brewing. neil: why do you say that again? >> because he is a lightning rod on abortion -- neil: but he's not as overtly catholic or as in your face with that as judge barrett, right? >> very few people are, that's right. and i'm a fan of hers. neil: absolutely. >> we studied at the same law school, under the same constitutional law guru. but you're right, this is not that overt a catholic, but there's no question that he is pro-life and is reputed to have been one of the instruments to dismantle roe v. wade. [applause] neil: all right, we see melania making her way into what looks like the east room here where the president will make this announcement. doing it this way, what do you think? >> well, this is donald trump's way of building support and pleasing the base. and again, as i said before the break, when you hear him talk about originalism and you hear judge kavanaugh -- assuming it's him talking about originalism -- this will resonate with the base. they will explain it in a way

the base can understand it even though it's a rather arcane theory of constitutional law, but it's most closely associated with antonin scalia whose spirit still hovers over these things. neil: yeah. as far as the court going forward, do you think this could still be done by october? >> well, that depends on whether the democrats can dislondon any of the -- discuss lodge any of the republican senators, and they have a couple of targets. they have rand paul who was skeptical about judge kavanaugh but says he'll listen to him with an open mind. they have lisa murkowski who says she won't vote for anybody who's pro-life and the same with susan collins -- neil: then you have to hope you pick up enough democrats to compensate, right? >> right. that -- >> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. neil: this is the moment we've been waiting for, for the second time in his young presidency, donald trump has a chance to make history. and some for a generation to come. the president now about to

announce his pick to take justice kennedy's seat. [applause] >> my fellow americans, tonight i speak to you from the east room of the white house regarding one of the most profound responsibilities of the president of the united states, and that is the selection of a supreme court justice. i have often heard that, other than matters of war and peace, this is the most important decision a president will make. a supreme court is entrusted with the safeguarding of the crown jewel of our republic, the constitution of the united states.

twelve days ago justice anthony kennedy informed me of his decision to take senior status on the supreme court, opening a new vacancy. for more than four decades, justice kennedy serving our nation with incredible passion and devotion. i'd like to thank justice kennedy for a lifetime of distinguished service. [applause] >> in a a few moments, i will announce my selection for justice kennedy's replacement. this is the second time i have been faced with this task. last year i nominated judge neil gorsuch to replace the late,

great justice antonin scalia. [applause] >> i chose justice gorsuch because i knew that he, just like justice scalia, would be a faithful servant of our constitution. we are honored to be joined tonight by justice scalia's beloved wife maureen. [applause] >> thank you, maureen. both justice kennedy and justice scalia were appointed by a president who understood that the best defense of our liberty and a judicial branch, immune from political prejudice, were judges that apply the

constitution as written. that president happened to be ronald reagan. for this evening's announcement, we are joined by ronald reagan's attorney general, edwin meese. ed? [applause] >> and, ed, i speak for everyone, thank you for everything you've done to protect your nation's great legal heritage. in keeping with president reagan's legacy, i do not ask about a nominee's personal opinions. what matters is not a judge's political views, but whether they can set aside those views to do what the law and the constitution require. i am pleased to say that i have

found, without doubt, such a person. tonight it is my honor and privilege to announce that i will nominate judge brett kavanaugh to the united states supreme court. [applause] [applause]

>> i know the people in this room very well. they do not stand and give applause like that very up. [laughter] so they have some respect. and brett's wife ashley and their two daughters, margaret and liza, have joined us on the podium. thank you, and congratulations to you as a family. thank you. [applause] >> judge kavanaugh has unsurpassed qualifications and a proven commitment to equal justice under the law. a graduate of yale college and yale law school, judge kavanaugh

currently teaches at harvard, yale and georgetown. throughout legal circles he is considered a judge's judge, a true thought leader among his peers. he's a brilliant jurist with a clear and effective writing style universally regarded as one of the finest and sharpest legal minds of our time. and just like justice gorsuch, he excelled as a clerk for justice kennedy. that's great, thank you. [applause] >> judge kavanaugh has devoted his life to public service. for the last 12 years, he has served as a judge on the d.c. circuit court of appeals with great distinction, authoring over 300 opinions which have been widely admired for their skill, insight and rigorous adherence to the law.

