Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Conservatives Must Realize Kavanaugh Victory Is Not The End…It Is The Beginning
Townhall.com ^ | October 8, 2018 | Mark Davis

Posted on 10/08/2018 11:37:29 AM PDT by Kaslin

In a way, I still can’t believe it happened. Brett Kavanaugh is a Supreme Court Justice.

Of course, I know it happened. I saw it happen. Through the worst of the smears against him, I held out moderate confidence that it would happen. But as the 50-48 vote was announced, as his SUV motored toward his new workplace for his installation, as the photographs of that moment were released—I had a pinch-myself moment. Did we just fend off the worst the left had to offer? Did we just power this nomination to the finish line by standing up not just for the Constitution but also for basic human decency and fundamental rules of proper behavior? Did President Trump and an energized Senate GOP just show America how to fight?

For too long, the frequent Republican reply to Democrat viciousness was “Thank you, sir, may I have another?” As Justice Kavanaugh (how I love typing that) prepares for what should be decades of voting according to the law and not his whims, conservatives should pivot from celebration to serious reflection. Will this be a one-off moment of joy? Will we look back longingly on the autumn of 2018 as that singular chapter featuring the courage and conviction we had hungered for? Or will it represent a wake-up call setting the stage for the battles to come?

It’s up to us. Will we allow our relief over the Kavanaugh success to lull us into a satisfied stupor? Or will we rise up with still-sharp memories of what the Democrat party did to this good man and his family, to Senate decorum and to the concepts that keep our society rational?

Our first gut check is right around the corner. Democrats who participated in the attacks on Kavanaugh are up for re-election in several Trump states. They must be shown the door back to private life in Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Montana and North Dakota, and dare we dream, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

In West Virginia, Joe Manchin distinguished (and maybe preserved) himself as the lone yes vote for Kavanaugh in the party that otherwise savaged him. President Trump is surely grateful, but he should not dilute his vocal support for Republican challenger Patrick Morrisey. It is impossible to know whether Manchin bucked his party in a reflection of his true sensibilities or as a desperate tactic for November survival. I don’t care. We don’t need to spend the next six years wondering if he will give us similar cooperative moments.

No retreat. No surrender. There is only one reason Kavanaugh is on the high court and not dashed against the rocks of leftist slander: we fought back.

Trump’s instincts and track record in that regard are not surprising. But look who volunteered to march into the gaping maw of Democrat fury:

--Lindsey Graham, occasional fellow traveler in his friend John McCain’s wanderings from the conservative path, especially on immigration, where they both became famous for being dead wrong nearly all the time. Graham’s righteous anger from his Judiciary Committee seat is one of the great conservative moments in recent congressional history.

--Mitch McConnell, always capable, always measured but not unanimously admired by conservatives as he followed his instincts of deal-cutting and compromise in an era when both became an image negative. But can anyone recall a Republican Senate Majority leader so galvanizingly compelling the faithful to climb on his back to take that hill?

--Susan Collins, whose New England-style Swiss cheese conservatism has earned her electoral security in Maine but grumbles of frustration from the conservative base. She didn’t go full Ted Cruz in her definitive speech announcing her intent to vote for Kavanaugh, assuring his success. She employed her usual traits of nuance and even-handedness, but this time toward a bold moment that did not spare the Democrats and other Kavanaugh-haters the scolding they deserved. For this, she was pilloried as having abandoned her moderate credentials for admission to the Trump agenda clubhouse. One can only hope.

What we have witnessed has never been hard to describe but has apparently been monumentally difficult to do. Republicans, from the President on down, have finally sprouted spines that do not collapse out of fear over what Democrats or media tormentors might say. Confronted with hideous attacks that have withered past GOP majorities, this Trump-infused army drew a line in the sand and refused to budge.

The good news is that Republicans seem particularly energized, some even willing to sweep aside their NeverTrump neuroses and row along with the rest of us. The challenging news is that this kind of resolve must be rekindled again and again and again. If majorities in both houses of Congress can be preserved in November, those Republican members installed in January had better be ready to take the next hill, and the next and the next. Do you think liberalism made its deep inroads with intermittent passion? I have long opposed the ideology of the left while admiring and envying its tireless devotion.

