Kayleigh McEnany, the chief spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, recently published an editorial in Alabama’s Times Daily about the critical decision facing Sen. Doug Jones (D-Mountain Brook) in the vote to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
McEnany opened her piece by asking, “Will Doug Jones side with Alabama’s people on Kavanaugh?”
She quickly answered herself, asserting that Jones is “too beholden to the radicals” in the Democratic Party to side with the majority of Alabamians in supporting Trump’s nominee.
This theme echoes recent ads run in the state by Americans for Prosperity, who said Jones is “putting politics ahead of his country” and “siding with Chuck Schumer, not [Alabamians].”McEnany outlined that Kavanaugh is a perfectly qualified and “distinguished” nominee, which makes it hard for red-state Democrats like Jones to excuse their nonsupport.
“Judge Kavanaugh is highly respected and has an impeccable résumé,” she detailed. “After graduating from Yale Law School, he clerked for Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy and served as a White House counsel in the George W. Bush administration.”
“As a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Kavanaugh has a long track record of mainstream, Constitution-based opinions which stands in stark contrast to the judicial activists we see today,” McEnany continued.
She also pointed out that objective voices have come out in force in support of Trump’s nominee.
“Legal minds across the political spectrum have come to the defense of Judge Kavanaugh, and rightfully so,” McEnany emphasized.
With such a high-caliber nominee in Kavanaugh, the plausible explanation for Jones’ opposition, McEnany suggested, is purely partisan politics.
“Are Jones and other red-state Democrats too beholden to the radicals in their party to support an extremely qualified nominee for the Supreme Court?” she asked.
From McEnany’s vantage point, “The answer appears to be ‘yes.’”
She also framed Jones’ vote as a choice between supporting “liberal Chuck Schumer” or “the people of Alabama.”
According to Morning Consult, polling shows that Jones voting against Kavanaugh’s confirmation would be “unforgivable” to the clear majority of Alabamians.
McEnany advised that the state’s voters made it blatantly obvious what kind of judicial nominees they wanted when Trump battered Hillary Clinton by nearly 30 points in November 2016.
However, McEnany explained that Jones’ voting record – and what she sees as Jones failing to keep his promise to be a moderate – might foreshadow his vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
“The senator’s opposition to the president’s reasonable compromise on immigration show us that he’s more interested in pleasing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer than his own constituents,” she said.
McEnany added, “In fact, Jones votes with Schumer 80 percent of the time. When it comes to late-term abortion, his liberal views stand in stark contrast to those of Alabamians. One of his first votes in Congress was a vote against the late-term abortion ban.”
The RNC spokesperson said Alabama’s junior senator is in line with the national Democratic Party with his voting.
“Some of Jones’s fellow red-state Democrats are touting their support for the Trump agenda, yet not a single one voted for tax cuts; voted to keep the government open during the spending bill debate in January; or supported President Trump’s immigration and infrastructure plans,” McEnany outlined.
The question at hand is a pivotal one.
“Will [Jones] side with his party or his people?” McEnany, in conclusion, queried.
Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing in the Senate begins on Tuesday.
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