among those opinions are more than a dozen that the supreme court has adopted as the law of the land. beyond his great renown as a judge, he is active in his community. he coaches cyo basketball, serves meals to needy families and, having learned from his mom -- who is a schoolteacher in d.c -- tutors children at local elementary schools. there is no one in america more qualified for this position and no one more deserving. i want to thank the senators on both sides of the aisle, republican and democrat, for their consultation and advice during the selection process. this incredibly qualified nominee deserves a swift confirmation and robust, bipartisan support. the rule of law is our nation's proud heritage. it is the cornerstone of our

freedom. it is what guarantees equal justice, and the senate now has the chance to protect this glorious heritage by sending judge brett kavanaugh to the united states supreme court. and now, judge, the podium is yours. [applause] >> mr. president, thank you. throughout this process i have witnessed firsthand your appreciation for the vital role of the american judiciary. no president has ever consulted more widely or talked with more people from more backgrounds to

seek input about a supreme court nomination. mr. president, i am grateful to you, and i'm humbled by your confidence in me. thank you. thirty years ago president reagan nominated anthony kennedy to the supreme court. the framers established that the constitution is designed to secure the blessings of liberty. justice kennedy devoted his career to securing liberty. i am deeply honored to be nominated to fill his seat on the supreme court. [applause] my mom and dad are here.

i am their only child -- [laughter] when people ask what it's like to be an only child, i say it depends on who your parents are. [laughter] i was lucky. my mom was a teacher. in the 1960s and '70s, she taught history at two largely african-american public high schools in washington, d.c., mckinley tech and h.d. woodson. her example taught me the importance of equality for all americans. my mom was a trailblazer. when i was 10, she went to law school and became a prosecutor. my introduction to law came at our dinner table when she practiced her closing arguments. her trademark line was, "use your common sense; what rings true, what rings false." that's good advice for a juror and for a son.

one of the few women prosecutors at that time, she overcame barriers and became a trial judge. the president introduced me tonight as judge kavanaugh, but to me that title will always belong to my mom. my dad went to law school at night while working full time. he has an unparalleled work ethic and has passed down to me his passion for playing and watching sports. [laughter] i love him dearly. the motto of my jesuit high school was men for others. i've tried to live that creed. i've spent my career in public service from the executive branch in the white house to the u.s. court of appeals for the deuce circuit -- d.c. circuit. i've served with 17 other judges, each of them a colleague and a friend. my judicial philosophy is

straightforward. a judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law. a judge must interpret statutes as written. and a judge must interpret the constitution as written, informed by history, tradition and precedent. for the past 11 years, i've taught hundreds of students primarily at harvard law school. i teach at the constitution's -- that the constitution's separation of powers protects individual liberty. and i remain grateful to the dean who hired me, justice elena kagan. as a judge, i hire four law clerks each year. i look for the best. my law clerks come from diverse backgrounds and points of view. i am proud that a majority of my law clerks have been women. i am part of the vibrant catholic community in the d.c.

area. the members of that community disagree about many things, but we are united by a commitment to serve. father john ensler is here. forty years ago i was an altar boy for father john. these days i help him serve meals to the homeless at catholic charities. i have two spirited daughters, margaret and liza. margaret loves sports and she loves to read. liza loves sports and she loves to talk. [laughter] >> i have tried to create bonds with my daughters like my dad created with me. for the past seven years, i have coached my daughters' basketball teams.

