Jerry Falwell Jr.: Manchin Must Vote to Confirm Judge Kavanaugh

Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. is calling on Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., to put aside “left-wing obstructionism” and vote to confirm President Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

In an editorial published in West Virginia’s Register-Herald newspaper, Falwell recounts his family’s Mountain State roots: His maternal grandfather grew up in rural Lincoln County.

The son of the late Rev. Jerry Falwell adds that he has known Sen. Manchin since the two men met at a 2009 football game between West Virginia University and Liberty University, held in Morgantown, West Va.

“Today,” Falwell writes, “I want Senator Manchin to know that West Virginians have an important question for him. Will Manchin vote for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh based on the judge’s impeccable experience and judicial prudence, or will the Senator continue his resistance to President Trump by siding with Democrat obstructionists?”

In the editorial, Falwell describes Kavanaugh as “one of the most qualified nominees ever to be chosen to sit on the Supreme Court.” He notes that Sen. Manchin declined an invitation from the president to attend the White House news conference introducing Kavanaugh.

Falwell says that absence “isn’t surprising given Manchin’s allegiance to the far-left, which demonstrated outrage and theatrics over President Trump’s decision.”

Falwell says Manchin must now decide whether to confirm Kavanaugh, “or side with the radical left-wing Democrats who wish to obstruct President Trump’s every decision.”

The university president goes on to write that Manchin “has sided with [his party’s liberals] many times before, to the dismay of countless West Virginians.” And he notes Manchin opposed “nearly half a dozen of President Trump’s other judicial nominees.”

A poll released Friday showed that voting in favor of Kavanaugh’s confirmation would give Manchin a more than 25-point boost in his re-election bid against West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, a Republican.

Manchin voted to confirm Trump’s prior SCOTUS nominee, Justice Neil Gorsuch.

Manchin has called Kavanaugh a “very fine person of high moral standards,” saying he has “all the right qualities” to serve on the High Court. But he says he wants to hear from more West Virginians before he makes his final decision.