There are some valid questions that need to be asked about Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Hopefully these questions will be asked in a respectful way and answers will be given in a respectful way. I may be overly optimistic on this, but hope springs eternal. On Tuesday, Issues & Insights posted an article reminding us of the decorum (or lack thereof) of the Democrats in two recent hearings for potential Supreme Court Justices.
The article notes that the Democrats standards for nominees by Republican Presidents probably do not apply here:
…They also, no doubt, have jettisoned previous standards for Supreme Court nominees, including the ones put forth by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, such as that a nominee who can’t get 60 votes in the Senate shouldn’t be approved, nor can anyone “with a deep-seated ideology” because they wouldn’t have “a neutral legal mind.”
The article quotes a few questions asked of Justice Kavanaugh:
- Who or what is Lowenbrau? A classmate? A secret party place? Is it related to the ‘Devil’s Triangle,’ or a type of ‘boofing’?
- I don’t know if it’s “boufed” or “boofed” — how do you pronounce that?
- Since you became a legal adult, have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors, or committed any physical or verbal harassment or assault of a sexual nature?
- Have you ever passed out from drinking?
- What do you consider to be too many beers?
- Was there ever a time when you drank so much that you couldn’t remember what happened, or part of what happened the night before?
- Do you believe Anita Hill?
- Do you agree that it is possible for men to both be friends with some women, and treat other women badly?
- Do you believe that climate change is happening and is threatening the air we breathe and the water we drink?”
What the Democrats have done to Republican President’s Supreme Court nominees in recent years is disgraceful. It would be a good idea for the Republicans not to follow that model and simply ask appropriate questions. I doubt the Republicans will get answers, but they can ask. It is bad enough that we have an ultra-liberal Supreme Court nominee chosen by a quota system, but hopefully she will answer questions honestly during her hearing.