the girls on the team call me coach k. will [laughter] >> i am proud of our blessed sacrament team that just won the city championship. [applause] >> my daughters and i also go to lots of games. our favorite memory was going to the historic notre dame/u-conn women's basketball game at this year's final four. unforgettable. my wife ashley is a west texan, a graduate of abilene cooper public high school and the university of texas. she is now the town manager of our community. we met in 2001 when we both worked in the white house. our first date was on september 10, 2001. the next morning i was a few

steps behind her as the secret service shouted at all of us to sprint out the front gates of the white house because there was an inbound plane. in the difficult weeks that followed, ashley was a source of strength for president bush and for everyone in this building. through bad days and so many better days since then, she has been a great wife and an inspiring mom. i thank god every day for my family. [applause] >> tomorrow i begin meeting with members of the senate which plays an essential role in this

process. i will tell each senator that i revere the constitution. i believe that an independent judiciary is the crown jewel of our constitutional republic. if confirmed by the senate, i will keep an open mind in every case, and i will always strive to preserve the constitution of the united states and the american rule of law. thank you, mr. president. [applause]

[applause] neil: brett kavanaugh, 53 years old, sits on the district of columbia court of appeals, was approved for that position by a 56-37 vote. he's the president's choice to fill the seat of justice anthony kennedy. he has an interesting track record, a long one, long written record. conservatives argue that no blockbuster decision on issues near and dear to them, religious rights, the second amendment, but it's that long-written history that, while it serves him well to get his conservative bone feeds out there, could also

work against him as well. he opposed, for example, the health care law but largely on procedural grounds and legal grounds. we could get into the weeds here, i'd rather not do that because i'm not capable of doing that, but judge andrew napolitano is, and he can sort of pick apart this gentleman's chances here. well steeped in washington lore and with the bush family are, with president bush going back to 2001 before the attacks and post the attacks. that alone made a lot of folks think -- and his closeness to karl rove -- that it would be difficult for the president to look past that. >> yes. so you had a couple of forces competing here. judge kavanaugh is the candidate of the washington establishment, particularly the conservative republican establishment. judge barrett was the candidate of the religious conservatives. judge kethledge was the candidate of the conservative act dem you cans -- academics. judge hardiman was the candidate of a force in the trump family,

the president's sister. judge kavanaugh was the leading candidate from the beginning and notwithstanding his closeness to the bush family and particularly president george w. bush -- for whom president trump does not have any fondness -- notwithstanding that was the leading candidate because of this push by the conservative establishment. probably the most influential person here is a guy not generally known to the public by the name of don mcgahn. don is the chief white house legal counsel, and for 20 years a dear friend of brett kavanaugh who probably was pushing him from the beginning. neil: and he was the one who wanted a precise legal text. he was very big -- in looking at and here's a guy who filled that bill. >> he pretty much holds himself out as a disciple of justice scalia, meaning the constitution means what it says. if the words are ambiguous, then you go to what's called originalism, what was the

original public understanding of that phrase -- whatever the phrase is -- neil: right. >> -- when the constitution was ratified in 1789. this is a legal theory never fully adopted by the court, but most notably associated with justice and a scalia and from time to time other lower federal court judges, one of whom is judge kavanaugh. i understand that when anthony kennedy visited the white house 12 days ago, he had two the purposes in mind. one -- two purposes in mind. one was to say, mr. president, i'm going to submit my resignation. the second was to suggest his replacement, and he suggested judge kavanaugh. neil: really? >> now, the president really didn't like that kind of a suggestion, but obviously came to like it because of the decision he made tonight. neil: well, let me raise it with edward lawrence who's at the white house right now. edward, given the connections, the bush family connections and some of these issues that didn't really jazz the passion of the

conservative crowd, it looks like kavanaugh was not going to be in the final running even though early on he was and there was a lot of, you know, horse trading back and forth as to who was in the lead. what closed the deal for him, do you know? >> reporter: you know, at this point we don't know exactly what it was that closed the deal. yeah, the president obviously looked past the differences he's had with president george w. bush because this is a candidate who was appointed to the judgeship by president george bush. he also served in the inspector general's office partly under the bush administration. now, you know, you heard here in the speech he spent a lot of time talking about his family and how that kind of centered him in this area. he also talked about how he's going to separate the two ban branches or -- branches, or he does believe they're very separate. he's going to make up his own mind in his decisions when he does come to make those decisions. president trump, in his remarks, said basically that he reached across the aisle, that he had talked to many people about this. listen to what he had to say.

