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What the Amy Coney Barrett hearings have revealed… — 28 Comments

1. I’m expecting that some Democrats will actually vote to confirm her.

2. Trump was wise to put her up as the Ginsberg replacement. There is nothing they can do to her personally. I wouldn’t put it past them to try and pin something on the husband given the degree of desperation they feel. We will know this weekend if they try that tactic. All they want is a delay and hope against hope that the polls are really correct.

   They have to weight it against the political backlash that could occur particularly among Catholic women. The squad and true nut jobs would have no problem as they have safe seats but the others we shall see.

   On a side note with the two competing town halls tonight. It will be very interesting on the audience viewership and type of questions each gets. If it is anything like the rallies I say Trump wins in a walk.

   So it will be interesting to see how Biden answers the Hunter email question if he gets one. It will probably be on the lines of “never happened” and the words “discredited”, “hoax”, “no evidence or wrongdoing” will be used. Lets see if the audience is allowed a follow-up question.

   I joke with people that Trump is like the large rock bands in the 80’s that sold out stadiums while Biden is like the garage band driving from gig to gig in their old converted school bus. What a contrast.

3. The Democrats have, without exception, behaved as stupidly as one might have expected during these hearings, but the now infamous line of questioning from the truly moronic Mazie Hirono was beyond parody. Hawaii is indeed a very beautiful place, but its two senators are both far too stupid to be serving in positions of power; Brian Schatz, Hawaii’s other worthless senator, gained some notoriety by ranting about the use of the entirely appropriate term “Anglo-American” to describe our legal system, which does, in fact, derive from England.

4. One of the D’s asked ACB if she had ever sexually harassed anyone. When I heard that exchange, I immediately feared that they have someone in the backroom that will attest that he or she was harassed at some point in time. After all, the people protesting Kavanaugh all came after the initial senate hearings.

5. I watched a bit of the hearings. It was almost exactly as I expected. Senators embarrassing themselves with pointless questions designed to trick Barrett into admitting that why yes she really is a racist, homophobic religious lunatic. I don’t think I would have the patience to put up with such nonsense. I just wish she could actually tell them what she really thought. I would have liked for her to just take a nap and ask to be woken if anybody had a question of real substance to ask.

6. Liz:

   Actually, I read somewhere that the person who asked that question – the senator from Hawaii – asks it of every nominee.

7. ACB ain’t qualified. Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse asked her to name the five freedoms listed in the First Amendment and she could only recall four. This has been a BIG story in NE and on Twitter. Amy is just a total dunce and is NOT qualified.

   That’s how low, petty and insane the Dems are.

   I’ve read some of ACB’s opinions. She writes better than she speaks. She is outstanding. We’re lucky that she agreed to take the job.

8. Related:
   Turley is most definitely NOT pleased at the Democrats’ antics and what it all portends –
   https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/barrett-rule-how-democratic-members-are-creating-new-and-dangerous-standard-confirmations

9. I sent out an email to selected people (some of whom suffer with TDS) in which I cited the Etruscan Shrew, the world’s smallest mammal by body weight (avg about 0.6oz), but with one of the largest brains as a percentage of body weight. I compared this unique creature to some of the Democrat Senators on the Judiciary Committee; and suggested that the Shrew’s proportions are superior.

   My wife thought that was offensive. I neglected to ask whether she thought it was the Shrew that should be offended. I think if there were offense to be taken with respect to any aspect of this sham, it would be ACB and the American people who were the aggrieved parties.

   One might hope that extending this circus could actually turn some marginally committed voters away from the Democrats. After all how many rational people are eager to bestow more power on demonstrated charlatans and fools?

10. I am told that Mazie Hirono has a law degree from Georgetown. Hard to believe. There must have been some deterioration since then.

11. Oldflyer:

    I seem to recall that Andrew Breitbart dated the Clarence Thomas hearings as the beginning of his change from left to right.

12. @Cap’n Rusty –

    I would not be surprised if Manchin and Sinema vote to confirm.

    ~~~

    Apparently, Chuck E. Sleaze is now saying that the Dems will deny a quorum to advance ACB to the floor for a full vote.

    My least favorite Powerliner disposes of that notion here.

13. I am told that Mazie Hirono has a law degree from Georgetown. Hard to believe. There must have been some deterioration since then.

