Trump made no mistake that a nomination of Barrett, which would bring the conservative majority in the Court to six to three, is an insurance policy for him in the Nov. 3 election. ‘We don’t have to make (the appointment) for that, but I think we’ll do it for that. I think it will send a great message to a lot of people. ”
Mitch McConnell, Republican majority leader in the Senate, immediately praised Barrett’s nomination on Saturday (“President Trump couldn’t have made a better decision”) and promised his party will speed up the nomination. This is in contrast to 2016, when Republicans backfired when President Barack Obama also nominated a Supreme Court candidate in an election year.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden yesterday called on the Senate to keep the vacancy open until after the elections. The US Constitution was designed to give voters one chance to have a say on who is serving in the Court. That moment is now, and their voice must be heard. ‘
Democrats are outraged by what they see as Republican hypocrisy. If Barrett’s nomination goes through, it would be the first time since 1956 that a vacancy in the Supreme Court has been filled so shortly before the election. Former presidential candidate and Senator Bernie Sanders called the Republicans’ attempts to push through the nomination an “absolute scandal.”
Obamacare
Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, Democrats group leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives, warned that a vote to name Barrett would be a vote to repeal Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act, Obama’s 2010 health insurance law), a decision that will hit millions of poor Americans. According to Schumer, Trump is endangering healthcare as the coronavirus spreads.
The Supreme Court, in part with Barrett’s nomination, can reverse the Affordable Care Act in a case due Nov. 10. Barrett could have been appointed in time for that ruling. Biden pointed out on Saturday that she had sharply criticized an earlier pro-Obamacare court ruling in 2012.
Vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris stated that as a member of the Senate legal committee that will be questioning Barrett, she will oppose her nomination. “It would be a travesty to have (progressive Chief Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who passed away last week) succeeded by a judge elected to reverse her estate and wipe out everything she has done for our country.”
Two Democratic senators who backed Barrett’s nomination to federal judge in 2017 also now say the nomination would be too close to the election. “I cannot support a lawsuit that threatens to divide the American people even more at a time when we are desperately trying to get together,” said one of them, Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
Ginsburg
The Democrats were careful not to criticize Barrett, a devout Catholic who respectfully referred to her late predecessor Ginsburg in her acceptance speech on Saturday. However, Schumer noted that Ginsburg turns in her grave “now that she must see how the candidate they have chosen seems to be going to question everything she has achieved.”
Conservative Christian and anti-abortion groups are thrilled to Barrett’s nomination. “We are confident that the pro-life majority in the Senate will act swiftly to nominate (Barrett) before the election,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser of Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion group campaigning for Barrett’s nomination. has started for which 25 million dollars is being raised.
According to progressive women’s groups, Barrett’s appointment will jeopardize abortion rights. The Supreme Court has a critical role in protecting civil rights and freedoms, including reproductive rights, for everyone in the US. We must not overthrow an appointment that will affect people’s lives for generations, said Nancy Northup of the Center for Reproductive Rights.
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