It can be our turn if we are up to the task. Let us bring Kavanaugh confirmation-style courage and energy to our fights for stronger borders, health care reform and fiscal sanity. Maybe a uniquely brave wing of the GOP can even prod the President on spending cuts.

We fought for Brett Kavanaugh not simply to win him a Supreme Court seat, or just to bolster the Constitution. This fight was necessary to deal a blow to the darkest of tactics and those who would deploy them.

They will not stop. They will not slink away. They are not defeated. Every elected official who rose to this great occasion and every voter inspired by it must prepare to draw from this well repeatedly. Brett Kavanaugh could well sit on the Supreme Court for thirty years. If we rest on the current laurels, the left can regain the upper hand in a matter of months.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: 2018midterms
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-54 next last

1 posted on 10/08/2018 11:37:29 AM PDT by Kaslin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

Of course it is just the Beginning!

The left has used the courts to undermine and destroy our societal fabric for 3 generations now, it will require non stop fighting to return us to our proper path.


2 posted on 10/08/2018 11:39:25 AM PDT by HamiltonJay
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

2-3 more Trump supporting Senators and we’re ready to replace The Notorious RBG.


3 posted on 10/08/2018 11:40:31 AM PDT by 1Old Pro
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

(Omg, I can’t read that and not hear it in his voice!)

I never liked Kavanaugh (because of the Vince Foster case). I am just very happy that Trump got his pick in. I will hope for the best for K’s time on the SC. Im not filled with trust.


4 posted on 10/08/2018 11:41:48 AM PDT by Yaelle
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

“They will not stop. They will not slink away. They are not defeated. Every elected official who rose to this great occasion and every voter inspired by it must prepare to draw from this well repeatedly. Brett Kavanaugh could well sit on the Supreme Court for thirty years. If we rest on the current laurels, the left can regain the upper hand in a matter of months.”


It’s a religion with The Left. This is a Baby Boomer, Generation X, Generation Z, and Millennials fight, much like it was our parents from the Depression Era (Greatest Generation) fight for WWII and The Cold War Era.

Got to stay vigilant and hit them right back. We’ve conceded way too much already (i.e. our grammar, High Schools, colleges and universities and we got to get those back).


5 posted on 10/08/2018 11:45:35 AM PDT by upbeat5
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

Yeah I wouldn’t hold my breath. Everytime we think we’re going to get a conservative majority some justice flips and becomes a flaming libtard. Blackmun, Soeter, Stevens, I can’t think of an example in the opposite direction. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was some sort of setup. We should’ve had a 9/9 rightwing court by now for decades.


6 posted on 10/08/2018 11:46:26 AM PDT by jarwulf
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

“No retreat. No surrender. There is only one reason Kavanaugh is on the high court and not dashed against the rocks of leftist slander: we fought back.”

MAGA!


7 posted on 10/08/2018 11:48:26 AM PDT by Toughluck_freeper
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.
— Churchill


8 posted on 10/08/2018 11:49:15 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (The MSM is in the business of creating a fake version of reality for political reasons.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: jarwulf

Justice White was the last liberal to conservative flip.


9 posted on 10/08/2018 11:49:43 AM PDT by LongWayHome
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin
Maybe a uniquely brave wing of the GOP can even prod the President on spending cuts.

It isn't President Trump that needs the prodding.

10 posted on 10/08/2018 11:49:51 AM PDT by Robert DeLong
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

Something that I learned in combat. Beware of intermediate objectives. Soldiers and Leaders will celebrate a small victory and will want to rest and enjoy it. You have to drive yourself and your soldiers to reach the final objective and only then can you rest on your laurels.

Churchill said it best when Germany surrendered. He allowed a brief respite and rejoicing, but then he drove his country forward to the final victory over Japan.

Our job is not done until the Democrat Part as currently constituted is destroyed.