>> i want to thank the senators on both sides of the aisle, republican and democrat, for their consultation and advice during the selection process. this incredibly qualified nominee deserves a swift confirmation and robust bipartisan is support. >> reporter: and judge kavanaugh says that he's actually going to start tomorrow, we do understand, up on capitol hillment but he says he's going to tell those senators that he does believe in the constitution, that he's going to follow the rule of the constitution -- something probably legal analysts, the judge will be able to tell better, would like to hear from one of these judges who's going to be a justice of the supreme court. but again, he starts tomorrow. now, this process could take only 66 days. that's been the fastest it's gone when the same political party has both the executive branch and the senate. judge gorsuch last year was 66 days from nomination to confirmation. judge sotomayor was 66 days from

nomination to confirmation, and the democrats, as you know, president obama had the white house and democrats had the senate. we understand it starts tomorrow. neil. neil: wow. no time rests for the weary. edward lawrence, thank you very, very much. we should let you know that mitch mcconnell, even though he did not favor going this route with judge kavanaugh, he had favored john hardiman or raymond kethledge, is still singing the praises of judge cawf of gnawing -- of judge kavanaugh. now a statement from the leader, president trump has made a superb choice, he is extremely well qualified to serve as associate justice of supreme court of the united states. ditto president bush put out a statement from crawford, texas: president trump has made an outstanding decision in nominating ridge brett kavanaugh to the supreme court. he has faithfully applied the law throughout his 12 years, he's a fine husband, father and

friend and a man of the highest integrity. he will make a superb justice of the supreme court of the united states. and off we go, judge napolitano. >> well, i think the odds favor confirmation -- neil: really? >> whatever you think of his likely views on right to life and of his conservative republicanism, this is not somebody who's wide of the mainstream, this is not somebody who embraces bizarre theories. he has a background which the democrats will explore, this business about when he was a prosecutor for ken starr is going to come up, and it's going to be very controversial. some of the things he said. neil: but they -- this is as much for conservatives, right, judge -- >> yes. neil: -- he wanted a record not to be souder-ized -- >> yes, it was more than symbolic that seated next to mrs. scalia was ed meese, because ed meese typifies and personifies the washington, d.c. conservative republican establishment which championed the cause of brett kavanaugh and

which applauds that cause tonight and on which the president will have to rely for support. democrats are going to come out swinging. this is a serious catholic, this is a serious pro-life person. he defies democrat, democratic party orthodoxy, but this is the type of person that donald trump said in the campaign that he would appoint. neil: why is this catholic thing a big thing? i mean, for democrats i'm going back quite a few decades here when john kennedy was running for president, democrats rallied around him saying that he would be a president who so happened to be catholic, not a catholic president or answerable to the pope. but now when it's a republican judge being considered for the highest court, it's an issue. >> you know, when you and i were being raised -- and i'm a generation older than you -- neil: no, you're not. >> -- the catholics were democrats. neil: right. >> now, most catholics have become republicans. ronald reagan was part of that transition of bringing blue

collar, ethnic catholics into the republican party. it's not catholicism, it's abortion. it's the belief that abortion should be available, a belief which i reject, but it's a belief accepted by 67% of americans. now, to set this at rest whether you think roe v. wade was rightly decided or wrongly decided, if it is repealed, it will then go to the 50 states. you'll have 50 different abortion -- neil: but they would never, this is still a john roberts court -- neil: john roberts will never vote to repeal roe v. wade even though he too is a practicing catholic. neil: i know his views on precedent, you know, don't go back and revisit it, but do we know enough about whether kavanaugh feels that way? >> i don't think judge kavanaugh shares the ironclad fidelity to precedent that chief justice roberts does. neil: if it's a wrong precedent. i'm not characterizing -- >> look, for years we had plessy

