An op-ed piece written by embattled Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh that appeared on the Wall Street Journal's webpage late Thursday night seems to have backfired, with conservative commentator Jennifer Rubin joining the pile-on.
The column, which Rubin described as reading like "a slightly anxious White House press release" included the lines, "I was very emotional last Thursday ... I said a few things I should not have said," which Rubin called too little, too late.
Rubin began by once again scorching Kavanaugh's alternately weepy and anger-filled rant before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"Then came the vicious partisan rant and the snotty replies to legitimate questions from senators," Rubin wrote. "More than 2,400 law professors, former justice John Paul Stevens and a wide array of litigants recoiled. How in the world could Kavanaugh ever present himself as an impartial judge? Kavanaugh not only took off the mask of neutrality but also stomped all over it, leaving no doubt as to his partisan loyalties."
Which brought her to Kavanaugh's WSJ mea culpa.
"His screed was not a spontaneous outburst, but rather was written out in advance," she wrote. "He put some thought and effort into that diatribe. His op-ed doesn’t explain where he came up with the left-wing-cabal accusation, nor does he explain why he was belligerent and rude to senators. He doesn’t take back his threat ('What goes around comes around') nor actually apologize."
"It is only fitting that Kavanaugh’s last-minute plea should appear in the Wall Street Journal, whose editorial page has been wildly rooting for his confirmation. (He also chose Fox News, the equivalent of state TV, for an earlier appearance with his wife in which he tried to blunt opposition to his nomination. What’s next — talk radio? A Breitbart interview?)," she mocked. "This latest, distinctly non-judicial public relations move only underscores how big a problem his overt partisanship has become and how it will taint him and the Supreme Court if he is confirmed."
"No judge has gotten to the highest court with the baggage that Kavanaugh totes," Rubin concluded. "His shredded credibility and overt partisanship should have counseled for a substitute pick weeks ago; his unprecedented partisanship will surely sow disrespect for our judiciary for decades. No op-ed is going to clean up that mess."
You can read the whole dissection of the op-ed here.
