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An article in the Yale Daily News today gives us more insight into the life of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. And boy, is it exciting stuff.




Kavanaugh attended Yale Law School from ‘87 to ‘90, during which time, according to classmates, he enjoyed playing devil’s advocate in conversations with his black friend, eating pasta with ketchup, and looking down his nose at friends who enjoyed watching Jeopardy. What a fun dude.

His friends also remember his painfully dull taste in food.

[W]hen it came to food, the future Supreme Court pick found hardly anything palatable, Christmas said. Kavanaugh was a “bland eater,” his roommate explained, who never ate his pasta with anything more exotic than tomato sauce or ketchup on top. [...] “When he had spaghetti sauce, it was ragu — he didn’t want anything spicier than that,” Hartmann added.


Kavanaugh’s fellow Yalies have mostly positive memories of the former law student, who they note, rarely spoke about politics. Kenneth Christmas, however, remembers discussing a few issues with him:

Christmas, who is African-American, recalled conversations with Kavanaugh about protections for minorities. The two often discussed minority rights, he said, and the role of the state and federal governments in determining those rights. “He was sort of the guy that would argue both sides,” Christmas said. “I don’t think he sees himself as an ideologue in any way. I think he sees himself as someone who has intellectual rigor in how he looks at the law.”

Another friend, Jim Brochin, told the Yale Daily News that over their 25 year friendship, they discussed politics less than five times.

This shouldn’t surprise anyone. Kavanaugh is exactly the kind of debate club nerd who sees politics as irrelevant to his life—because they are. As a rich white guy, the political realities of the world have little to no bearing on him. He’s free to debate interpretations of the Constitution to his heart’s content, without worrying that the laws he upholds or overturns may negatively impact him or someone he loves. Must be nice!


While writers like Akhil Reed Amar may see Kavanaugh’s lack of apparent ideology (read: his investment in the status quo) as something to recommend him to power, anyone with an actual stake in what the Supreme Court decides on issues like abortion or affirmative action knows better. Once you understand the impacts that politics can have on actual human beings, your ability to play “both sides” greatly diminishes.