Why Did Pro-Court-Packing Radicals Want Judge Jackson Specifically?
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the Supreme Court:
“What can the Senate conclude about a Supreme Court nominee from the nature of their fan club?
“That’s a question the Democratic Leader answered very clearly a few years back.
“In 2005, Senator Schumer accused future Chief Justice John Roberts of being, ‘embraced by some of the most extreme ideologues in America.’ Our colleague continued: ‘That gives rise to a question many are asking: What do they know about you that we do not?’
“Of course, there was nothing extreme about then-Judge Roberts, nor about mainstream scholarly groups like the Federalist Society.
“But given Democrats’ principle that the Senate ought to examine nominees’ fan clubs, let’s take a look at the loudest cheerleaders for President Biden’s nominee, Judge Jackson.
“Before the 2020 election, one far-left dark-money group put Judge Jackson on their Supreme Court shortlist.
“Well, not at first. She was left off their first version. But shortly thereafter, the Judge published a fiery 118-page opinion in a politically-charged case that won attention and praise from liberal pundits.
“One cable TV host observed that Judge Jackson’s opinion was not standard legal writing, but was written with, ‘a broader audience in mind.’
“Not long after, Judge Jackson was added to the next version of the activists’ short list.
“Practically as soon as President Biden was sworn in, this group began spending big sums of money boosting Judge Jackson’s profile. They put her face on posters around the Senate. They paid for billboards pushing Justice Breyer to retire.
“This is a far, far-left group. They agitate for partisan court-packing. They drive around town trying to harass Justice Kavanaugh. They filed a frivolous ethics complaint against former D.C. Circuit Judge Tom Griffith. Last week, on television, one of their board members said our Constitution is ‘kind of trash.’
“This group’s entire purpose and fundraising model is waging war on the legitimacy of the judiciary itself. And for some reason, these people desperately wanted Judge Jackson in particular to end up on our highest Court.
“Why? Well, Senators will need to explore that.
“A representative from this radical outfit told the Washington Post that they like Judge Jackson for reasons that include ‘her work as a public defender [and] on the U.S. Sentencing Commission.’
“We are in the middle of a violent crime wave including soaring rates of homicides and carjackings. Even last summer, when the pandemic posed a bigger challenge, more Americans said violent crime was a very big problem than said COVID was.
“Amid all this, the soft-on-crime brigade is squarely in Judge Jackson’s corner. They wanted her above anyone else on the short list. And they specifically cite her experience defending criminals and her work on the Sentencing Commission as key qualifications.
“As Leader Schumer once asked, what do these folks know that Senators may not?
“I hope the vigorous Senate process ahead, including all the necessary documents and records from Judge Jackson’s time on the Sentencing Commission, may begin to shed more light.”
###
Related Issues: Supreme Court, Crime, Senate Democrats, Judicial Nominations
Next Previous
