On October 26th, the Senate voted 52-48 to approve Judge Barrett, where the Republicans overcame the unified opposition of the Democrats. Though the vote was really just a formality, it still marks a seismic moment for Trump and his presidency -- she is the third conservative Justice he appointed during his singular term (Neil Gorsuch in 2017 and Brett Kavanaugh in 2018). Barrett’s appointment sealed the 6-3 conservative majority on the top US judicial body after she was sworn in by her conservative colleague, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Judge Barrett could cast a decisive vote on a number of cases, including the Affordable Care Act, the Republican Party of Pennsylvania v. Boockvar, the census and undocumented immigrants (which could affect allocation of congressional seats), etc. She could easily serve for another 3 decades on the Supreme Court, influencing policy debates significantly.
Democrats have been firing attacks on the Republicans for their decision:
Joe Biden called it “rushed and unprecedented.”
His running-mate Kamala Harris said that her confirmation was “a disgrace, not only because of what she will do when she gets on the bench, but because of the entire process.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said to his Republican colleagues: "You may win this vote .. But you will never, never get your credibility back. And the next time the American people give Democrats a majority in this chamber, you will have forfeited the right to tell us how to run that majority."
Much of this rancor stems from the fact that four years ago, these same people refused to countenance Barack Obama’s pick for the supreme court “on grounds that the people should decide.” Justice Scalia had passed away 9 months before the election; Justice Ginsburg passed away less than two months before.
Possible Discussion Topics:
Court-packing by Democrats -- is it warranted or unwarranted?
Is the Supreme Court inherently partisan, or is it apolitical? If so, should it be politicized?
Sources:
11 comments:
After watching her confirmation on Monday, I felt very fearful for the future of my rights to have autonomy over my own body and the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. Barrett's confirmation occurred eight days before the election, an outrage to democrats and a direct contrast to the rage presented by the Senate just four years ago when Obama tried to fill the empty seat nine months prior to the 2016 election. Senate leader Mitch McConnell stated four years ago that Obama's nominee would be void due to the close proximity to the next election, causing many to deem him and other senators as hypocritical. After this "rule break" I think it is only fair for Biden's Administration, if elected, to pack the courts. Politics have become a messy game, where it is clear that once valued traditions of honesty and stability have been thrown out the window. Conservatives like to argue that this breaks the original wishes of our founding fathers, but as our government has shown, things can change. The idea of court packing is not a new one either. In 1937, FDR proposed a plan to expand the Supreme Court to 15 justices, but his plan was shot down by congress, what I fear to happen if Biden tries to do the same. If you can vote, please do!
In my opinion, the hypocrisy of pushing a Supreme Court justice confirmation through the Senate just weeks away from an election isn't the worst part of this episode. All the time the Senate spent on this appointment is time that could have been spent negotiating and writing more legislation to help businesses and individuals during the pandemic. The fact that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell prioritizes Barrett's confirmation over working to help the American people dying around the country is extremely telling of the political climate and the priorities of the Republican leadership.
This outcome, although not entirely unexpected at this point, sets a variety of precedents that undermine the integrity of the Supreme Court and the ideals it was founded upon as the court becomes more decisively partisan. Arguably, fast-tracking this hearing has been a move of desperation, telling of an underlying fear that Trump might not be the victor come election day (well, the following days/weeks)—otherwise (in their eyes) what would have been the harm in waiting? It definitely has succeeded in fueling the media frenzy, stoking up fear on the left and triumph on the right, acting as another stressor and distraction from the urgent issues that the government should be addressing, as Josh mentioned. And like Ella noted, in hopes of making the court more representative, expanding the court isn’t a bad idea in theory—I just don’t think the idea would pass in Congress any time soon because it isn’t realistic that Republicans would so readily give up an advantage of power. Essentially, all this has confirmed is that Trump (and his administration) do not stand for the American people, just those that support them.
After watching her confirmation, I can't help but wonder how as a woman, a mother, a daughter, a wife, and a member of the female community, she can be so selfish and take away other women's rights to their own anatomy. Amy Barrett left many questioned unanswered which caused the Democrats to be unsatisfied with her response. I am fearful of what she would attempt to do once she gets on the bench as she is honorably "pro-life."
After seeing that they voted in Amy Coney Barrett for the next Supreme Court Justice, I can’t help to be afraid for my own rights and the rights of other LGBTQ+/women. Seeing her answer questions during her confirmation and trying to not answer them, is fearful. Also during this time there are plenty of other things that the Senate could be focusing on than confirming a new court justice. Plenty of people are suffering because of the pandemic and are in need of aid, small business alike. Though politics is important to people right now, choosing Barrett was more due to wanting to change the political climate in the Supreme Court and could have been pushed back.
I am absolutely baffled by the hypocrisy of how this process went down. How could one allow this to happen if President Obama was in the same situation and was denied the right to appoint a new Supreme Court Justice? How can a woman have the desire to take away other women's rights to their own bodies? How can one simply ignore the humanistic rights that the LGBTQ+ deserve? They aren't any different from her. This completely disrespects what the late Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg had fought for. I feel like this isn't about politics anymore. This is now about the basic rights of the American people.
I agree with Isabella, in that the way a woman, who is very smart and knows her worth, is deciding to take away the rights of future women who could very much look up to a woman like her because of her accomplishments. It is a shame that a woman who embodies the ideal citizen (adoption, great education, successful job) chooses to disrespect the rest of the women in this country with her hopes as the newest Justice. It will be interesting to see what will happen, now with Joe Biden confirmed as the 46th president, and what Barrett will do in her lifetime. I joke with my mom about how we hope Barrett is just playing a role and is actually a decent human being with some respect for the people in this country who identify with the LGBTQ+ community or a minority.
I am a little stifled on how the Republicans, as a party, would allow for Amy Barett's confirmation into the supreme court. I understand that the job of a party is to get as many representatives of that party into positions of power, but their job is also to gain the support of the people. Undermining the people's representation by rushing her confirmation before the election should not be taken lightly, as it is undemocratic. One thing I wonder is how true moderates will respond to the issue, as they ultimately are the large decider on who gets power. I don't entirely understand the comments about Barett being pro-life, as democracy is founded upon the idea that people will have and be able to express different viewpoints and that, as long as they do not break basic human rights, those views are valid. With society still debating issues related to abortion, I don't think it is unwarranted to have officials debating for and against abortion. I do agree with the fear around the LGBTQ+ community, however, because our government and society has a history of not treating people equally, and it is frightening that we are allowing officials who could violate equality to continually take power in our government.
I am disgusted by the blatant hypocrisy of the Republican party by ushering in a Supreme Court representative that embodies their ideal when during the Obama administration they were the exact ones that ferociously advocated against it. With the center of this revolving around Mitch McConnell, United States Republican Senator, leading the drive for this pre-election approval. The government shouldn't be dictated like this and especially the pervasive hypocrisy makes me angry. Although there are many in government that may not agree with Ginsburg's previous stance on important issues, by endorsing this act or even not blatantly rejecting it, it desecrates the memory of a former Supreme Court judge and impugns many peoples morality.
I think I along with many other people feel shocked and slightly hurt by this decision. I think it was made way to soon, and completely against the late Ruth Bader Ginsberg's wishes before she passed. This was completely out of line and a wrong decision on the Republican parties part. Not only because the new justice has some very interesting takes on some very controversial subjects but the fact that the Supreme Court is now majority held by republicans. This decision should have been decided by the President elected on November 3rd. Now we have a woman in office who wants to take away a lot of women's rights. This is extremely scary for woman all over our country and the hypocrisy regarding this decision really baffles me.
Post a Comment