v. ferguson, the states can separate the races. neil: right. >> it wasn't until brown v. board of education 60 years later that plessy v. ferguson -- neil: [inaudible] >> it can't be ironclad. some precedents are wrong. neil: but democrats are going to make a big deal over his role working with ken starr -- >> yes. neil: -- the investigation of bill clinton. nevertheless, that is all going to come out. >> he's made two very controversial systems, one is the president can be impeached for lying to the public. that is not accurate. the other is the president can do no wrong. that's utterly nixonian, and in fairness, he needs to dial back both of those statements. but democrats -- neil: dialing back those statements, i don't want to look at this sinisterly, if there's such a word, but dialing back in his thoughts on that clinton investigation and everything else, did that come into this play for this president who's no strange stranger to an investigation going on? >> yes, it came into play, i was

part of the e-mail crosses-currents. i was privileged to be asked my opinion, my personal opinion on the final four, and i shared it with the people that asked me. i wasn't the president himself, but it was people around him -- neil: who were sending it back to the president. >> yes, presumably. neil: not presumably, of course. >> the president is aware of the role played by brett kavanaugh as a young prosecutor involving the disposition of the body of vince foster. it's a sordid story that we needn't get into here, but the democrats will raise it because the person he protected was hillary clinton. neil: is there anything in a change of views on this subject -- >> yes. neil: -- which would encourage donald trump, because some of these issues could come back, again, with this president. >> i think donald trump was animated by the 300 opinions that judge kavanaugh wrote. but when you've written 300 opinions, there's something in there for everybody to like and something for everybody to dislike. it's an enormous track record not shared by any of the other

nominees. neil: judge, thank you very much. i want to get the read from a former law clerk to justice samuel a' toe, barbara smith. -- alito. barbara smith. what do you think of this choice? >> i think judge kavanaugh has sterling legal credentials, and for the last 12 years he's been a leading light among federal appellate judges. we already know the supreme court takes his view of the law seriously as informed by the fact that his decision on a number of occasions has influenced subsequent supreme court decisions, so i think he will fit right in on 1st street. neil: you know, you can go through the weeds, and the judge was telling us just now there are a lot of decisions and cases that go into the hundreds where you can pick apart positions, but much has been made of the fact from some conservatives who say that while he opposed the health care law, it was on procedural matters and not speaking out in broader legal terms. in other words, that he was a technician about some of the

most, you know, important conservative causes of that out there whether you're talking the second amendment, the right to bear arms or a host of others. how do you feel about that? he's not a rabid conservative, and that might not sit well with rabid conservatives. as if they had somewhere else to go, but what do you make of that? [laughter] >> when you're an originalist like i am, neil, it's not as important where a judge comes out on any one particular case, what's important is the legal reasoning they use to get there. and time and again judge kavanaugh has been thoughtful, careful and clear in his legal writing, and he's also been skeptical of federal government power which i think in an age of increasing administrative and regulatory authority is incredibly important on the supreme court. neil: go ahead, finish that, i'm sorry. >> i was just going to say i take him at his word when he said what's important to him, if he's confirmed as a justice will be, first, to be independent, second to interpret the law as written and, third, to stick to

the text of the constitution. i think those are three really important characteristics in a supreme court justice. neil: three out of the four candidates the president was considering were catholics, and i don't know why that has become a controversial issue, but it has. and how do you think that will come up and how will he be treated on this catholic issue or questions of right to life, roe v. wade, all of that? >> i think it's a fundamental american value that we don't have religious tests to hold office and that extends, importantly, to to the supreme court. i think it would be silly to criticize any p nominee for his or her religion. i think the fact that we have a nominee who is religious is a net positive regardless of what that religion is. and judge kavanaugh has said that, you know, his personal views don't inprudence his decisions as a young -- influence his decisions as a judge. it's the job of policymakers in the house and the senate to decide policy, it's the job of the judge to interpret the

