Not watching the Jackson confirmation hearings. Not, not, not. I am having enough trouble just dealing with the news stories about it. Someone would have to pay me big bucks to watch it.
For example, I’m reading Ryan Bort at Rolling Stone, Marsha Blackburn Lectures First Black Woman Nominated to Supreme Court on ‘So-Called’ White Privilege.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) went so far as to suggest to Jackson, a Black woman, that white privilege doesn’t exist in America, a country where of the 114 justices to have been confirmed to sit on the highest court in the land, only two have been Black.
“You serve on the board of a school that teaches kindergartners, five-year-old children, that they can choose their gender, and that teaches them about so-called white privilege,” Blackburn said after bashing the “radical left.”
Blackburn continued to drill down on critical race theory, the GOP’s culture-war topic du jour. “You have praised the 1619 Project, which argues the U.S. is a fundamentally racist country, and you have made clear that you believe judges must consider critical race theory when deciding how to sentence criminal defendants,” she said. “Is it your personal hidden agenda to incorporate critical race theory into our legal system?”
You will probably not be surprised to learn that Blackburn was lying when she said “you have made clear that you believe judges must consider critical race theory when deciding how to sentence criminal defendants.” Here’s a fact check from the Associated Press:
Blackburn appeared to be referring to a speech in which Jackson described how she encouraged students to study federal sentencing policy as an academic area implicating many topics.
“Sentencing is just plain interesting on an intellectual level, in part because it melds together myriad types of law — criminal law, of course, but also administrative law, constitutional law, critical race theory, negotiations, and to some extent, even contracts,” Jackson said in her speech. “And if that’s not enough to prove to them that sentencing is a subject … worth studying, I point out that sentencing policy implicates and intersects with various other intellectual disciplines as well, including philosophy, psychology, history, statistics, economics, and politics.”
In other words, she indicates that “critical race theory” might be one of many potential factors at play in sentencing, not a mandatory consideration.
Per the AP, Blackburn also falsely accused Jackson of wanting to mass release all criminal defendants in the custody of the D.C. Department of Corrections because of the covid pandemic, but again, that’s not true, either. Blackburn was misquoting a decision by Jackson in which she refused to release a prisoner because of the covid pandemic.
The lies keep coming, Sen. John Cornyn claimed that Judge Jackson once accused President George W. Bush and his SecDef, Donald Rumsfeld, of war crimes. Alas, she did not.
Back to Ryan Bort:
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) spent most of his opening statement whining about Democrats’ treatment of Justice Brett Kavanaugh after they wanted to question the then-nominee after he was credibly accused of sexual assault, but he also echoed widespread GOP concern that Jackson’s skin color had more to do with her nomination than her credentials. “I want the Supreme Court to look more like the country, but I want it to operate within the confines of the Constitution,” he said.
The Washington Postpointed out on Sunday that, if confirmed, Jackson would be the only active Supreme Court justice to have attended an Ivy League law school, clerked for a Supreme Court justice, served as a public defender, served on the sentencing commission, served as a U.S. District Court judge, and served as a U.S. Court of Appeals judge.
She seems to be qualified.
It wouldn’t matter to Republicans how qualified she is. She’s a black woman. Therefore, she’s, um, suspicious.
Miz Lindsey actually “stormed out” of the hearing at one point, although exactly why isn’t clear. Every news story I look at gives a different reason. This may be it, from the New York Daily News:
Wagging his finger, Graham appeared to lose his temper as he derided the “frickin’” Afghanistan government and accused Jackson of being soft on the detainees.
He grilled the trailblazing jurist for filing a brief that raised questions about whether the government had the right to hold accused enemy combatants indefinitely without putting them on trial.
“Advocates to change the system like she was doing would destroy our ability to protect our country,” Graham snapped.
Jackson kept her cool and refused to give an inch to Graham, calmly correcting him about his interpretation of her positions and noting that her legal responsibility was to represent her clients.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the Judiciary Committee chair, also sought to correct the record about Guantanamo. He noted that President Trump also released suspected Taliban prisoners, a point that set off Graham. …
… The pugnacious lawmaker even grilled her about progressives who supported her nomination over that of his preferred candidate, Judge J. Michelle Childs of his home state of South Carolina.
“The fact that so many of these radical groups that would destroy the law as we know it supported you is problematic to me,” he said.
Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) on Tuesday tried to make a point that Republicans were angry about how Democrats had questioned a previous GOP-backed Supreme Court nominee about her religion — by questioning Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson at length about her own faith, then trying to reassure her after the fact that interrogations about her religion would not happen.
