ICYMI: Washington Post: Opinion: Republican excuses for rejecting Ketanji Brown Jackson are absurd
April 4, 2022
Key Point: “For now, by heaping praise on Judge Jackson while opposing her nomination, Republicans seek to obscure the unattractive image of their almost entirely White caucus rejecting the first Black woman ever nominated to the high court. Kind words cannot disguise the fact that they are grasping for pretexts, each more preposterous than the last, to oppose this historic nominee. Their actions will speak louder now — and in the history books.”
Washington Post: Opinion: Republican excuses for rejecting Ketanji Brown Jackson are absurd
By Editorial Board
April 3, 2022
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, seems to be getting rave reviews from Republicans. Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) said that she is “a person of exceptionally good character, respected by her peers and someone who has worked hard to achieve her current position.” Sen. Ben Sasse (Neb.) declared that she “has impeccable credentials and a deep knowledge of the law.” Obviously, Judge Jackson exceeds the standard that should apply to Supreme Court nominees: that they be well-qualified, possess an even temperament and sit within the judicial mainstream. Yet Mr. Graham, Mr. Sasse and other Judiciary Committee Republicans are vowing to oppose advancing her nomination when the panel meets on Monday.
The reasons they have concocted are not credible. Mr. Graham voted to confirm Judge Jackson to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the second-most powerful court in the country, less than a year ago. Yet Mr. Graham has suddenly concluded that she has a “record of judicial activism.”
[…]
Republican senators’ hypocrisy peaks when they complain that Democrats mistreated past GOP nominees, such as Justice Barrett and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh. It was Republicans who obliterated the last shreds of goodwill in the judicial confirmation process when they blocked then-Judge Merrick Garland, whom President Barack Obama nominated in 2016 to replace the late Antonin Scalia, based on scant principle whatsoever.
There is one notable exception: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced she would vote to confirm Judge Jackson, a lonely stand that would not have been considered brave in the past — but is now. Other Republicans still have the chance to follow her lead; they can do themselves, their party and the country a service if they do.
For now, by heaping praise on Judge Jackson while opposing her nomination, Republicans seek to obscure the unattractive image of their almost entirely White caucus rejecting the first Black woman ever nominated to the high court. Kind words cannot disguise the fact that they are grasping for pretexts, each more preposterous than the last, to oppose this historic nominee. Their actions will speak louder now — and in the history books.
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