Judge Gorsuch Is Good, But So What?

Admittedly, I was more than pleasantly surprised when Judge Neil Gorsuch was chosen by President Trump to be his nominee for Supreme Court justice.

Gorsuch was chosen almost a year after Justice Antonin Scalia’s death and following an intense and divisive election. The selection was a solid pick and has proven me wrong. Candidate Trump mentioned he would appoint a conservative-leaning justice. I was not convinced he would do such a thing once in office, but was glad, and still am glad, to have been incorrect on this matter.

As expected, the Democrats have tried (and failed) to discover some secret snippet in Judge Gorsuch’s professional past which would disqualify him (in their minds) from being on the Supreme Court. But Gorsuch is an exemplary candidate, as even some on the Left have declared. He may personally be of the conservative mindset, but his judicial history shows one who is measured in his analysis and focused on the rule of law. This won’t stop Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer from leading a filibuster against Gorsuch, though.

Many voters have admitted they reluctantly supported Trump on election day based on the future of the Supreme Court. Now that his exceptional nominee is in front of us, most of us are very pleased. But this should in no way overshadow the many other aspects of Trump’s presidency or cause us to place any sort of broad stamp of approval on both his behavior and his administration.

Wiretapping Claims

Trump took to social media to claim his predecessor had been behind a covert act. As of right now, both he and his representatives have failed to produce any evidence to support these allegations. Kellyanne Conway said there is no evidence, but welcomed an investigation. Director Comey has testified that the FBI looked carefully and found no proof to back up the president’s tweeted claims.

It is reckless for a sitting president to make claims that he is unable to even begin to substantiate, then continue dispensing those claims even after official review. This is unpopular to say in GOP circles, but would we accept the same from the previous president? Absolutely not. We would call for proof and declare “put up, or shut up.” We should not change our response to such serious claims just because Trump has an (R) next to his name, but many have and will continue to do just that.

Unpresidential Behavior & General Gibberish

The wiretapping drama and discussion surrounding it is just a small fraction of President Trump’s often indecorous behavior. We should demand a better, more coherent leader who doesn’t seek to stir up on social media for his own amusement and/or to fuel the obsession of some rabid supporters. His interview with Time is an perfect example of this behavior. Answers like this? They are worth mocking.

So you don’t feel like Comey’s testimony in any way takes away from the credibility of the tweets you put out, even with the quotes?

No, I have, look. I have articles saying it happened. But you have to take a look at what they, they just went out at a news conference. Devin Nunes had a news conference. I mean I don’t know, I was unable to see it, because I am at meetings, but they just had a news conference talking about surveillance. Now again, it is in quotes. That means surveillance and various other things. And the New York Times had a front-page story, which they actually reduced, they took it, they took it the word wiretapping out of the title, but its first story in the front page of the paper was wiretapping. And a lot of information has just been learned, and a lot of information may be learned over the next coming period of time. We will see what happens. Look. I predicted a lot of things that took a little of bit of time. Here, headline, for the front page of the New York Times, “Wiretapped data used in inquiry of Trump aides.” That’s a headline. Now they then dropped that headline, I never saw this until this morning. They then dropped that headline, and they used another headline without the word wiretap, but they did mean wiretap. Wiretapped data used in inquiry. Then changed after that, they probably didn’t like it. And they changed the title. They took the wiretap word out.

The AHCA

The absolute failure of the American Health Care Act is squarely on the shoulders of Speaker Paul Ryan and President Trump. The GOP knew that Obamacare had to be tackled. They’ve known this for years. Candidate Trump pledged to repeal and replace Obamacare. He, and the GOP leadership, failed miserably. You cannot separate a president who vows revenge against failing Obamacare from his own failed attempt. Trump ran on several things, and this was one of them.

BREAKING: President Trump says health care bill fell short in lead-up to House vote because of no support from Democrats.

— The Associated Press (@AP) March 24, 2017

BREAKING: President Trump says he would be ‘open’ to tackling health care again if ‘Obamacare’ law implodes.

— The Associated Press (@AP) March 24, 2017

I do hope that Judge Neil Gorsuch is confirmed and takes a seat on the Supreme Court of the United States. He would be a welcome addition, and certainly an honorable successor to Scalia. This was a great decision on Trump’s part. That can and should be noted. However, it should not give rise to a lax attitude toward other things which flow from this administration.

If a vacant SCOTUS seat had been my only concern, I may have voted for Trump. I didn’t. Looking at the entirety of candidate Trump gave me pause as I considered my options on election day. Viewing everything coming from the president, his team, and those under him in GOP leadership should also give us pause now.