constitution and the law as it's written. neil: will he have any difficulties getting approved? >> gosh, i certainly hope not, because i cannot think of a better person to serve on the u.s. supreme court than judge kavanaugh. he'll fit right in. neil: barbara, thank you very much for taking the time. we do appreciate it. >> thank you. neil: there have been protests going on at the supreme court right now. they were none too pleased with any of the choices the president had and were going to protest no matter the choice at all in fact, they were protesting unnamedded judges. now they have one to go on, and they don't think much of him. brett kavanaugh is not their cup of tea but, then again, neither were the three others being considered by president trump. and they're making it clear. it could be a long night outside that supreme court building. we'll have more after this. alerts -- wouldn't you like one from the market when it might be time to buy or sell? with fidelity's real-time analytics, you'll get clear, actionable alerts about potential investment opportunities in real time. fidelity. open an account today.

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believes stigma towards mental illness is a hundred percent curable. and it's pretty easy to find out if you have it. so do yourself and everyone a favor. [narrator] go to curestigma.org and get tested for stigma. i wok(harmonica interrupts)ld... ...and told people about geico... (harmonica interrupts) how they could save 15% or more by... (harmonica interrupts) ...by just calling or going online to geico.com. (harmonica interrupts) (sighs and chuckles) sorry, are you gonna... (harmonica interrupts) everytime. geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. neil: all right, they're gathering outside the supreme court. a lot of angry protesters on is right, not so much on the left of your screen, but a lot of

groups have committed to come out the supreme court regardless who the president chose, so it isn't so much the attention afford to brett kavanaugh be, but the fact that this president has done that again and maybe moved the supreme court to the right for a generation or more to come. the read on all of this from the weekly standard or executive editor fred barnes, emily yo zinn sky, emily, to you first. obviously, the protests were well manned in advance. nay knew this day was coming, they just didn't like any of the choices the president would have anyway or that he was making that choice period. does it make a difference that it's brett kavanaugh? >> no, not at all, because there's complete man debt opposition to the list of 25 that -- blanket opposition to the list of 25, so they had ample opportunity to decide that they were going to resist the nominee no matter who the person

was. it's interesting because you mentioned there's no protests on the right. les certainly no storm the -- this is certainly no storm the streets protests, but brett kavanaugh was not the preferred choice or every movement conservative. i'll say my inbox is full of press releases from conservative groups saying they're very happy with this pick, but i think we'll expect some conservatives will break away from the president on this pick. i don't think we'll see many in the senate, but maybe some conservatives in the media will probably break away with this pick. neil: yeah. his biggest asset could be his biggest curse, fred, that he has a long written record. what do you think? >> well, the it's a pretty impressive record, no question about that. he's very are confirmable. he's not going to worry about a few grousing conservatives. he's got something bigger to worry about. you know, for one thing he has all these documents that the democrats are, have been promised that they can read.

his documents when, since he's been a judge, when he worked for ken starr, when he worked at bush white house. you know, and some people think that they're going to try to use those documents, say, oh, we have to go through all of them to slow the process so they can push the actual vote on confirming the new judge after the election. neil: can they do that, mark? i mean, i don't know the arcane rules of the senate, what you can do, but it would be an uphill fight, wouldn't it, mark? >> well, i think it is an uphill fight to delay this thing, but you know how this works . something major is found that really is a stumbling block and this nomination needs to be withdrawn, then there won't be enough time for a second mom be nation. and so i think -- nomination. so i think the name of the game here will be to find that nugget that really makes him unacceptable. i think, obviously, you know, the demonstrations are out there now on roe v. wade, and he