11 posted on 10/08/2018 11:51:45 AM PDT by centurion316 (Back from exile from 4/2016 until 4/2018.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

“It is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. It is perhaps the end of the beginning.” —Winston Churchill


12 posted on 10/08/2018 11:52:23 AM PDT by Hugin ("Not one step from his weapons should a traveler take"...Havamal 38)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

“It is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. It is perhaps the end of the beginning.” —Winston Churchill


13 posted on 10/08/2018 11:52:24 AM PDT by Hugin ("Not one step from his weapons should a traveler take"...Havamal 38)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

“It is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. It is perhaps the end of the beginning.” —Winston Churchill


14 posted on 10/08/2018 11:52:24 AM PDT by Hugin ("Not one step from his weapons should a traveler take"...Havamal 38)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

When will the investigation of Christine Balsey Ford and her crew of Dimocrat operatives begin? When will the real investigation of who leaked Ford’s identity to the press begin?

And how about her psychotherapist, who quite possibly implanted her so-called “recovered” memory of the fictitious “rape attmept” - when will she be investigated? When will the psychotherapist be shown to be a rabid California Leftist?


15 posted on 10/08/2018 11:54:28 AM PDT by Redbob (W.W.J.B.D.: What would Jack Bauer Do?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

It better be.

One thing I would like to see happen is a complete reform of the university system. Force the colleges to hire conservatives. Make the students pay for their own education.


16 posted on 10/08/2018 11:55:33 AM PDT by Brilliant
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin
Now this is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end, it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning

Winston Churchill-speaking on the Oct 1942 British victory at El Alemein”

Those same words could be said about the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh.This victory merely marks the end of a 2 year battle between decency and the rule of law against the criminal recklessness and wanton disregard for the Rule of Law by the Democrat Party leadership since they lost the Nov 2016 Presidential Election.

Now it is time to being the end. Stalingrad in Jan 1943 was the epic allied victory that broke the back the Nazi offensive war machine. It is time for US Voters in Nov 2018 to hand the wantonly reckless, utterly fanatic, out of control Democrats their epic political defeat.

On Voting Day Nov 2018, go to the polls, bringing your friends and family and vote for every single R candidate.

Defeat every Democrat candidate at every level to send the message to the Democrat party leadership. This is NOT “just Politics” the rule of law and due process MATTER and every time you try to ignore them with these fanatic desperate lawless tactics of lies and intimidation, WE, the American People WILL punish you for it

17 posted on 10/08/2018 11:55:41 AM PDT by MNJohnnie (They would have to abandon leftism to achieve sanity. Freeper Olog-hai)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin
"Ideas have consequences."

We must not forget that in 1776, the patriots who wrote and signed our Declaration of Independence--Thomas Jefferson, its Author, was only 33 years old--were willing to sacrifice their lives for the cause of liberty and the ideas which gave birth to that burst of light and freedom.

Those brave men and women were acting to protect themselves from the power of government over the lives and happiness of themselves and their posterity.

Our task is to grab the moment and begin to articulate those ideas to the youth of our time, else that freedom may be lost for generations. Power, once acquired, tends to expand, not contract.

Our task is to expand liberty and contract government power! Our grandchildren deserve our devotion to freedom!

18 posted on 10/08/2018 12:03:14 PM PDT by loveliberty2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

This is what winning looks like, so I have chosen to enjoy their pain.


19 posted on 10/08/2018 12:04:41 PM PDT by Balding_Eagle ( The Great Wall of Trump ---- 100% sealing of the border. Coming soon.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MNJohnnie

What shouldn’t be overlooked is that Kavanaugh was just a trial for the war against Trumpster’s next SCOTUS nod (Amy Coney Barrett?). Look for them to be even nastier on her than they were on Special-K.

And there’s still the matter of whether they’ll have the numbers for an impeachment of Kavanaugh (and Trump) after this November elections. It’s a fair certainty they’ll impeach even if they lack the numbers to convict.


20 posted on 10/08/2018 12:08:14 PM PDT by Paal Gulli
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-54 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson