Opinion: The big nomination

Also: British politics descends into chaos. Here’s why. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, July 10, 2018 [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( [David Leonhardt] David Leonhardt Op-Ed Columnist First, The Times’s Opinion report is full of commentary on Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court nominee: [David Brooks]( tells the story of the conservative legal community that produced Kavanaugh (and that progressives lack); [the Editorial Board]( and [Linda Greenhouse]( call for a non-vacuous confirmation hearing; [Ross Douthat]( predicts the end of Roe v. Wade; [Michelle Cottle]( looks at the nomination and the midterms; [Akhil Reed Amar]( suggests Democrats make a deal; [Caroline Fredrickson and Norman Eisen]( ask whether Kavanaugh can check President Trump’s abuses of power and [Lee Epstein and Eric Posner]( lament the Supreme Court’s politicization and predictability. Elsewhere, [Amy Howe of Scotusblog]( [Dylan Matthews of Vox]( and [FiveThirtyEight’s Oliver Roeder and Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux]( analyze Kavanaugh’s record. And [the political analyst Stuart Rothenberg asks]( “So are we going to spend the next three months talking about SCOTUS and ignoring Trump selling out our country to Putin and undermining the media, the FBI and our allies?” Brexit. I’ll have more to say about the turmoil in British politics later this week. For anyone who hasn’t been following the story and wants a good, sharp overview, I recommend [John Cassidy in The New Yorker](. “In the past few months,” he writes, “it has become increasingly clear that making a clean break with the E.U.—what the so-called hard-Brexit crowd is demanding—would wreak havoc on Britain’s economy.” The full Opinion report from The Times follows, including [Jenni Russell]( [the Editorial Board]( and [a Patrick Chappatte cartoon]( on Britain. Trump Picks Kavanaugh [There’s So Much You Don’t Know About Brett Kavanaugh]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD And you probably won’t until it’s too late. Editorial Observer [Midterm Bait]( By MICHELLE COTTLE By nominating Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, the president gives his crowd what they want. Op-Ed Columnist [It Took a Village]( By DAVID BROOKS He owes at least part of his nomination to an extensive legal infrastructure on the right. Op-Ed Columnist [After Kavanaugh, the Deluge]( By ROSS DOUTHAT The promises that the conservative legal movement made to the pro-life voters are about to come due. [A Liberal’s Case for Kavanaugh]( By AKHIL REED AMAR It is hard to name anyone else with such strong judicial credentials. [Will Kavanaugh Provide Cover for Trump?]( By CAROLINE FREDRICKSON AND NORMAN L. EISEN Given his views on executive power, it is unclear whether he will stand up to the president’s claim to be immune from prosecution. [If the Supreme Court is Nakedly Political, Can It Be Just?]( By LEE EPSTEIN AND ERIC POSNER Rigidly divided by both ideology and party, the court risks losing public legitimacy. In Case You Missed It [How Will We Know What a Supreme Court Nominee Really Thinks?]( By LINDA GREENHOUSE It’s a myth that potential justices can’t answer questions about their positions on Roe v. Wade. From Our Columnists Op-Ed Columnist [Trump, Tariffs, Tofu and Tax Cuts]( By PAUL KRUGMAN Of soybeans and the meaninglessness of short-term growth. Op-Ed Columnist [Lie Back and Take It, America]( By MICHELLE GOLDBERG Trump makes sexual harassment O.K. again. Op-Ed Columnist [The Finlandization of the United States]( By ROGER COHEN Trump’s ideological sympathies lie more with Putin than with America’s allies. LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here](. ADVERTISEMENT Boris Johnson Resigns [Good Riddance, Boris Johnson]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD The resignation of Britain’s foreign secretary could make it easier for Prime Minister Theresa May to reach a more reasonable agreement on Brexit. [Boris Johnson Has Ruined Britain]( By JENNI RUSSELL “He knows that the verdict of history is about to come down on him — and bury him.” [Boris Johnson’s Dramatic Exit]( By PATRICK CHAPPATTE Quitting is certainly one way to protest a “soft Brexit.” [The Rape Jokes We Still Laugh At]( Jonah M. Kessel By TAIGE JENSEN, JONAH M. KESSEL, LEAH VARJACQUES AND JAPHET WEEKS In the #MeToo era, punch lines about sexual assaults in jail remain acceptable. But to Rodney Roussell, they’re a painful reminder of the nine years he spent in prison, where he was raped and sold into sexual slavery. More in Opinion Fixes [Trying to Cut Crime in Public Housing by Making It More Livable]( By TINA ROSENBERG New York City is recruiting residents in 15 dangerous projects to make their neighborhoods better — and violence has dropped. [Why Breast-Feeding Scares Donald Trump]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD It comes down to public health abroad could hurt American companies’ profits. SIGN UP FOR OUR WORLD CUP NEWSLETTER Read [arguments and opinions]( on the social, political and economic issues around the World Cup, for football buffs and fair-weather fans alike. ADVERTISEMENT Letters [Protecting Profits, Not Babies’ Health]( Readers are shocked at a U.S. delegation’s objection to a resolution promoting breast-feeding. HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [leonhardt@nytimes.com](mailto:leonhardt@nytimes.com?subject=Opinion%20Today%20Newsletter%20Feedback). 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