Balkin on Kavanaugh: Not Good

brutal

  I didn't mention all weird stuff about the executive before, but that's...a problem, I agree. And I lol'd at this line:

Common sense and the English language make clear that something called an “assault rifle” is not primarily a defensive weapon.

   Obviously Balkin means for this to be more on the quick take side of things than the careful analysis side. But: I really don't think it's much of a problem that strict constructionism and common sense often conflict. There's probably no realm of human endeavor in which there aren't contradictory plausible principles. And to say that, for example, one ought to be, in general, guided by common sense is not to say that common sense is inviolable. And linguistic arguments like the 'assault rifle' argument are pretty unreliable. (Still...makes ya think...)

   So I wasn't too impressed by this take--but it still goes in the information hopper.