Senate Republicans Slammed For “Absurd” Attacks On Judge Jackson: “The Reasons They Have Concocted Are Not Credible,” “Not Only Sad But Also Shameful”

Washington Post Editorial Board: “They are grasping for pretexts, each more preposterous than the last, to oppose this historic nominee”

Ahead of today’s Judiciary Committee vote to advance the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Senate Republicans are getting slammed for “grasping for pretexts, each more preposterous than the last, to oppose this historic nominee” after they “oozed venom” and “verged on the unhinged” throughout the confirmation process, and are getting called out for stating that a GOP Senate would not even grant her a hearing. 

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson Nora Keefe: “If Senate Republicans had their way, the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court would not even have received a hearing. Republicans’ shameful and relentless attacks on a nominee as qualified as Judge Jackson reinforce the stakes of this year’s election and will remind voters why we must defend and expand our Democratic Senate majority with the power to confirm Supreme Court justices.”

See for yourself:

Washington Post (Editorial Board): Republican excuses for rejecting Ketanji Brown Jackson are absurd
By The Washington Post Editorial Board
April 4, 2022

• Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, seems to be getting rave reviews from Republicans. Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) said that she is “a person of exceptionally good character, respected by her peers and someone who has worked hard to achieve her current position.” Sen. Ben Sasse (Neb.) declared that she “has impeccable credentials and a deep knowledge of the law.”

• Yet Mr. Graham, Mr. Sasse and other Judiciary Committee Republicans are vowing to oppose advancing her nomination when the panel meets on Monday.

• The reasons they have concocted are not credible.

• By heaping praise on Judge Jackson while opposing her nomination, Republicans seek to obscure the unattractive image of their almost entirely White caucus rejecting the first Black woman ever nominated to the high court.

• Kind words cannot disguise the fact that they are grasping for pretexts, each more preposterous than the last, to oppose this historic nominee.

• Their actions will speak louder now — and in the history books.

New York Times: How Low Will Senate Republicans Go on Ketanji Brown Jackson?
By Linda Greenhouse
April 1, 2022

• When Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination reaches the Senate floor soon, every Republican who votes against her confirmation will be complicit in the abuse that the Republican members of the Judiciary Committee heaped on her.

• Every mischaracterization of Judge Jackson’s record on the bench. Every racist dog whistle about crime. Every QAnon shout-out about rampant child pornography. Every innuendo that a lawyer who represents suspected terrorists supports terrorism.

• The Republican senators who don’t disavow their colleagues’ behavior during last week’s confirmation hearing will own it. All of it.

• It was not only sad but also shameful that the Judiciary Committee’s Republicans couldn’t rise to the occasion.

• The alternating question periods between Democratic and Republican senators induced a kind of whiplash. While the Democrats celebrated Judge Jackson’s accomplishments and the symbolism of her nomination, the Republicans oozed venom… verged on the unhinged.

• The Republicans’ role in the Jackson hearing was not remotely about Ketanji Brown Jackson. It was about concocting a scary version of a Black woman to serve up to their base.

• Here’s a judgment I can make with confidence: If and when Senators Cruz, Graham and the rest of them seek redemption for their behavior last week, they won’t find it.

The Hill: Graham says if GOP were in charge, Jackson wouldn’t have been nominee
By Jordain Carney
April 4, 2022

• Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) indicated on Monday that Senate Republicans wouldn’t have accepted Ketanji Brown Jackson as a Supreme Court pick if they controlled the Senate and sent a warning shot about how Republicans will treat any Supreme Court nominees in 2023 or 2024.

• Graham… indicated that Republicans could take a hard line on moving Biden’s judicial nominees if they take back the Senate in November.

• Democrats immediately seized on Graham’s comments, arguing that they underscored why Democrats need to keep control of the majority in the Senate November election.

• “If Senate Republicans had their way, the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court would not even have received a hearing,” said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) spokesperson Nora Keefe.

• “Republicans’ shameful and relentless attacks on a nominee as qualified as Judge Jackson reinforce the stakes of this year’s election and will remind voters why we must defend and expand our Democratic Senate majority with the power to confirm Supreme Court justices,” she added.

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