didn't do anything in his talk to calm the public down that he might or might not be for overturning roe v. wade. in fact, he made a point of bringing up his catholicism in his talk which i was quite surprised by. neil: what is it about catholicism that's become a big issue here? emily, one of the things i do worry about is the normal procedure here is that, you know, a candidate for the supreme court doesn't say anything in these hearings, even in the courtesy calls to individual senators. i know former senator jon kyl is going to be leading him through this process. but no justice-to-be ever tilts with what his or her opinion will be on a given issue. so i don't know what could come of these hearings, but i guess to mark's point, there could be a surprise or a slip or a revelation. what do you think? >> el, i mean, i think in the trump era as high as stakes are for both political parties, you

expect the unexpected, right? so i think it's very colleague arely that brett kavanaugh will be con filled. he is -- confirmed. this is all playing out, of course, in a very heated midterm election season, so you'll have democrats looking for reasons to make sure their people do not vote for this nominee, though some of them, you know, joe manchin, joe donnelly, heidi heitkamp have good reason to do it and probably will do it no matter what, but there is going to be a scrape through his long record probably like we've never seen before -- [laughter] so the stakes are high for both political parties. i would expect the unexpected, but of course he's as confirmable a candidate as you can pretty much find. neil: fred, i also think much of this was meant to elicit the wow factor the president talked about to win over conservatives that might be skeptical. obviously, we can talk about differences and whether he has the passion on some issues that are near and dear to conservatives, but i don't think there's enough there to have them throw up the hands and say,

oh, man, this is a disappointment. what do you make of that? >> no, i don't think there's anything like that at all. and all the tumult in the hearings is going to be democrats trueing to find some -- trying to find some indication that kavanaugh might want to overturn roe v. wade. i mean, that's the one thing they have. you know, they believe -- these democrats believe, i think, that every republican deep in their heart has a passion for overturning roe v. wade. and they're always trying to find it. and that's what they'll be looking for, i think, in all these documents. it's very hard to find. i mean, there's some republicans that are like that, but they haven't found anything like that yet. neil: mark penn, do you think for democrats they've got to tread carefully here? you mentioned how the roe v. wade issue could come up, that will always be an issue with every supreme court pick dating back the 40-plus years since roe v. wade.

but that they could look almost too zealous? i mean, right out the gate opposing and protesting any choice the president -- before he made the choice, that they're looking a little bit too deranged about it? >> well, as a question of strategy, i would have preferred that senator schumer say, hey, i'm going to wait is and see, then took a few minutes to wait and see and then had an opinion. i think that would -- neil: you would have waited at least a few minutes -- >> it would have been smarter, but that's not what they did. they said, hey, here are choices, we're opposed to them. we're going very heavily to try to tick away the women's vote that we've been growing with women in the election ares. now look, the catholic vote -- trump was, actually, the first president in about 30 years to win the catholic vote on the republican side. and i did some in-depth analysis of that. catholic men, hugely supportive of trump, and you are seeing that the president has pulled

catholics into his column. and so, look, republicans have brought, you know, and trump have brought those voters over. the democrats have to either win back those working class catholics or continue to press with suburban women. so i think this is one that's going to go down as shoring up the president's catholic support and eroding republican suburban women support, especially if this nominee is not clear on roe v. wade or at least give us some indication that's stare decisis is extremely important. neil: all right. i don't think he'll tip his happened, but we'll see what happens. guys, thank you all very much here. i should bother to look at the futures markets, not that they're niecely pining on this development d necessarily pining on this development. this is kind of where we were prior, a lot of this based on a trade war that might not erupt. the market up over 300 points today again on the view that europe's in disarray, england might be without a prime minister if this thing keeps

