Editorial: Trump's man could tilt Supreme Court for decades

President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. Photo / AP

Opinion

COMMENT: By the end of the weekend, the prospect of Judge Brent Kavanaugh — with all the baggage he carries — joining the United States Supreme Court may be resolved.

President Donald Trump wants it settled, his spear-carrier in the US Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will brook no other outcome, and the Republican Party base is clearly thirsting for a told-you-so moment.

It seems to matter not one whit to Trump or his acolytes that the divisive appointment threatens immense damage to one of America's most vital institutions and could reignite US culture wars in ways that tear at the nation's social fabric.

All that appears to concern the White House is that the choice is settled and that Kavanaugh gets nominated. McConnell and Trump will want the vote out of the way quickly, before any further landmines explode in their faces.

If Trump succeeds, then the court will have its second conservative judge joining the bench in less than two years and the priceless chance to create a judicial legacy for years to come.

Trump's behaviour in the last few days indicates he senses the battle has been won. His mocking of Christine Blasey Ford, the university professor who accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault, was a sign that the president is utterly confident of the outcome, and willing to show contempt to those who resist his will.

His eagerness to besmirch the testimony of Ford for a few cheap laughs at a GOP rally is further evidence of his attitude towards the memories and accounts of assault survivors and a further blow to women with the courage to speak of deeply painful experiences.

Seen from this distance, the US process of filling this particular court vacancy has been tawdry and partisan. The FBI background check in the last few days appears cursory and lackluster, though it was hampered by the passage of years and a tight timetable set by Trump.

So why does this matter? The US Supreme Court has a chief justice and eight other judges. They rule on issues such as abortion, gay rights, civil rights and the death penalty.

The court has the power to irrevocably influence American society and tilt the balance one way or another. If Kavanaugh clears the hurdles which surfaced during his nomination — his alleged sexual assaults as a high school pupil or young law student of three women, his history of heavy drinking, and his angry and inflammatory displays during the confirmation hearings — then he will join Judge Neil Gorsuch as the second Trump nominee on the court.

Kavanaugh, for his part, vehemently denied claims of misconduct, and described the attacks directed his way as "a calculated and orchestrated political hit."

Fundamentally, his success would secure a conservative majority on the bench for the first time in 30 years.

Issues in the pipeline for its judges include abortion rights, immigration, gay rights, voting rights and transgender troops. A conservative ascendancy could establish legal precedent on any number of fundamental issues. Trump could well be changing America again for the worse.