"A Truly Horrifying Pick": Fury Over Trump Nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to SCOTUS by Andrea Germanos!
(2020-09-27 at 19:32:29 )

"A Truly Horrifying Pick": Fury Over Trump Nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to SCOTUS by Andrea Germanos!

"The American people see this rushed process for what it is. An attempt to cement a right-wing supermajority on the highest court in order to dismantle the Affordable Care Act in the middle of a pandemic and overturn Roe v. Wade."

A small group of demonstrators protest outside the United States Supreme Court on the early morning of September 21, 2020 in Washington, D.C., as the group marched from the home of Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) to the court

President Donald Trumps nomination Saturday of Seventh Circuit Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the United States Supreme Court sparked a chorus of outrage from Democrats and progressive groups who warned her confirmation could shift the court to one that would dismantle the Affordable Care Act and "work to preserve the Donald Trump agenda for decades to come."

38 days until the election, United States of Americans are already casting their ballots, and Republicans are making a blatant power grab.

Plain & simple.

Judge Barrett specifically is a threat to Americans healthcare, reproductive justice, & LGBTQ rights-to say the least.-Rep. Mark Pocan September 26, 2020

"To maintain security, liberty and prosperity, we must preserve our priceless heritage of a nation of laws," Donald Trump said during the Rose Garden announcement. "And there is no one better to do that than Amy Coney Barrett."

In her remarks at the ceremony, 48-year-old Barrett praised her former mentor, the late right-wing Justice Antonin Scalia, saying that "his judicial philosophy is mine too."

Republicans, who refused to hold hearings for President Barack Obamas SCOTUS election year nominee Merrick Garland, have already set up a lightning fast timeline for a confirmation vote to replace the seat held by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, reportedly as soon as Oct. 29. That is despite new polling showing a majority of United States of Americans want the seat filled after Election Day.

" Donald Trumps nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett means yet another ultra-conservative jurist could be confirmed to a lifetime term on the court-and that is unacceptable."
-Sean Eldridge, Stand Up America Trump critics say the swift timeline and Ms Barretts voting record mean issues including access to healthcare and ballots and reproductive and LGBTQ rights-as well as the outcome of the presidential election-are under immediate threat.

In an op-ed published Friday at the Washington Post, David Cole, national legal director of the ACLU and a professor at Georgetown University Law Center, wrote that if Ms Barrett is confirmed, "the resulting shift [to the Supreme Court] will be tectonic."

The change would "fundamentally alter the courts ideological balance, giving it six conservatives and three liberals," wrote Cole, who pointed to major rulings in the past decade that were decided in narrow 5-4 rulings, including the United States v. Windsor marriage equality case.

The top court is already scheduled to begin hearing arguments in a case challenging the legality of Obamacare November 10.

" Donald Trumps nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett means yet another ultra-conservative jurist could be confirmed to a lifetime term on the court-and that is unacceptable," Stand Up America founder and president Sean Eldridge said in a statement Saturday.

"The American people see this rushed process for what it is," said Mr. Eldridge. "An attempt to cement a right-wing supermajority on the highest court in order to dismantle the Affordable Care Act in the middle of a pandemic and overturn Roe v. Wade."

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who made Medicare for All a pillar of his presidential bids, also warned that millions more United States of Americans could join the ranks of the uninsured if Barrett is confirmed.

What the Senate should approve:

-$600-week for 30 million unemployed workers
-$2,000 a month for working class Americans
-An emergency expansion of Medicare to all

What the Senate should not approve:

A Supreme Court nominee before Inauguration Day.-Bernie Sanders September 27, 2020

"President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans have badly mismanaged a deadly pandemic for months. Now, in the midst of an unprecedented public health crisis, they are willing to ram through a Supreme Court nominee-within days-who will vote to destroy the Affordable Care Act, kick millions of Americans off their healthcare, and eliminate protections for millions more who have preexisting conditions," said Mr. Sanders.

