First, the bad news: Trump and his Republican enablers probably have enough Senate votes to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg with a right-wing extremist who will imperil Obamacare and abortion rights.
But here’s the likely good news: By ramming this court nomination down Americans’ throats on election eve, the manifestly corrupt, broadly unpopular impeached “president” has dug himself an even deeper hole – further imperiling his own political future.
Let us count the ways:
1. Barrett’s horrific remarks, during her confirmation hearing, reveal that she’s willing to abet Trump’s worst abuses of power.
Yesterday, when she was reminded that Trump has talked about delaying the election, and was asked whether a president has the authority to do such a thing, she replied, “I would need to hear arguments.” Um, hello? Article II Section I of the Constitution (the document she’s promised to read literally) states quite literally that only Congress “may determine the Time of choosing the eectors, and the Day on which they shall give their votes.” And the 20th Amendment of that same document says quite literally that, come hell or high water, “The terms of the President and the Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January.”
Yesterday, when she was asked whether it was legal to intimidate voters at the polls (a tactic that Trump has openly threatened), she refused to answer what she called “a hypothetical set of facts.” But it’s not a hypothetical. The federal criminal code (Title 18, Chapter 29, Section 594) says it’s illegal to intimidate, threaten, or coerce someone who’s trying to vote.
And when she was asked whether all presidents should commit themselves to a peaceful transfer of power, she replied: “I don’t want to express a view.”
Joe Biden has sustained a solid polling lead over Trump in part because Americans outside the cult abhor his tinpot authoritarian instincts. Barrett has signaled that she’s open to doing his bidding.
2. Just a quick reminder that Trump introduced Barrett at a superspreader event that has infected an ever-increasing number of maskless attendees.
The newest sickened victim is Trish Scalia, the wife of Trump’s Labor secretary, who sat in the Rose Garden directly behind Melania (tested positive) and next to Kellyanne Conway (tested positive). The Barrett event continues to be a fresh reminder of Trump’s failures on the pandemic front.
Suburban moms, trying to juggle their jobs with the needs of their kids stuck at home, are particularly infuriated with Trump’s Covid failures. Which is why he sounded so pathetic last night during his Pennsylvania superspreader rally: “Can I ask you to do me a favor? Suburban women, will you please like me?”
3. Speaking of his failures to protect the health and livelihoods of the citizens he’d sworn to protect, the decision to rush Barrett onto the high court is likely to remind voters of his disastrously misplaced priorities.
In a more rational world, Trump and his Senate Republicans would be hyper-focused on minimizing the pandemic’s damage – by crafting and passing a second massive stimulus bill, in partnership with the Democratic House. But no. They prefer to focus on Barrett. Which is the opposite of what Americans – desperate for economic relief – think is most important.
According to a new national poll, 66 percent of registered voters want lawmakers to pass a new pandemic relief package before they vote on Barrett’s nomination. That ain’t happening. The will of the people takes second place to Trump’s abiding desire to install a new justice who will imperil health care coverage…in the midst of a pandemic.
4. And speaking of health care coverage, Barrett is a clear and present danger – at a time when Obamacare is popular in battleground states, a time when people imperiled by Covid need it most.
Yesterday, she predictably insisted that she’s not “hostile” to Obamacare, and that “I’ve had no conversations with anyone in the White House about that.” But the White House already knows her views; Trump would not have nominated her otherwise. In a 2017 law review article, she assailed Chief Justice John Roberts for providing the swing vote upholding Obamacare in an historic ruling four years earlier. And as Trump’s party platform promises, “A Republican president will appoint judges…who will reverse the long line of activist decisions – including…the Obamacare cases.”
Trump targeted Obamacare two years ago, but clearly he didn’t learn his lesson in the 2018 midterms. A galvanized Democratic turnout (70 percent higher than the 2014 midterms) prioritized health care, turned the House blue, and won the nationwide popular vote by eight percent – the largest midterm margin in history. Now it appears that Trump needs another lesson.
It’s the same deal with abortion rights. According to a 2019 NPR/PBS/Marist poll, 77 percent of Americans want Roe v. Wade to remain in place (albeit with some restrictions); only 13 percent want it entirely overturned. Barrett has advocated for the latter, signing onto an anti-Roe advertisement, but yesterday she opted for double-talk: “While I was free to express my private views at that time, I don’t feel it is appropriate for me anymore, because of the canons of conduct, to express an affirmative view, at this point in time.” That fools nobody.
Al of which brings us back to Trump. By prioritizing the Barrett’s ascent in the midst of a dire national crisis, you have to wonder whether the guy has a political death wish, or whether he’s just dumber than a box of rocks. Decide for yourself.