh.
Roe v. Wade is an extremely important topic to both of these women. You may have many other concerns about Kavanaugh, but when you contact them I think it is important to focus on this singular issue and make them feel very nervous about the fate of the landmark decision made in 1973 to protect a woman’s right to choose. Their feelings on this one topic just may be enough to get them to vote against Kavanaugh and against Trump’s nefarious agenda. Murkowski and Collins clearly have emotions and actually care about people, and that’s something that is rare in a large number of Trump supporters.
You can contact Lisa Murkowski here, be persistent. She will NOT want to listen to anyone that does not live in Alaska. But this is not an Alaskan issue, it’s a United States issue and we all have a right to voice our opinion on it. It’s unlikely you will be able to do anything but leave a message at any of these numbers, but leave that message and leave her with the impression that this truly matters to you.
- Anchorage: 510 L Street, Suite 600, Anchorage, AK 99501. (907) 271-3735.
- Fairbanks: Courthouse Square, 250 Cushman Avenue, Suite 2D, Fairbanks, Alaska 99701. (907) 456-0233.
- Juneau: 800 Glacier Ave, Suite 101, Juneau, AK 99801. (907) 586-7277.
- Mat-Su Valley: 851 E. Westpoint Drive, Suite 307, Wasilla, AK 99654. (907) 376-7665.
- Soldonta: 44539 Sterling Highway, Suite 203, Soldotna, Alaska 99669. (907) 262-4220.
- Ketchikan: 1900 First Avenue, Suite 225, Ketchikan, AK 99901. (907) 225-6880.
- Washington DC: 522 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510. (202)-224-6665.
As for Susan Collins, you can reach her here:
- Augusta: 68 Sewall Street, Room 507, Augusta, ME 04330. (207) 622-8414.
- Bangor: 202 Harlow Street, Room 20100, Bangor, ME 04401. (207) 945-0417.
- Biddeford: 160 Main Street, Biddeford, ME 04005. (207) 283-1101.
- Caribou: 25 Sweden Street, Suite A, Caribou, ME 04736. (207) 493-7873.
- Lewiston: 55 Lisbon Street, Lewiston, ME 04240. (207) 784-6969.
- Portland: One Canal Plaza, Suite 802, Portland, ME 04101. (207) 780-3575.
- Washington DC: 413 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510. (202)224-2523.
This is OUR COUNTRY. Confirming Kavanaugh to the SCOTUS will be a giant step backwards in women’s rights, the environment, LGBTQ rights, religious freedom, special interests in politics, and much more. This guy is FAR right. The man actually said “I believe that the President should be excused from some of the burdens of ordinary citizenship while serving in office”. Burdens? You mean burdens like BREAKING THE LAW? I would like the POTUS, my POTUS to follow the god damn laws that we all follow.
So, please. Go forth. Call. Vote. Care. Resist. Spread love and hope, not hate and bigotry. Defend your neighbor, do not accuse them.