Feinstein And Harris on Kavanaugh’s Nomination
Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif) spoke on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court at a press conference.
Feinstein and Harris were Wednesday’s KVML “Newsmakers of the Day”.
Here are the words of Dianne Feinstein:
“President Trump has been crystal clear that he would put ‘pro-gun’ and ‘pro-life’ justices on the court and that Roe v. Wade would be overturned ‘automatically.’
Brett Kavanaugh appears to meet all of President Trump’s promises for how his candidate will rule on specific issues.
His record on the bench, in the Bush White House and as a Republican political operative indicates that if confirmed he would be among the most conservative justices in Supreme Court history.
His views are outside the mainstream, and there’s every reason to believe he would overturn Roe.
While overturning Roe would set back women’s freedoms and limit access to comprehensive health services, the reality is that it will impact all Americans because we all have a stake in whether constitutional principles are preserved.
Roe is a fundamental piece of the case law that upholds our personal liberty and privacy rights like the ability to marry whomever you love and the right to use contraception in deciding when and if to have a family.
Because the issue of gun safety is so important to me, I also want to mention how extreme Kavanaugh’s views are in this area.
Even though five circuit courts have upheld bans against assault weapons, he argued in 2011 against Washington, D.C.’s ban because weapons like AR-15s are in, ‘common use.’
When you combine President Trump’s repeated promises about his ‘pro-life’ and ‘pro-gun’ nominees and Kavanaugh’s record, there’s every reason to believe that this nominee will fulfill those promises.”
U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris released the following statement on the nomination of U.S. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States:
“The Supreme Court has a profound impact on the rights—and lives—of all Americans. When at its best, it has advanced the meaning of those words above its doors, ‘Equal Justice Under Law.’ At its worst, the Supreme Court has upheld racial segregation, enabled voter suppression, and equated corporations with people. Whether or a not the Supreme Court enforces the spirit of those words, ‘Equal Justice Under Law,’ is determined by the individuals who sit on that Court.
“Judge Brett Kavanaugh represents a direct and fundamental threat to that promise of equality and so I will oppose his nomination to the Supreme Court. Specifically, as a replacement for Justice Anthony Kennedy, his nomination presents an existential threat to the health care of hundreds of millions of Americans.
“During the 2016 presidential campaign, President Trump made clear that he had a litmus test for Supreme Court Justices—overturn Roe v. Wade and oppose a woman’s constitutionally-protected right to make her own health care decisions. The President then released a list of nominees who had been vetted to meet that test. Judge Kavanaugh is on that list.
“Judge Kavanaugh has consistently proven to be a conservative ideologue instead of a mainstream jurist. As recently as last year, he disregarded Supreme Court precedent and opposed the health care rights of a vulnerable young woman. That ruling was overturned by a sitting of all the judges on his court. In 2015, Kavanaugh wrote that an employer, based on their personal beliefs, can deny their employee access to birth control coverage.
“I know personally just how consequential this seat on the Supreme Court is. Almost two decades after the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, I was part of only the second class to integrate the Berkeley, California public schools. If that Court had not issued that unanimous opinion led by Chief Justice Earl Warren in that case argued by Thurgood Marshall, I likely would not have become a lawyer, or a prosecutor, or a been elected district attorney, or the Attorney General of California. And I certainly would not have become a United States Senator.
“That’s the power an individual Supreme Court Justice holds. Those are the stakes of this nomination. We must demand a mainstream jurist worthy of our great country.”
The “Newsmaker of the Day” is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML.