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>> support protection for pre-exisg rights when people support environmental protection -- neil: bernie sanders is not happy with this choice and says it will be a long fight, but they will fight and that, obviously, they're not going to be getting democratic support on this particular choice of brett kavanaugh, who has been a appointed by president trump to succeed anthony kennedy can. let's get the read from presidential historian doug reed. it's no surprise to me, doug, that obviously bernie sanders and some of these prominent democrats, chuck schumer and all, are not going to back brett kavanaugh. that goes without saying. having said that though, those in states where donald trump won big and they're up for re-election, that could be a different matter. thinking about joe donnelly in indiana and heidi heitkamp in north dakota, joe manchin in west virginia. it might not be so universal.

what do you think? is. >> yeah. i think the big problem for the democrats in the reaction to all of this, again, is religion. and several of your guests have brought it up. but in the writing of "game of thorns," bill clinton urged hillary to go to those catholic states -- pennsylvania, ohio, wisconsin, michigan -- they finally let him go. he tried to get her to go to notre dame university for st. patrick's day, she wouldn't do it. and hostility towards the catholic religion, it a makes no -- neil: i don't understand that, doug, because, oh, he's a protestant, oh, he's jewish -- [laughter] i don't see that. but this is the same party that rally, rally ared around a catholic senator who was getting picked apart for being a slave to catholicism or that he would take orders from the pope. they rallied around him and said he's a candidate for president, not a catholic candidate for

president. but it's very different now. >> and you know we don't hear a lot of -- we hear discussions about the russians breaking into the dnc and those hillary clinton e-mails and her campaign e-mails, we don't hear any discussion of what was in 'em because it's so embarrassing, it's hard to talk about it out loud. but here was podesta and the campaign talking about after winning the election co-opting the catholic church, the catholic spring, they called it, introducing doctrines, trying to influence the church. this is really sad. we had out up to the 1930s, we had an anti-catholic strain in american society actually elected know-nothings to congress who were essentially anti-catholic. there were 113 protestant justices on the supreme court. finally a catholic seat, that was brennan, and then only when scalia came on were there two catholics. so today it's a wonderful thing -- neil: but i guess what they're saying is if you're catholic, it's synonymous with being

pro-life and inflexible when it comes to roe v. wade. and whether you get into that noter, that's what they're going to look for this these hearings once they ensue with judge kavanaugh. now, you've taught me what's become the rule of thumb here is no candidate answers any questions. they're vague about i can't answer that because it'll be a different set of facts when this issue comes up. so we're not going to get specific answers on that from judge kavanaugh in a hearing, right? what, at best, can we learn? >> that's right. but, of course, they'll oppose him anyway. and they're going to find, because of the volume as other guests have said, decisions he's made and opinions he's written. they're going to find some things here, so it's going to be -- [laughter] very contentious. but the religion thing does not work. it's not politically sound for the democrats to do this. and personally i'd like to see them back off of that. so did bill clinton, so did barack obama, urge hillary

during the campaign. i think that's a mistake. and i wouldn't be surprised and if trump's baiting them a little bit -- [laughter] on this issue, because it works for hip. it shouldn't matter. the constitution itself says there's no religious test for office. so it shouldn't matter. but it was clear by his speech tonight, as dianne feinstein -- [laughter] would say, that his dogma spoke loudly within him. neil: well, no, i think you're right about that, and the battle has just begun. sarah sanders over at the white house saying she expects kavanaugh would be confirmed by october 1st. so plenty of time to take up the new issues of the new supreme court in the fall. we'll have more after this. ♪ ♪ ♪

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alberto gonzalez and also working with independent ken starr. he is an historic figure who has made some historic mentions and decisions. they will be reviewed and scrutinized awed the following is a sponsored program paid for by my pillow do you find yourself sleeping too hot or too cold, not getting the support you need to help relieve painful pressure points or struggling just to get comfortable? then get ready for a revolutionary, new sleep experience. introducing the my pillow mattress topper, the next generation in sleep innovation from the company that brought you the world's most comfortable pillow. [applause] hello, everyone. i'm tonja waring. thank you so much for being here. it's been an amazing journey