#1210 Brett Kavanaugh and the Imperial Presidency (Supreme Court)
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Jay Tomlinson
4.5 • 3.4K Ratings
🗓️ 14 September 2018
⏱️ 79 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Air Date: 9/14/2018
Today we take a look at the confirmation process of Brett Kavanaugh, his stance on several critical issues and his threat to democratic values and separation of powers in the federal government
Be part of the show! Leave a message at 202-999-3991
Episode Sponsors: Newsvoice App| Amazon USA| Amazon CA| Amazon UK
Support Best of the Left on Patreon!
SHOW NOTES
Dahlia Lithwick, law correspondent at Slate, joins Ring of Fire’s Sam Seder, to talk about the illegitimacy of Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings.
Constitutional law scholar Garrett Epps on protests, sparring over documents and questions about the limits of executive privilege during the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Salon.com political reporter Amanda Marcotte discusses what we’ve learned — and haven’t — about Kavanaugh and the threat he poses to women’s health care rights
We discuss Judge Kavanaugh's nomination, the hearings and how they will affect executive power and international law with Marjorie Cohn
Robert Weissman of Public Citizen on their analysis of Kavanaugh’s opinions in split-decision cases in which he sided against the public interest 87% of the time in split-decision cases dealing with consumer, environmental and worker rights.
Brett Kavanaugh on the U.S. Supreme Court spells big trouble for environmental standards and climate action
Ch. 7: Explaining how Brett Kavanaugh will perpetuate structural racism - Boom! Lawyered - Air Date 9-5-18
Imani and Jess explain how we know what kind of a Justice Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will be for people of color.
Ch. 8: Jesse Lee explains the dangers of unrestrained executive power - @offkiltershow - Air Date 9-6-18
Jesse Lee, Vice President for Communications at CAPAF, explains the dangers of unrestrained executive power.
Ch. 9: What You Can Do To Resist the Confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh - Thinking Cap - Air Date 9-6-18
Vanita Gupta on what listeners can do to say “no” to the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation.
Virginia Heffernan is joined by Slate's Dahlia Lithwick to discuss the protests surrounding the Brett Kavanaugh hearings.
Ch. 11: THE MIDTERMS MINUTE- Pennsylvania’s Battleground Races! - Best of the Left Activism
Take action! Click the title and/or scroll down for quick links and resources from this segment.
VOICEMAILS
Ch. 12: Bernie Sanders helped me come back to politics - Sarah from Cool, CA
Ch. 13: Final comments asking for stories of getting inspired and engaged in politics
THE MIDTERMS MINUTE (Quick Links):
REGISTER TO VOTE: RocktheVote.org
CONFIRM VOTER REGISTRATION: RocktheVote.org/voting-information
VOTER ID INFO/HELP: VoteRiders & 866ourvote.org
Get Involved:
Swing Left (Help flip districts from anywhere)
Red to Blue(DCCC program to flip seats)
When We All Vote(Michelle Obama’s initiative)
Voter Circle(friend-to-friend outreach tool)
Abroad? Phone bank for Democrats
Let America Vote (voting rights focus)
Justice Democrats “Justice Dialer”
Brand New Congress GOTV Dialer
National Democratic Redistricting Committee
Easily donate to candidates with DownTicket.comon your mobile browser.
“15 Ways to Help a Campaign Win Their Election”(Political Charge)
PENNSYLVANIA BATTLEGROUNDS:
Important Dates: Mustbe registered to vote by October 9th. Absentee ballot requests made by October 30th and received by November 2nd. Early voting NOT available.
U.S. House:
PA-01 - Scott Wallace
Swing Left PA-01 | Red to Blue PA-01
PA-05 - Mary Gay Scanlon
(no Swing Left or Red to Blue page)
PA-06 - Chrissy Houlahan
Swing Left PA-06 | Red to Blue PA-06
PA-07 - Susan Wild
Swing Left PA-07 | Red to Blue PA-07
PA-17 - Connor Lamb
PA-16 - Ron DiNicola
“SAFE” But Must Retain:
U.S. SENATE - Bob Casey(D - incumbent)
GOVERNOR - Tom Wolf(D - incumbent)
FURTHER PA MIDTERMS READING:
What Pennsylvania’s new congressional map means for 2018(Vox)
These 6 Pennsylvania Democratic nominees are key to the battle for House control(Vox)
5 States That Will Decide the House Majority(Roll Call)
Pennsylvania voters prefer Democrats for Congress after choosing Trump in 2016: NBC/Marist poll(CNBC)
Researched and written by BOTL Communications Director Amanda Hoffman
MUSIC:
- Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr
- The Summit - K2 (Blue Dot Sessions)
- When We Set Out - Arc and Crecent (Blue Dot Sessions)
- Insatiable Toad - Origami (Blue Dot Sessions)
- Algea Trio - Algea Fields (Blue Dot Sessions)
- The Envelope - Aeronaut (Blue Dot Sessions)
- Surly Bonds - Aeronaut (Blue Dot Sessions)
- Moon Bicycle Theme - American Moon Bicycle (Blue Dot Sessions)
- The Rampart - Castle Danger (Blue Dot Sessions)
- Streamer - Arc and Crecent (Blue Dot Sessions)
- Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
- Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
Thanks for listening!
Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com
Support the show via Patreon
Listen on iTunes | Stitcher| Spotify| Alexa Devices| +more
Check out the BotL iOS/AndroidApp in the App Stores!
Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft
Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft
Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Today's episode is sponsored by News Voice. |
| 0:06.0 | As we talk about frequently, there is an enormous danger to democracy from media consolidation |
| 0:11.6 | and news voice has come up with a response to this problem. |
| 0:15.2 | News Voice is a website and app for iOS and Android, which you can access for free when |
| 0:20.4 | you go to newsvoice.com slash best. |
| 0:24.0 | And it gives you a personalized news feed by aggregating a mix of mainstream media sources, |
| 0:29.2 | international sources, and independent media sources. |
| 0:32.8 | It's meant to be a completely open and democratized source of news that lets you get every |
| 0:37.8 | side of the story. |
| 0:39.2 | So go download the app for free by going to newsvoice.com slash best. |
| 0:44.8 | And now, welcome to this episode of the award-winning Best of the Left podcast in which we shall learn |
| 0:49.6 | about the confirmation process of Brett Kavanaugh, his stance on several critical issues and |
| 0:54.9 | his threat to small-deed democratic values and separation of powers in the federal government. |
| 1:00.8 | Clips today come from Ring of Fire Radio, the Diane Reamshow, the Bradcast, the Real |
| 1:05.7 | News Network, Democracy Now, the Green News Report, a new source for the show with an awesome |
| 1:10.7 | title, Boom, Lawyard, Off-Kilter, Thinking Cap, and The Trump Cast. |
| 1:29.4 | Where are you in terms of seeing this process, this nomination process, as legitimate? |
| 1:36.7 | I mean, I can't help but think, I mean, I've had this problem with the Supreme Court, |
| 1:42.1 | frankly, since Bush v. Gore. |
| 1:44.8 | But we're now entering even a darker period, it seems to me, where the process never |
| 1:52.5 | mind the way they adjudicate. |
| 1:54.2 | The process seems to have lost all legitimacy in some respects because of America, Ireland. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jay Tomlinson, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Jay Tomlinson and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

