Feminist Lawyer Tells Senate Dems to Confirm Kavanaugh

Liberal attorney Lisa Blatt has won more cases before the Supreme Court, 33, than any other woman in American history, and she has a simple message for her friends on the Left about Judge Brett Kavanaugh — confirm him.

“I have received many angry calls from friends and even strangers for supporting Judge Kavanaugh,” Blatt said during the first day of Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing. “But I was raised to call it like I see it, and I don’t see the choice before you as difficult. By any objective measure, Judge Kavanaugh is clearly qualified to serve on the Supreme Court.”

But Kavanaugh’s qualifications were hardly mentioned during a day of legislative tumult.

President Donald Trump nominated Kavanaugh July 9 for the seat presently occupied by the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. If Kavanaugh is confirmed, he would give the nation’s highest court a conservative majority for the first time in several generations.

Related: Half of Senate Judiciary Dems Pledged No Votes Before Kavanaugh Hearing

That’s why Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee turned the opening hours of Tuesday’s hearing into a circus. They did so by continually interrupting panel chairman Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) with motions, parliamentary inquiries, points of order, dissents and disputations, with more than a dozen shouting protesters intentionally adding to the chaos, usually during comments by Republican committee members.

Blatt’s comments came toward the end of the day when she, Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice officially introduced Kavanaugh. He will be questioned at length Wednesday by committee members after spending Tuesday mostly in silence during the opening disruptions and statements.

Her comments recalled an earlier time when bipartisanship was the rule rather than the exception in the Senate’s consideration of Supreme Court nominations. She described herself as “a liberal Democrat and an unapologetic defender of a woman’s right to choose. My hero is Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who I had the great privilege of serving as a law clerk.

“I was raised to call it like I see it, and I don’t see the choice before you as difficult. By any objective measure, Judge Kavanaugh is clearly qualified to serve on the Supreme Court.”

Blatt also pointed out that she “proudly voted for Hillary Clinton. I voted for President Obama twice. And I apologize for this, Mr. Chairman, I wish Sen. Feinstein was chairing this committee. And yet I am here today to introduce Judge Kavanaugh and urge the Senate to confirm him.”

Kavanaugh currently serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where he has been since 2006. President George W. Bush nominated him when he was working as a senior associate counsel and assistant at the White House.

Blatt argued that his credentials clearly makes him qualified for the highest court.

“I know that Judge Kavanaugh has a conservative judicial outlook,” Blatt said. “If it were up to me Justice Ginsburg would have all nine votes. But that’s not how our system works. The reality is that the presidency and the Senate are in Republican hands. Judge Kavanaugh is the best choice liberals could reasonably hope for.”

Related: Dems Try to Derail Kavanaugh Hearing Before It Begins

Blatt said Kavanaugh’s opinions on the appellate court have been thoughtful and fair, and she reminded the committee that the Supreme Court has adopted his reasoning more than a dozen times.

Kavanaugh has resisted the expansion of administrative agency power when ruling on past cases, particularly in regard to the Environmental Protection Agency. He has opposed judicial activism and is generally viewed as an originalist. He has crossed the conservative line at times, including his rejection of two challenges to the Affordable Care Act.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has been at the forefront of demands to delay the process until they get millions of documents from his time at the White House. Senate judiciary Republicans have denounced the constant calls for delays as nothing more than a partisan move given how many records they have turned over already.