The circus is coming to Washington. Feats of political daring and contrived theatrics will unfold under the Capitol dome instead of a big tent. It will be entertaining for the political class inside the Beltway. But for most Americans, the Senate confirmation of a Supreme Court justice is unwatchable absurdity.
Once upon a time, presidential appointments of Supreme Court justices was a civil process. From 1789 until 1965, every nomination by a sitting U.S. president was ratified by a voice vote. The last justice to receive this cordial treatment was President Lyndon Johnson's appointment of Abe Fortas 57 years ago.
Since the nomination of Clarence Thomas by George H.W. Bush in 1991, the Senate has turned what once was a dignified process into a farce. Justice Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh in 2018 were blindsided in the hearings by dubious sexual allegations. Justice Kavanaugh was nominated by President Trump.
Amy Coney Barrett, another Trump appointee, was hectored by Democrat Senator Diane Feinstein over her Catholic faith. Senate Democrats successfully filibustered the Trump nomination of Neil Gorsuch, hoping to sink the Supreme Court candidate. What happened next, flabbergasted Democrats.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell invoked the so-called nuclear option to pave the way for approval of the nominee on a simple majority vote. McConnell reminded critics it was former Democrat Senate Leader Harry Reid who broke tradition and pushed the nuclear button in 2013.
Those nominations cited above were approved by razor-thin margins along party lines. Compare their treatment to recent nominees by Presidents Obama and Clinton. Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Clinton nominees, were approved by bipartisan votes of 87-9 and 96-3, respectively.
Obama nominees Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor breezed through confirmation on 63-37 and 68-31 bipartisan majorities. Can you detect a pattern? Democrats employ the politics of character assassination to scuttle GOP nominees, while Republicans concede a president's right to appoint a qualified person.
Now the nation is being treated to a new phenomenon. President Biden pledged during the campaign to name an African-American female to the highest court. There were no other qualifications mentioned. He has since justified his injection of race, saying the high court "should look like America."
That is a sudden about face for Mr. Biden. Then Senator Joe Biden voted against Clarence Thomas, who was nominated to succeed the lone African-American on the court, Justice Thurgood Marshall. If Thomas had not been confirmed over Biden's objections, the Supreme Court justices would have been all white.
When President George W. Bush nominated African-American Janice Rogers Brown to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, Senator Biden opposed the choice. After Justice Brown won confirmation, her name was later listed as a possible replacement for retiring justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
Senator Biden signaled he would filibuster the nomination before President Bush even announced his final pick. This was Senator Biden's opportunity to make Supreme Court "look like America." How can anyone take him seriously now? His nominee is political payback and nothing more.
Mr. Biden's commitment to racial preference stems from the primary campaign when his flagging fortunes depended on a win in South Carolina. Influential South Carolina Democrat Jim Clyburn pledged to deliver a primary victory, in exchange for a black female court appointee.
That's why Mr. Biden announced he would replace Justice Stephen Breyer with an African-American female. There was nothing altruistic about his choice. This was a political calculus by the president to pay the debt he owed to Rep. Clyburn.
Mr. Biden's clumsy announcement, narrowing his field of candidates to black women, has not played well with voters. An ABC News/Ipsos poll this month found 76% of Americans believe the president should consider all possible nominees, rather than limiting the field to a single race.
If you're wondering whom Mr. Biden will select for the judicial vacancy, put away your Ouija board. Rep. Clyburn has already endorsed South Carolina Federal District Judge J. Michelle Childs. South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham has seconded the Clyburn choice. Case closed.
The hearings may seem like a formality with Democrats holding the majority, however, this will be a matinee worthy of Ringling Brothers. The media has already shown its hand, casting Republican opposition as racist. Any serious questioning of the nominee will be interpreted as white patriarchy.
There have been 115 justices who have served on the Supreme Court since it was created in 1789--two black men and five women. An African-American female on the court would indeed be historic. However, imposing racial, gender or ethnic quotas denigrates the dignity of the nation's highest court.
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