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That was rich. Senate Republicans, also known as Donald Trump’s Praetorian Guard, lined up Monday to pay a pious tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the separation of powers and the happy days of political bipartisanship.
A visitor from outer space might have thought they were the advocates of civility and civility at the beginning of Amy Coney Barrett’s supreme court hearing on Capitol Hill. It doesn’t matter that Trump played the role of chief divisor or that Republicans blocked Barack Obama’s nominee from court in 2016.
It was a morning of hypocrisy and medical attention.
Lindsey Graham, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Trump Appreciation Society, reminded everyone that both Ginsburg and her ideological opposite, Justice Antonin Scalia, were confirmed almost unanimously.
“I don’t know what happened between then and now,” he said wistfully. “We can all be at fault, but I just want to remind everyone that there was a time in this country when almost everyone considered someone like Ruth Bader Ginsburg qualified for the position of being on the supreme court, understanding that he would have a philosophy. different from many of the Republicans who voted for her. “
Justice has not been confirmed this close to a presidential election. Graham, who promised not to confirm a judge in an election year (saying “Use my words against me,” which many Democrats do), acknowledged a point on which everyone agreed: “This will be a long and controversial week. . “
As senator after senator drew their battle lines, the 48-year-old Barrett, sitting silently in a large black mask, looked like a prisoner in the dock.
Republicans sought to normalize their hasty nomination, arguing that the Senate was simply doing its duty while creating straw men: Democrats want to attack their Catholic faith (neither did), Democrats want to play badly like they did Brett Kavanaugh (hardly ), Democrats want to expand the court (objection: relevance), Democrats want to combine the judiciary with politics (true).
Josh Hawley of Missouri promoted the notion that Democrats, whose presidential candidate is Catholic, are as hostile to the Vatican as Henry VIII: “When you tell someone they are too Catholic to be on the bench, when you tell them it is to be a Catholic judge, not an American judge, that is intolerance. “
Joni Ernst from Iowa added: “It’s really pretty simple what your opponents are doing. They are attacking you as a mother and a woman of faith because they cannot attack your grades. “
For their part, Democrats maintained a laser-like focus on turning the audience into a proxy vote on the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), known as Obamacare. The Supreme Court will rule on the matter on November 10, and Barrett’s previous positions suggest he will be part of a 6-3 conservative majority to bring him down. In the courtroom, Democrats posted giant photos of citizens who would have their insurance removed.
Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island called the nomination a “judicial torpedo aimed” at protecting Obamacare for people with pre-existing conditions. He added that Barrett “has signaled in the judicial equivalent of capital letters that he believes the ACA should go.”
It was a sensible card to play. Healthcare was a hit message in the 2018 midterm elections. It is now clearly in focus, amid a pandemic that has killed more than 210,000 in the US They also pointed to the jarring contrast between a Senate that can move faster. that Usain Bolt to hold hearings in the Supreme Court and the body that has been delayed in economic relief for millions of unemployed.
Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, joined via video link and, after a botched start, told Graham that the hearing should have been postponed because it put the workers, the cleaning staff, the assistants Congress and Capitol Police at Risk from Virus.
He highlighted the case of Myka, a girl with a congenital heart defect whose health insurance is guaranteed by Obamacare. Harris held up the photo of Myka to reveal the book I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark.
“Mr. President, this hearing is a clear attempt to get through a supreme court candidate who will take care of millions of people during a deadly pandemic that has already killed more than 214,000 Americans,” Harris said.
As judicious guests at a dinner party, Democrats steered clear of talking about religion. Also, except for Cory Booker of New Jersey, they had little to say about the threat of Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling that effectively legalized abortion across the country, perhaps wary of how Joe Biden might play in changing states on November 3.
Republican Mike Lee, recovering from the coronavirus, showed some courage from Trump by attending in person and speaking without a mask after his office said he had no symptoms. The other infected senator, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, participated remotely. The courtroom had a physical detachment in place.
It could hardly be worse than the ceremony at the White House where Barrett’s nomination was announced. The guests did not wear masks or observe physical distancing. More than two dozen people linked to the event, including the two senators, have contracted Covid-19. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, has called it a “super spread” event.
Whitehouse complained: “America is concerned about one thing above all else right now: our health. This audience itself is a microcosm of Trump’s dangerous ineptitude in dealing with the Covid pandemic. Trump can’t even keep the White House safe.
“Here, it is the job of the president to ensure the safety of the committee, and although his words were reassuring, I don’t know. Who has been tested? Who Should Get Tested? Who is a danger? What contact tracking has been done on infected and exposed senators and staff? Nothing.”
He summed up: “Everything, like Trump, is an irresponsible blunder.”