    She was elected to the Hawaii legislature two years after she was admitted to the bar (in Sept 1978). Hawaii legislators commonly have small businesses, professional practices, &c. The 1983 Polk directory for Honolulu lists her as ‘state representative’ and lists no law firm under her entry. During her four years out of office (late 2002 to early 2007), she made a number of campaign contributions recorded in the FEC database. Some list her occupation as ‘attorney’ and some as ‘not employed’. The Hawaii bar lists her status as ‘inactive-voluntary’, though it has no history of how her status has changed over time. I’m going to wager she hasn’t cracked a law book in 40 years.

14. One of the D’s asked ACB if she had ever sexually harassed anyone.

    It’s worse than that. She asked her if she ever made an advance on anyone that was unwanted.

15. I watched a couple hours of the hearings. The Dems were a disgrace. Mostly speechifying with a few questions such as, why bare you against the ACA? Or don’t you agree that a woman has a right to control her body? Or do you believe Covid-19 is a dangerous disease? Gotcha questions to which ACB gave sensible and appropriate answers. Me, I would have been screaming at them to get a life. 🙂 One of many reasons I didn’t get into politics.

    I was not impressed with ACB’s voice at the beginning. A bit nasaly, I thought. But as I listened to her answers, I lost any attention to the pitch of her voice and was transfixed by her calm demeanor and the rationality of her points. She is an exceptional person with a brilliant mind. How fortunate we are that she is going onto the SCOTUS. Makes me happy to know that she will be there for a long time.

16. I think you’re referring to a Tweet Schatz sent out in February 2018 which read thus:

    ““Do you know anyone who says ‘Anglo-American heritage’ in a sentence?” …“What could possibly be the purpose of saying that other than to pit Americans against each other? For the chief law enforcement officer to use a dog whistle like that is appalling. Best NO vote I ever cast.””

    NB, Schatz was supposedly a schoolteacher for a brief stint. Otherwise, his entire work history consists of stints in public office and stints as an NGO functionary. He’s a perfect fit for the Minneapolis city council. (He was first elected to public office at the age of 26).

17. ACB ain’t qualified. Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse asked her

    I have to turn videos of Sasse off. He cannot pass up an opportunity to run his mouth.

18. I thought the exchange between Sasse and ACB on the foundation of the constitution, specifically the Bill or Rights, was wonderful. Shows what I know. ( I refer to her as ACB because the Dems hate it. I suppose that they consider it appropriation of the 3 letter shorthand that only RBG was entitled to. To honor ACB, I am considering changing my internet user name to ERG (not related to the unit of work) unless it is too much bother.)

19. I am Sparticus,

    I think it highly unlikely that Biden will be asked about the NYP story tonight. But if so, it will be framed in a short, easily dismissed manner.

    However, at his town hall tonight, Trump has a marvelous opportunity. He can get around the media blackout of Biden’s now exposed and proven corruption by bringing up the story himself and doing so repeatedly.

    It would also be advisable for Trump to direct people to the Rudy Giuliani Common Sense video, @ https://rudygiulianics.com/ where people can get a deeper look at the evidence.

20. ACB is an outstanding human being.

21. Hear Hear, LeClerc

22. ACB showed grace, poise, intelligence, courage. Outstanding indeed. Exceptional.

23. LeClerc, in the early going of her nomination, at some point that old tongue-in-cheek designation for her predecessor ‘Notorious RBG’ went through my head, bumped into Barrett’s initials and generated ‘Righteous ACB’ as a product. However, I don’t know enough about the state of Barrett’s soul to really commit to it, though she seems promising. 🙂

    Oldflyer, as for ‘ERG,’ if you don’t like the association with work, what about a desert? You could be the ‘Great ERG’!

24. Cornhead – depending on how you read commas, this could be four or even three.

    First Amendment
    Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

    But she did ask Sasse to help her fill in the “petition” clause, an odd lapse for someone who could reel off court decisions by the hour without notes.

    Of course, the Left transmogrified that into “protest” — which it is not, and certainly doesn’t include looting and riots.

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2020/10/14/amy-coney-barrett-forgets-right-to-protest-is-a-first-amendment-freedom/#1812298312ed

    Recently, some Republicans, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have called for new laws to crack down on protests that are viewed as “disorderly.” Critics have called those proposals unconstitutional, meaning there could be court challenges if antiprotesting laws are passed.

25. Hirono is a “former Buddhist”. I bet no one in leftist Hawaii ever questioned her pseudo-religious beliefs. She is a pig to ask the same sex question of everyone whose nomination is before her.

