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Promoted from the diaries by streiff. Promotion does not imply endorsement.
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According to several stories I’ve read in the past few days regarding the Kavanaugh nomination, George Bush has been lobbying behind the scenes in favor of confirming Kavanaugh.

This is very encouraging to hear, but evidently he has not yet been able to persuade two of the three Republican holdouts (Flake, Collins, Murkowski), or else we would have been able to proceed last Friday to a vote rather than endure this last-minute referral to the FBI and its attendant delay in the confirmation process.

So increasingly it looks that Bush needs take matters to the next level by going public with an endorsement of Mr. Kavanaugh, which would totally redirect the conversation:

1) By speaking out publicly as one who represents the so-called “establishment” and “moderate” elements within the Republican leadership, Mr. Bush would eviscerate the anti-Trump angle or motivations, at least among Republicans, by signalling to Republican “moderates” (including the holdouts) that even those who have been critical of Trump are publicly taking that off the table with regards to Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

2) Bush would be able to highlight Kavanaugh’s qualifications for Supreme Court justice, which is the arena in which the Senate is to provide advice and consent, and to denounce the massive violations of process as scandalous abuse of Kavanaugh’s and the Senate’s duties, expressing fervent moral outrage against the attacks on due process and other protections of our laws. Plus whatever else Bush believes are grounds for proceeding to a confirmation vote.

It would seem to me almost inconceivable that Collins and Murkowski would oppose Bush in public – and the signalling of Republican unity among all factions, not just conservatives, that Bush’s public appearance would demonstrate. And perhaps even Flake might pause before totally burning his bridges with the entire Republican party.

The timing, of course, must be carefully finessed, allowing the FBI investigation to proceed according to the announced agreement of duration and limits – but intervening and blowing the whistle if Flake and others try to move the goalposts once more.

Of course, the Democrats probably would try to express outrage as to how an ex-President was “violating all norms of behavior” – exhibiting their usual utter hypocrisy, but if so, they would open themselves to the following devastating refutation, were Bush to preemptive address this objection along the following lines:

“I know that many on the Democratic side would object to my speaking out on this issues. But let me remind you that when I assume the Presidency, I took a solemn oath to that I would ‘to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States'”.

“That oath that I took did not end when I left office, but I am still bound by my honor to continue to carry out these obligations”

“And it is precisely because of my duty to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution that I now am speaking out to denounce the violations of those fundamental principles on which our nation was founded and operates today by the actions of the Democratic senators in their treatment of Mr. Kavanaugh and their irresponsible repudiation of their duty to Advise and Consent.”

That would put the onus and opprobrium where it belongs, in full view of the American public.

Or perhaps, the threat to make such a speech might be enough to move the holdouts. Either way, this would be a game changer.