Recent positive COVID-19 test results involving several Republican senators have prompted many Democrats to call for a delay of Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s upcoming Supreme Court confirmation hearing. Several Democrats say it is unsafe to go forward with the hearing at this time.
Americans should not fall for this ruse. It is another desperate attempt to use the virus to prevent Senate Republicans from exercising their constitutional right to confirm Barrett to the nation’s highest court.
According to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the Senate must postpone the hearing. Breitbart quoted Schumer as saying, “It is irresponsible and dangerous to move forward with a hearing, and there is absolutely no good reason to do so.” According to Newsweek, in a recent joint statement, Schumer and Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., stated:
It is premature for Chairman Graham to commit to a hearing schedule when we do not know the full extent of potential exposure stemming from the president’s infection and before the White House puts in place a contact tracing plan to prevent further spread of the disease.
It’s critical that Chairman Graham put the health of senators, the nominee, and staff first—and ensure a full and fair hearing that is not rushed, not truncated, and not virtual. Otherwise, this already illegitimate process will become a dangerous one.
Americans should remember this is not the first rodeo with a Trump-appointed Supreme Court nominee. Democrats put Justice Brett Kavanaugh through despicable and vile tactics in hopes of defeating his confirmation. Therefore, there is clear precedent reflecting the left’s willingness to use dirty tactics at all costs against Trump’s nominations for the Supreme Court.
Democrats never approached Barrett’s nomination with an objective lens. Truly, it’s not as if they were willing to entertain her nomination until the recent COVID-19 infections of several Republican senators. On the contrary, Democrats voiced their opposition to Barrett’s nomination immediately after the recent and unfortunate passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
As the AP reports, presidential candidate Joe Biden, speaking about Ginsburg’s replacement, stated, “There is no doubt — let me be clear — that the voters should pick the president and the president should pick the justice for the Senate to consider.”
Schumer tweeted, “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., also attacked the decision to immediately fill Ginsburg’s seat.
Democrats’ efforts to delay the hearing have nothing to do with the coronavirus and have everything to do with their unquenchable thirst for power and stopping Barrett’s eventual confirmation. They referred to the process as “illegitimate” from the date she was nominated and well before the recent infections involving several Republican senators.
Democrats are hell-bent on stopping Barrett’s confirmation at all costs. At one point, Pelosi stated that Democrats had many “arrows in their quiver” and even raised the possibility of impeaching the president to delay the process, if necessary.
Given their repeated objections and threats relating to Barrett’s nomination and eventual confirmation, Democrats’ recent efforts to delay the hearing due to alleged “health concerns” are simply not believable.
There is no need to delay the hearing and subsequent vote, as there are safety protocols that can be implemented to protect the participants. For example, committee members could appear remotely, if they chose.
As reported in Reason, the Senate Judiciary Committee has allowed members to participate (not vote) remotely since the late spring, but it does not appear that the Senate has done so yet, something that itself would most likely require a vote to change the standing rules of the Senate. As such, committee members would need to appear in person to achieve a quorum and vote. This, too, could be organized in a manner that protects the participants.
Democrats are hoping the absence of several GOP senators on the committee could prevent Republicans from achieving a quorum and, subsequently, voting on Barrett.
Democrats have been vocal about their plan to delay Barrett’s confirmation. As Politico reports, Democrats intend to use various forms of retaliation to stymie Barrett’s confirmation. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., recently stated, “Process is everything. So if you’re going to use the process to try to steal an election, then we’re going to use the process to try to do everything for that not to happen.”
Some of the items Democrats are threatening are discussed here. Of course, President Trump was clearly within his constitutional right to nominate Barrett and the Senate is clearly within its constitutional right to provide advice and consent. Therefore, despite Democrats’ usual “sound bites,” there is nothing “illegitimate” about the process or Barrett’s nomination.
There is no doubt that the recent calls to delay Barrett’s hearing are partisan. There is also no reason to delay the upcoming hearing. There are methods in place to protect committee members and all participants.
Despite the shutdowns, House Democrats didn’t call to delay a vote in May. Rather, they took the unprecedented step of permitting remote or proxy voting despite strong Republican opposition. It is somewhat ironic that they are now calling to delay Barrett’s hearing, which does not align with their “plans” for the nation.
Senate Republicans must move forward with Barrett’s hearing and confirmation. Democrats would like nothing more than to delay the process until after the November elections in hopes that they win the White House and take control of Congress.
If this happens, Barrett’s nomination will be a distant memory and Democrats will be well on their way to re-packing the Supreme Court with far-left activist justices. It will also be much more difficult for Republicans to successfully challenge any election-related issues that may end up in front of the nation’s highest court in the coming months.
