Republican Strategy For KBJ Hearings: A Little Bit of Everything -- And Don't Forget the Racism
Republicans amp up Blackburn's “smattering of right-wing buzzwords” with racist tweet
I’m a little bit country
I’m a little bit rock-'n'-roll
— The Osmonds
Frustrated Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee must have been channeling Donny and Marie Monday, as Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation hearings got underway for a seat on the nation’s highest court.
They seemed to want to throw anything and everything at Jackson, who — if at least Senate Democrats remain united — will become the first Black woman to sit on the US Supreme Court.
Sen Lindsay Graham, of South Carolina, tried to take a dig at the experienced jurist's religion, asking, “What faith are you, by the way?” he asked.
(Graham apparently asked in some kind of retaliation for Democrats questioning Justice Amy Coney Barrett about her religion in her confirmation hearings, although the clear difference is that Barrett had been involved in far-right Catholic advocacy groups.)
Graham also took aim at the nominee's work defending detainees at the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where those captured in the war on terrorism have been held — including some wrongfully imprisoned.
Meanwhile, Sen. Josh Hawley, of Missouri, criticized Jackson for a supposed record of leniency in sentencing people who pleaded guilty to possession or distribution of child pornography.
The Washington Post's “Fact Checker” column characterized Hawley's arguments as a “misleading attack” on Jackson's record and gave him three “Pinocchios,” or a “mostly false” rating.
However, it was the sole Republican woman on Judiciary — Sen Marsha Blackburn, of Tennessee — to lead not only baseless, but openly racist, charge against the nominee which the rest of the Republican Party was more than happy to pick up on.
“You once wrote that every judge has, and I quote, ‘personal, hidden agendas,’ end quote, that influence how they decide cases,” Blackburn said. “So, I can only wonder, what’s your hidden agenda? Is it to let violent criminals, cop killers, and child predators back to the streets? Is it to restrict parental rights and expand government’s reach into our schools and our private family decisions?
“Is it to support the radical left’s attempt to pack the Supreme Court? 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,” Blackburn added. “Is it your personal hidden agenda to incorporate critical race theory into our legal system? These are answers that the American people need to know.”
Aside from the fact that much of what Blackburn had to spew in those remarks were simply ad hominem, straw man attacks, the tinge of racism also is clear.
Democratic YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen described Blackburn's remarks as a “smattering of right-wing buzzwords that Blackburn strung together to bolster her right-wing cred, and hopefully get her booked on Fox News for the night.”
Republicans amplified their racist attacks against Jackson via social media, posting an unflattering photo of her looking confused. The popular moniker which has been given her using her initials, KBJ, has been crossed out and replaced by “CRT,” for “critical race theory.
Critical race theory has become the new Republican boogeyman in their efforts at a culture war.
However, critical race theory is not taught anywhere other than law schools in the United States.
Left-leaning attorney and popular Twitter user Ron Filipkowski retweeted the Republicans' anti-Jackson post, with the caption, “But don't call us racist!”
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