Dear Judge Jackson, America is Truly Embarrassed & Deeply Sorry

Committee hearings for Supreme Court nominees tend to be more about political posturing than substance, but the hearings this week for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson set a new low as Republican Senators seem to play to the absolute lowest common denominator among the GOP's voter base. Sen Ted Cruz was especially unhinged in his questioning, but Senators Josh Hawley, Lindsey Graham, and Marsha Blackburn embarrassed themselves throughout the proceedings with insanely silly questions concerning critical race theory, pedophiles, and transexuals that they knew had nothing to do with Jackson's fitness to sit on the Court.

Truth and Consequences: "Republicans repeatedly accused Judge Jackson of going too easy on criminals and sexual predators, being soft on crime, and promoting critical race theory. In perhaps the most ludicrous and ostentatiously racist questioning of the day, Texas Senator Ted Cruz repeatedly asked Jackson about library books at the DC private school where she serves on the board, which he claims promote critical race theory. At one point, Cruz asked Judge Jackson, “Do you agree... that babies are racist?" Though I suppose this is better than the question asked by Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn, “Can you define the word ‘woman?” as part of an attack on trans Americans."

Most of the questions concerning Judge Jackson's sentencing in child pornography cases seemed to be aimed at the GOP's crazy QAnon contingent. In reality, Jackson's sentencing decisions are well within the mainstream of both Dem. and GOP appointed federal judges and Hawley and Cruz are aware of that. So why bring up the issue?

New York Times: “The online world of adherents to the QAnon conspiracy theory sprang into action almost as soon as Sen. Josh Hawley tweeted his alarm: that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the Biden administration’s Supreme Court nominee, had handed down sentences below the minimum recommended in federal guidelines for possessing images of child sexual abuse."

There is a lot of blame to go around, but Ted Cruz gets the award for being the Senate Judiciary Committee's biggest jerk, and Hellboy actor Ron Perlman captured what most of America would like to say to Cruz in a twitter video.

Perlman: “Listen, I know how tempting it is to appeal to the real lowest form of humanity here in the United States, the bottom feeders, people who pride themselves on hatred and uneducation and inability to read and inability to understand the difference between true patriotism and the bullshit you’re selling."

If anyone doubts what Cruz was really after, consider this story this morning: "Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was caught searching Twitter for mentions of his own name during Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearing on Wednesday."

Meanwhile, in the real world, folks that know Judge Jackson's work best give her the highest possible recommendation.

Washington Post: "Representatives of the American Bar Association lauded the qualifications of Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson on Thursday, saying everyone they interviewed used terms such as “brilliant,” “beyond reproach,” “impeccable” and “A-plus” to describe her."

#law #supremecourt #politics

By: Don Lam & Curated Content