We can't afford to take a chance with Brett Kavanaugh

Nan Aron | Opinion contributor

Kentuckians have always had a healthy skepticism of government prying and overreach. That’s why it’s so important that the U.S. Senate reject Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s recent nomination to the Supreme Court.

Time and again, Kavanaugh has chosen Big Brother over the Bill of Rights. Confirming him would also threaten our American system of checks and balances, by installing a rubber stamp to give President Trump and other presidents unbridled power.

As a judge, Kavanaugh has been all too willing to erode our constitutional freedoms. That’s why Congressman Justin Amash, founder of the congressional Liberty Caucus, says that Kavanaugh is “really bad on the 4th Amendment, when so much is at stake in upcoming digital privacy battles.”

Kavanaugh even argued that it was “reasonable” for the National Security Agency to have access to millions of Americans’ telephone records without a warrant (a practice that another judge called “Orwellian”).

News: Matt Bevin and 30 other governors ask Senate to confirm Kavanaugh rapidly

Before endorsing him, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul earlier raised his own concerns about Kavanaugh’s record: “There are 10 amendments listed in the Bill of Rights, and so the Fourth Amendment is one of them. So we’re already down one.”

Kavanaugh has also spent his career pushing for a radical rearranging of our constitutional system of checks and balance that would give our presidents far more power. In fact, he thinks presidents should be above the law.

That’s why he urged Congress to pass a law exempting presidents from criminal prosecution and investigation — even from being questioned “The President,” he wrote, “should be excused from some of the burdens of ordinary citizenship while serving in office.”

This radical theory turns the rule of law on its head—and supports President Trump’s argument that he is immune from being investigated for possible obstruction of justice.

Why should anyone be confirmed to the Supreme Court who thinks that presidents are above the law? American history has proven time and again that our political leaders must be held accountable for abuses, not given a free pass.

Letter: 'Papa' John Schnatter says he was justified in actions against CEOs

Because the Supreme Court must act as a check on the president and Congress, and protect our freedoms from government abuses, Kentucky’s senators have a responsibility to take a close look at Judge Kavanaugh’s extreme views and the way in which he would undermine the court’s unique role in protecting our freedoms.

They should also resist calls to rush this huge decision. Each senator must take time to review his record. And it could be weeks before hundreds of thousands of documents relevant to his record begin to be released by the National Archives and the George W. Bush Presidential Library.

The Supreme Court is given awesome power over our lives and liberties, and its members serve for decades. Americans can’t afford to take a risk on someone who won’t step up to protect the Constitution and our liberties when the government endangers our individual freedoms.

Nan Aron is president of the Alliance for Justice, a national association of 130 organizations committed to the creation of an equitable, just, and free society.