"This is an absolute outrage," he said.

According to advocacy group Indivisible, " Ms Barrett is a conservatives dream to fill RBGs seat." In a Twitter thread following her formal nomination, the group highlighted parts of Ms Barretts voting record to show why she is "a truly horrifying pick":

She has heavily criticized Roe v. Wade -- calling the landmark ruling "a framework of abortion on demand" -- and made clear that she will ignore precedent and overturn laws as she sees fit. She has attacked efforts to ensure access to contraception as an assault on religious liberty.
-Indivisible Guide September 26, 2020

She was paid by an anti-LGBTQ hate group to deliver a lecture.
She has also made a number of alarming rulings siding with employers and corporations instead of workers. Her first opinion issued as a judge on the Seventh Circuit helped a company racially segregate their workforce.
-Indivisible Guide September 26, 2020

Ms Barrett has asserted other baffling opinions, including opposition to basic criminal justice reforms.

She has demonstrated her extremism consistently throughout her career and would uphold Donald Trumps agenda for decades to come if confirmed.

We must stop that from happening.-Indivisible Guide September 26, 2020

Writing at Intelligencer, Sarah Jones likened Ms Barrett to Equal Rights Amendment foe Phyllis Schlafly to emphasize the Donald Trump nominees far-reaching threats. Jones wrote Saturday:

For all the power the right wing is about to hand her, though, Ms Barrett has indeed chosen a self-limiting ideology, and not just because of her views on Roe. Conservative women are not interested solely in abolishing abortion, or in limiting the scope of modern gender equality laws.

Ms Schlafly was an anti-communist who belonged to the John Birch Society before she ever campaigned against the ERA. Her anti-feminism comprised one strand of a comprehensively dangerous ideology. The women who serve the Donald Trump administration are not much different, and neither is Ms Barrett.

A Supreme Court justice with right-wing perspectives on labor, the environment, immigration, and criminal justice can harm women from all backgrounds in all aspects of their lives. That is the intention, and not the accidental byproduct, of constitutional originalism. As embraced by jurists like Ms Barrett and her old boss, Antonin Scalia, originalism is its own dogma; the extension of a political theology committed to an older and more exclusionary version of the United States of America.

Ms Barrett understands all that. She is exactly as intelligent as her advocates say, and she has made all her choices with a sound mind. Her reward is power. If she is confirmed by the Senate, she will be able to finish what Ms Schlafly once started. She could help lock in Donald Trump for another four years. She will be able to deal democracy and yes, the feminist movement the blows the Christian right has dreamed of landing for years.

In light of what is at stake, Ms Barretts critics are calling on senators, Democrats and Republicans alike, to refuse to vote on a replacement for RBGs seat until after the election.

" Ms Barrett is a conservatives dream to fill RBGs seat."-Indivisible Among that chorus are Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, co-chairs of the Democratic Attorneys General Association.

"The nomination of arch-conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett should alarm anyone who cares about the future of this country," said Healey and Rosenblum, warning that "healthcare, marriage equality, the right to abortion, worker protections, access to the ballot box, and so much more" is on the line.

"To every member of the Senate: find your backbone, buck Mr. McConnell, and let the people vote first," they said.

People For the American Way president Ben Jealous directed his attention to Republican senators, asking in a statement: "Will they follow Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell over the cliff in ramming this disastrous nomination through? Or will they stand up for their constituents who want their healthcare protected and expanded during this pandemic, and the millions of Americans who could lose coverage for preexisting conditions?"

"It comes down to this," said Mr. Jealous. "Senators who ignore the will of the people so they can put another nail in the coffin of healthcare are putting another nail in the coffins of their own constituents. Come November, voters will remember this betrayal."

Reprinted here from "Common Dreams" has been providing breaking news & views for the progressive community since 1997. We are independent, non-profit, advertising-free and 100% reader supported.