    I read Sasse considers himself a presidential candidate in 2024. He is a typical arrogant (former) college president (and they are all worms, except for Arrn of Hillsdale) who has said inexcusable things about Trump.

    I quote from Washington Examiner:
    “Sasse also explored Trump’s foreign policy and other issues.
    “The way he kisses dictators’ butts. I mean, the way he ignores that the Uighurs are in literal concentration camps in Xinjiang. Right now, he hasn’t lifted a finger on behalf of the Hong-Kongers,” he said. “The United States now regularly sells out our allies under his leadership, the way he treats women, spends like a drunken sailor. The ways I criticize President Obama for that kind of spending; I’ve criticized President Trump for as well. He mocks evangelicals behind closed doors. His family has treated the presidency like a business opportunity. He’s flirted with white supremacists.”

    Sasse lies, and he also has no solution to the China problem. Trump has done his best, no thanks to Sasse.

    It is not OK to throw rocks at a sitting president of your own party. Take a lesson from the collectivist Democrats, under whose tyranny we shall all soon suffer, Sasse. Under Harris/Biden, Iran shall rise again, and Israel shall be crushed by non-support.

26. I’ve always wondered — are there four rights in the First or five? Is it “the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the Government for a redress of grievances, or is it the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and the right of the people to petition the Government for a redress of grievances?

27. Both, apparently.
    https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-1/rights-of-assembly-and-petition

    Historically, therefore, the right of petition is the primary right, the right peaceably to assemble a subordinate and instrumental right, as if the First Amendment read: “the right of the people peaceably to assemble” in order to “petition the government.”1618 Today, however, the right of peaceable assembly is, in the language of the Court, “cognate to those of free speech and free press and is equally fundamental. . . . [It] is one that cannot be denied without violating those fundamental principles of liberty and justice which lie at the base of all civil and political institutions,—principles which the Fourteenth Amendment embodies in the general terms of its due process clause. . . . The holding of meetings for peaceable political action cannot be proscribed. Those who assist in the conduct of such meetings cannot be branded as criminals on that score. The question . . . is not as to the auspices under which the meeting is held but as to its purpose; not as to the relations of the speakers, but whether their utterances transcend the bounds of the freedom of speech which the Constitution protects.”1619 Furthermore, the right of petition has expanded. It is no longer confined to demands for “a redress of grievances,” in any accurate meaning of these words, but comprehends demands for an exercise by the government of its powers in furtherance of the interest and prosperity of the petitioners and of their views on politically contentious matters.1620 The right extends to the “approach of citizens or groups of them to administrative agencies (which are both creatures of the legislature, and arms of the executive) and to courts, the third branch of Government. Certainly the right to petition extends to all departments of the Government. The right of access to the courts is indeed but one aspect of the right of petition.”1621

    More discussions –
    https://constitutionallawreporter.com/amendment-01/assembly-petition/

    The right to assembly is often used interchangeably with the right to associate. Generally however, the right to assemble usually takes on a more public form as the right to gather in protest. The right to petition for redress of grievances allows people to access to their government in order to express demands for action without being retaliated against. Clearly very closely associated to other First Amendment Rights like the freedom of speech and the freedom to associate/assemble, the right to petition is unique in that it secures access for the speaker to each branch of government. The government is not obligated to respond, but is obligated to allow access and listen. Frequently together, these two rights work in tangent – assembling to petition the government for grievances.

    Both of those include lists of court cases.

    Wikipedia, not surprisingly, uses the mistaken label in its index of cases.
    5 Freedom of association
    6 Freedom to petition

    New case coming up (I couldn’t read the article behind their subscriber wall).
    https://www.law.com/nationallawjournal/2020/06/09/nationwide-protests-may-resound-in-supreme-court-first-amendment-case/?slreturn=20200916233633
    “The U.S. Supreme Court will soon consider a petition that pits police against a leader of the Black Lives Matter movement in a dispute over the First Amendment rights of assembly, petition and speech.”

    The key to the clause, of course, is “peaceably.”

    https://babylonbee.com/news/cnn-death-star-blows-up-alderaan-in-mostly-peaceful-demonstration

28. I didn’t watch the hearings, but–
    Call me sexist, but Hirono’s questions about sex outrage me, maybe even more than the Kavanaugh atrocities! And if Dems produce a stooge with 20-year old allegations…. :-[

    BTW, thanks to Neo and the commenters for this awesome site! <3

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