By Brittany Murray, WV Metronews
FAIRMONT — Supporters of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court rallied in Fairmont on Tuesday (July 17) morning outside of U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s Adams Street office.
Brett Tubbs, West Virginia communications director for the Republican National Committee, said he was hopeful the rally would encourage Manchin to join U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito and other politicians of the Mountain State in support of Kavanaugh.
“The people have spoken for the most part. They elected Donald Trump by 42 points, while Joe supported Hillary Clinton. The people of West Virginia have supported the president and they are pushing for another Supreme Court nominee, and he should just go ahead and support this person.”
Tubbs said that he personally supports Kavanaugh because “he brings common sense to the bench.
“He stands behind the Constitution,” he said. “He’s got a great track record of doing that, and I believe people are really looking forward to someone that will actually bring that sense to the bench and really push for the Constitution and what it is and preserve that.”
On Monday, Manchin’s office released a website and email address for constituents to leave their opinions on Kavanaugh’s nomination ahead of the Senator’s vote. The release also stated town hall meetings would be upcoming to give West Virginians an opportunity to voice those thoughts.
“Senator Manchin is listening to West Virginians and getting input from all sides on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court,” said Jonathan Kott, senior adviser and communications director for Sen. Manchin. “It would be irresponsible of any politician to blindly back a nominee nine minutes after they were announced. This nomination is bigger than partisan politics, and deserves the careful consideration Senator Manchin is giving it.”
Tubbs said that he had not left any comments on the site and that he was disappointed that the town halls have not yet come to fruition.
“Manchin should get behind it and stop the political games,” Tubbs said. “The people have spoken. You can run around and say that you’re trying to figure out what West Virginians want to say. By electing Donald Trump, they did say.”
For Tubbs, however, Tuesday’s rally is only the beginning.
“We’re going to start a tour. Starting next week we’re going to do a ‘We Deserve Better,’” Tubbs said. “We’ll continue that and we’ll hit about five different media markets over the next six weeks through Labor Day.”
The first stop on the tour will be July 24 in Charleston.