Seriously?
On the second day of Jackson’s confirmation hearing, Graham opened his allotted time to question President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee by noting how others had praised Jackson’s personal background.
“You have a wonderful family. You should be proud,” Graham said. “And your faith matters to you. What faith are you, by the way?”
Though it would be potentially illegal under federal law for an employer to ask a job candidate about their religious beliefs, Jackson started to respond that she was a nondenominational Protestant — before Graham cut in and asked if she felt she could judge a Catholic person fairly.
“Senator, I have a record of … judging everyone — …” Jackson replied.
Graham interrupted Jackson several more times, as she tried to state that it was important to set aside one’s personal views when considering cases.
“I’m just asking this question because how important is your faith to you?” Graham asked. “On a scale of 1 to 10, how faithful would you say you are, in terms of religion? You know, I go to church probably three times a year, so that speaks poorly of me. Or do you attend church regularly?”
At one point, Jackson said her faith was “very important” and also pointed out that “there’s no religious test in the Constitution.”
I assume Graham is looking for payback at questions to Catholic candidates about whether their religious beliefs would influence their decisions on abortion cases.
I haven’t even gotten to Ted Cruz yet. There’s another day of this nonsense. The poor woman has to sit there and not display anger, because only right-wing white men are allowed to be angry. Nor can she burst into tears and declare that she likes beer without ruining her career. Only a right-wing white man can get away with that.
If all Democratic senators vote for her, Katanji Brown Jackson will be confirmed without needing a Republican vote. She’d better be confirmed.
First, let's be clear about one thing when we're talking about Marsha Blackburn: She's a feckin' eedjit!
If Marsha Blackburn was a Democrat, she wouldn't be smart enough to be a House member, let alone a Senator.
An imbecile like her can have a long and successful career as a GQP pol because there's no intellectual competition.
Now, throw in an inbred state like TN, and a moron like Marsha Blackburn becomes a US Senator.
I could never have been a House or Senate member. You have to be too nice to the knuckle-dragging morons on the other side of the aisle.
I said all of this to basically say that I'm not watching these hearings.
I can't afford a new TV.
I know this is tangential, but, maybe this is the only venue where I can reveal my ignorance without risking too much. GQP? My brain is stuck on "Gentlemen's Quarterly Party." That can't be right.
What is it?
That's GOP with a Q substituted for the O for the Qanon part of their base.
I can't remember the election or author of an article that documented the critical power black women voters have. Georgia comes to mind and Stacey Abrams is inspirational. The GOP is going to the bottom of the barrel in attacks on Jackson.
They might just piss off a segment of the electorate they should not piss off.
I don't know what the Q is, but it's just not right to change the logo of the Greedy Oligarch's Party.
Also too, bravo to all who avoid the television version of everything.
Watch the raw feed on C-SPAN
For Everybody (Maha too): please watch all of Justice Jackson's responses – purely inspirational…
Also, most of the majority party's time was at least earnest.
"No One Should Have to Put Up With This"
Yes, no one should have to put up with GQP insanity. We have no rights other than to suck it up.
Contrary to Blackburn's thin-skinned and ridiculous denial of white privilege, all we need to know about its existence, besides the fact that only 2 out of 115 supreme court justices have been black, is the fact that Kavanaugh could whine and cry and go on about his love for beer, in the face of credible evidence of sexual assault, and get confirmed, while Jackson had to display the patience of Job and the grace of a saint, as her character, her career and decisions were mendaciously attacked by men and women demonstrating the comparative brain power of gnats. They made themselves look small and the movement they represent look hateful in the process.
And this made me think of advice I and a lot of blacks of our generation were given by our parents:
"…if confirmed, Jackson would be the only active Supreme Court justice to have attended an Ivy League law school, clerked for a Supreme Court justice, served as a public defender, served on the sentencing commission, served as a U.S. District Court judge, and served as a U.S. Court of Appeals judge."
The advice? That you need to be twice as good in order to have a chance at an opportunity.
She's done her parents, her people, and her country proud.
The male senators are showing such a disdain for this nominee, I am convinced that that disdain is for ALL women, including their mothers, wives, and daughters. Female strangers don't have a chance of being treated well; so, beware women who come in contact with these so-called "leaders" of America.
The GOP senators of both sexes are guilty of this, but both siderism about the 2 parties seems stretched, at least at this hearing.
Tom Cotton is a really fucked up individual. He has a scary Norman Bates quality about him. He reeks of mental instabilty…like he can go off at any minute.