A nation is in trouble when its leaders lack personal integrity. No political system, however well designed, can survive if those responsible for maintaining it are dishonorable.
So, when I read that a Supreme Court Justice was influenced by personal relationships, my faith in America’s future is shaken.
Americans have come to expect – and apparently tolerate – sleazy wheeling and dealing by elected representatives. But I had hoped for better from our judges, especially those on the highest court in the land.
Sadly, there is already one justice – Clarence Thomas – whose honor is in question.
But I had thought better of Justice Anthony Kennedy.
It is common knowledge that Kennedy’s son is a close friend and business associate of the Trump family. But I would not have thought Kennedy would stoop to making an under-the-table deal with Trump.
From all accounts, that’s what he did. He is said to have timed his retirement to help Trump stack the court.
Reportedly, one consideration was the assurance that Kennedy’s former clerk Brett Kavanaugh would get the job.
There is also a suspicion that Trump sees Kavanaugh as his get-out-of-jail-free card (because of Kavanaugh’s strange argument that US presidents should be above the law).
In this tainted environment, the Senate cannot possibly consent to Kavanaugh’s appointment.
I realize this is a bitterly partisan time, but there are standards that should be common to all political parties. And one is the insistence on personal integrity.
