That’s the title of my new Confirmation Tales post, which explores the saga of Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the D.C. Circuit in 2003. Here is an excerpt:

Senator Hillary Clinton and her many allies hated Kavanaugh for his role as associate independent counsel to Ken Starr during the Whitewater investigation of Bill Clinton—the investigation that exposed Clinton’s sordid relationship with Monica Lewinsky and his perjury to try to conceal it. Kavanaugh’s service as a senior staffer to George W. Bush—associate White House counsel from the outset in 2001, and White House staff secretary beginning in June 2003—gave them additional reason to oppose him.
Even worse from Democrats’ perspective: Kavanaugh was young—only 38—and he had superb credentials—Yale law school, Supreme Court law clerk, partner at major law firm. The American Bar Association judicial-evaluations committee awarded him its highest rating of Well Qualified. All of this meant that Kavanaugh might could well be a leading contender for a Supreme Court seat at some point over the next fifteen years or so.
In short, there was little doubt that Democrats would filibuster Kavanaugh’s nomination.

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