It was always unlikely that there would be many Republicans voting confirmed Judge Kentanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, and they can only delay, not prevent, her from becoming the first justice of the black woman. But the GOP was able to use this week’s Judicial Committee hearings as a vehicle to take a step toward its messages in the medium term.
It is unclear at this time if and how war in Ukraine and related policies can influence the November elections. But when it comes to domestic issues, several Republicans saw Jackson as a role against issues that they hope will not only motivate their support base, but also help influence voters in white suburbs who have distanced themselves from the party. during the Trump era.
Republicans on the committee focused much of their questioning on crime, critical theory of race, and gender identity, issues at the center of the current cultural war. It was a coordinated effort. The Republican National Committee, for example, he tweeted a gif that scratched KBJ (Jackson’s initials) and replaced it with CRT.
Led by Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, GOP members shaped their opposition strategy around Jackson’s conviction of child pornography offenders under federal sentencing guidelines. Democrats and the White House argued that this approach was aimed at pointing to far-right conspiracy theory groups such as Q-Anon, which promotes false claims about Democrats and child trafficking. The question lines equate to “testing ground for conspiracy theories and cultural war theories,” Judicial Committee Chairman Dick Durbin said during the hearings.
“This is a president who presides over a wave of historical crime. So if they want to dismiss parents’ concerns about their children’s safety and if they want to dismiss concerns about crime as a conspiracy theory? ballot boxes, “Hawley told reporters outside the Senate chamber. “Crime is an important issue. It’s important to parents, it’s important to me as a parent. We’re in the middle of a wave of historical crime. I think it’s an issue in people’s minds.”
Hawley’s argument extended the GOP’s highest ranks. Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who chairs the Republican National Senate Committee, told reporters at the party’s weekly leadership conference that Jackson “seems to be very soft on sexual predators, people who, you know, have hurt our children. ” Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, a member of the Judicial Committee classification, told CBS News that Jackson is soft on crime, especially shown in child pornography. [sentencing]. ”
Jackson, who served as a district court judge in Washington, referred to his family members in law enforcement and his own experience as a mother who “took these cases home to me in the United States. night because they are so graphic in terms of the kind of images you are describing. ”
She argued that “In all cases, I have fulfilled my duty to hold the defendants accountable in light of the evidence and the information presented to me … The evidence in these cases is flagrant. these cases are among the worst I’ve seen, and yet, as Congress orders, judges not only calculate the guidelines and stop, judges must take into account the personal circumstances of the accused because that is a requirement. of Congress “.
Republicans also focused on gender identity, as several state GOP legislatures across the country have pushed for a ban on transgender sports. Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn asked Jackson to provide a definition for the word “woman.” Jackson replied that she was not a biologist. Blackburn replied, “The fact that you can’t give me a direct answer about something as fundamental as being a woman underscores the dangers of the kind of progressive education we’re hearing.”
And because questions about teaching students about racism in the country’s history are causing fractures among school boards, parents and activists, Senator Ted Cruz put pressure on Jackson on critical theory of race, which recognizes disparities racial factors that have persisted in U.S. history and provides a framework for understanding it. how racism is reinforced in U.S. law and culture. The Texas senator referred to a 2015 speech in which she referred to the term and brought several children’s books to the audience. Jackson said the term “does not appear in my work as a judge. It is never something I have studied or trusted, and it would not be something I would trust if I were in the Supreme Court.”
The days of broad bipartisan support for Supreme Court candidates may be over. But the historical nature of Jackson’s nomination as the first black woman on the track may have been compelling at another time.
Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse told Jackson he “will be a hero” for children and students across the country. Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, a GOP leadership member retiring this year, said he would like to vote for the first black woman in court, but that what happens at hearings should be the most important element of consideration.
“My opinion from day one was that I thought it was absolutely good for the president to commit to the campaign that this is what he wanted to do. And I had no problem thinking that this is a time to reduce the field. of candidacy, to a person representing people who have not previously served in court, “Blunt told CBS News. “But [they] they should obviously be good lawyers and have the right temperament to be a good judge. “
Grassley told CBS News that the nature of Jackson’s nomination is not a factor in his decision. “We look at the person’s record, we don’t care if it’s male, female, if it’s black, white, Hispanic, Native American, any of that stuff,” she said. “We’re interested in people being constitutionalists, strict constructionists, not trying to fill in the gaps that Congress could leave in the laws.”
Senator Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were two of the three Republicans who voted for Jackson’s nomination to the district court and are considered possible crossovers for that nomination.
Senator Lindsey Graham, angered by the Conservatives when she voted to confirm President Obama’s Supreme Court nominees, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, said at the time that ” they have consequences “, and he considered that to be good judges with good character. She also voted to confirm Jackson in the district court, but her interrogation this week made it clear that she has no plans to support her again. When asked why elements of Jackson’s record now concern him when they didn’t in his previous confirmation, Graham told CBS News, “His position today could change the law.”
Collins told reporters this week that “my mind is open,” but he wants to review the hearings before making a decision.
Anyone considering crossing the aisle to vote for Jackson will do so without political coverage from minority leader Mitch McConnell, who announced Friday in the Senate that would oppose Jackson’s nomination.
Add Comment