Okay, so bloviation is a cumbersome word not commonly used and I could have said something less "Maureen Dowd-y" like, "Why anyone would sit still to hear a bunch of doofus windbags strut their stuff." But bloviate is the perfect word. It means: "To talk at length, especially in an inflated and empty way." Bingo!
If you tuned in expecting to hear the nominee answering a battery of questions about her knowledge and philosophy of law, you were quickly disappointed.
What happened was this: Each member of the Judiciary Committee had 30 minutes to "question" the nominee. Most of the Republicans chose to stroll down memory lane and talk about themselves, always ending with ebullient praise for Barrett, her sterling career and wonderful family-- she has two black children! -- and how eager they were to see her seated on the Supreme Court. (One or two of them hinted that she may actually walk on water.) Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham called Barrett "one of the most amazing people I have ever met in my entire life."
The Democrats approached their 30 minutes somewhat differently, beginning with how the proceedings were a total sham, that people are dying of Covid right now, there's a pandemic right now, people are sick!, we are in the middle of an election, and oh yeah, we are in the middle of a pandemic. Americans need relief from the pandemic, and Trump is trying to cram this sham nominee onto the court in order to rob everyone of their health care and take away coverage for pre-existing conditions! Look, here's a poster size-photo of my next-door neighbor who has a tumor, and another one who has diabetes and lost a leg and needs constant care, and nobody I know can afford their meds and besides, you are a obviously a racist and you made a deal with Trump to vote down Obamacare and your record proves it and anyway, that fitted, magenta dress (see photo) you wore on Monday was inappropriate because every working woman in Washington, D.C. wears a suit and tries to look as much like a man as possible, so lose the high heels and get with the program, bitch.
So again I ask, why would Amy Coney Barrett, a lovely, mild-mannered, religious 48-year-old mother of seven with a myriad of choices open to her as a law professor and lawyer, tolerate the bullshit raining down on her in order to spend the rest of her life in a black robe listening to bleak, never-ending stories of hurts, crimes and injustices from hundreds of litigants, day after dreary day?
You got me.
Your take on the democrat questioning was amazingly accurate! As for why she would do it: 1) she actually cares about us having a good judicial process and thinks it is important and that she can do it quite well and is prepared and 2) she is a saint ... really all of them of all stripes on the scotus are
ReplyDeleteYeah! What he said!
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