Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), ranking GOP member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined the ranks of “no” votes to confirm Biden Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Grassley is just the latest Republican to announce he would not support Jackson, stating:
“Having carefully studied her record, unfortunately I think she and I have fundamentally different views on the role of judges and the role that they should play in our system of government because of those disagreements I can’t support her nomination.”
Sen. Grassley: "Having carefully studied Judge Jackson's record, unfortunately, I think she and I have fundamentally different views on the role of judges and the role they should play in our system of government. Because of those disagreements, I can't support her nomination." pic.twitter.com/F1QLATvy09
— The Hill (@thehill) April 4, 2022
RELATED: Defense Department To Spend $3.8 Million On Bird Care
Circling The Wagons
Media and Democrats have done their best to shield Judge Jackson from what they believe to be tough questions by Republicans. On a recent appearance of MSNBC’s “Deadline,” Al Sharpton did what he does best, played the race card.
In this case, it was to imply that questions by GOP Senators were somehow racially motivated:
“So when you look at the Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee that are still raising the same kind of bogus questions, it says that, yes, we have come a long way, but we’ve got a long way to go.”
While shockingly, Sharpton did not give examples of any inappropriate questions asked by Republicans, he couldn’t help but subtly suggest that GOP Senators asking Judge Jackson about her judicial record was racist in nature.
“If you don’t believe it, just look at the hearings, not 100 years ago, but just last week,” Sharpton said. “When you ask a black woman who has that has passed everything you could imagine to show she’s qualified, whether or not she practices religion, is she religious on a scale of one to ten, then ask her about her about coloring book of a young white child and do you think he’s a racist and accuse her of dealing with Critical Race Theory, we still have a lot of work to do.”
Media pundits also did not think twice about putting forth the absurd notion that asking Judge Jackson about her record and judicial philosophy was somehow endangering her life.
Far left journalist for The Nation, Elie Mystal accused Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) of trying to get Jackson “killed.”
“What Josh Hawley is doing, let’s let’s be very clear, what Josh Hawley is doing when he tries to do this, is he’s trying to get her killed. He is trying to get violence done against a Supreme Court nominee.”
CNN correspondent John Harwood backed Mystal’s comment with this:
on ambitious GOP senators "playing to the base" w/KBJ:
-conservative Nat'l Review calls their attacks "meritless"
-they know a disturbed man fantasizing about Dems and child sex trafficking fired an assault rifle in DC pizzeria in 2016
political fun-and-games can get dangerous
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) March 24, 2022
RELATED: Support Rolls In For Sarah Palin After Trump Endorses Her For Congress
Scrutinizing Jackson’s Record
Republican Senators grilled Judge Jackson about her sentencing records and judicial philosophy. Her record indicates that her sentencing of drug dealers and those convicted of sex crimes, especially child pornography crimes, have been less-than-stringent.
Jackson appears to go lightly on those who assault law enforcement officers as well. In 2015, after a defendant was convicted three times of assaulting a police officer, prosecutors recommended a 30 month sentence. The defendant’s attorney asked for 21 months. Judge Jackson gave him 18 months.
But what has been most publicly scrutinized is Judge Jackson’s apparent soft spot for pedophiles and those convicted of sex crimes against children. In many cases, she has not only failed to meet minimum sentencing guidelines, but has also dismissed suggestions of prosecutors and probation departments, giving out much lighter sentences than are suggested.
There are other problematic issues with Judge Jackson. During the confirmation hearings, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) asked the Judge if she could define the term “woman.” Judge Jackson said she could not because she is not a biologist.
Ironic in the extreme, given that President Biden vowed to only consider black women for the role.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), during an appearance on Newsmax asked a valid question concerning Judge Jackson’s difficulty in defining what a woman is. “If you can’t answer the question what is a woman or the definition of a woman, how is she going to adjudicate Title IX cases?”
Judge Jackson also said that, “I do not hold a position on whether individuals possess natural rights.”
.@RandPaul on Ketanji Brown Jackson: "If you can't answer the question what is a women or the definition of a woman, how is she going to adjudicate Title IX cases?" @seanspicer @LyndsayMKeith
MORE: https://t.co/wB73lxgdaQ pic.twitter.com/L5gdnUrm0B
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) March 23, 2022
Vote Expected This Week
The vote on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination is expected by the end of the week. The one Republican defection so far seems to be Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).
Collins said that while she and Jackson were in disagreement on some of the issues that came up during the confirmation hearing, Collins said that Jackson “possesses the experience, qualifications, and integrity to serve as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court” and extolled her “sterling academic and professional credentials.”
Never forget what Biden did during Justice Thomas's confirmation hearings. https://t.co/yK9hpTSHgd
— 🇺🇸 I'm Awake Now 🇺🇸 (@TjWoot) March 28, 2022