<p class="MsoNormal">Much has been reported &ndash; and some of it may actually be true &ndash; about the impact newly minted Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh will have on future Supreme Court decisions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>No one can dispute the fact that the philosophic center-of-gravity in the high court will shift a wee bit to the right &ndash; but not as much as the political fearmongers claim in their attempt to keep their port-side voting base energized with apocalyptic anxiety.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We have to keep in mind that Kavanaugh is not replacing an activist liberal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>Retired Justice Anthony Kennedy was constantly referred to as the swing vote on the Court.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>That was not really true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>While Kennedy did vote with the liberal faction of the Court on a very few cases that had significant cultural implications &ndash; abortion and gay rights to mention the most notable two &ndash; he was a solid conservative vote on almost all other decisions.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Conversely, Kavanaugh is not an Antonin Scalia or Clarence Thomas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">He is a more moderate conservative.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>In fact, he may very well be more like Kennedy than both the political right and left currently believe.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In this confirmation process, none of those issues that absorbed the media mattered to the Democrats &ndash; not Kavanaugh&rsquo;s broader record of <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">jurisprudence</span>, not his temperament, not the opinions of his <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">supporters</span> or detractors and not even the accusations of Christine Blasey Ford<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>Those were just scenes in the Kabuki political theater.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>It was all about Roe v. Wade and how to leverage that issue as a winner in the midterm elections.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Opponents of Kavanaugh&rsquo;s confirmation warned that sending him to the Supreme Court would seriously impair the Court&rsquo;s reputation and disrupt the comity that exists between the justices, themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>That is the least likely outcome.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The greater probability is that the eight justices, who had been waiting for the empty ninth chair to be filled, will welcome Kavanaugh with open arms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>They are not about to bicker with him over teenage drinking, college hijinks, and braggadocios yearbook entries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>They are not about to privately debate or adjudicate the conflicting testimonies of Kavanaugh and Ford.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rather, Kavanaugh will be respected for his fine legal mind and his judicial eloquence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>Even differences of <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">opinion</span> rendered in controversial cases do not break the comity of the Court.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>It was well known that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the left and Scalia on the right were the best of friends.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Justices by their nature &ndash; and the fact that with lifetime appointments &ndash; never get into the political battles of the moment if they do not directly involve the work of the Court.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>Yes, Ginsburg did have some unkind things to say about President Trump, but she immediately issued a mea culpa for her mistake.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our Founders were wise in giving federal judges something no one else in America officially enjoys &ndash; a guaranteed <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">lifetime</span> job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>I say &ldquo;officially&rdquo; because Civil Service protection is <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">unfortunately</span> evolving into an absolute job guarantee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>Once appointed, federal judges are immune from political repercussions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>They cannot be fired by the President who appoints them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>They have no term limit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>Yes, they can be impeached and removed via the same process that a President can be impeached and removed, but that is a Herculean task and has only happened to one Supreme Court justice &ndash; and that was Samuel Chace way back in 1805.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>He was impeached but acquitted by the Senate.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Apparently ignorant of history and lacking in good political judgment, three are a number of congressional Democrats looking to impeach Kavanaugh should their party gain control of the House.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>The fact that Republicans are eager to help them promote that strategy should tell them something about its efficacy.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The wake behind Supreme Court confirmation controversies tends to close very quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>Periodically, the left brings up the Anita Hill testimony during those bygone Clarence Thomas hearings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>This issue was long ago and largely forgotten.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>They have not marred, characterized or impaired Thomas&rsquo; service on the Court.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Despite the best efforts of the Democrats to make Trump&rsquo;s Supreme Court appointments an issue in the midterm elections, it is impossible to know if it becomes a decisive issue for Democrats more than Republicans &ndash; or vice versa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>Maybe for both.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>Maybe for neither.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Whatever the political effect, you can rest assured that the Supreme Court will carry on in its normal manner &ndash; quiet and secretive &ndash; until it issues its decisions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>The work of the Court is too tedious and too boring to operate in the fiery cauldron of day-to-day politics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>Kavanaugh is now a member-in-good-standing in the highest court in the land.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If the Court can<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>survive such reprobates as racist Chief Justice Roger Taney (Dred Scott Decision), Ku Klux Klaner Hugo Black, school segregationist Chief Justice Fred Vinson and Justice Abe Fortas (resigned due to scandal), it will have no problem with a gentleman of the high caliber and capabilities of Brett Kavanaugh.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As a footnote and in the spirit of partisanship, I am compelled to mention that Kavanagh is a Republican <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">and</span> all those reprobates were Democrats appoint by Andrew Jackson, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson respectively.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ; </span>So there!</p>