MAGA Unhinged

I like Amy Coney Barrett

The holier than thou yahoos on the right are no better than the ones on the left except those on the left are supported by their minions in the media. Currently the ones on the right have their sharp knives out for Amy Coney Barrett who had the temerity to join the court’s liberals – along with John Roberts – in ruling that Trump could not freeze the USAID funds that were to pay organizations for work that they already had done for the government. Why they lashed out only at Barrett and not Roberts is something of a mystery. Sexist maybe?

I guess they forgot Barrett’s stellar performance at her senate confirmation hearing where she demonstrated a complete mastery of the law with almost an eidetic memory of prior rulings. Some idiot said that Barrett was “a warning against the dangers of Republican DEI.” Whatever that means. Another loud mouth proclaimed that Barrett was the “biggest disappointment on the court” and said that Trump should defy the court’s decision. That critic is a fool and wants to precipitate a constitutional crisis, a la Biden. Another critic said that Barrett was a DEI pick only chosen because she was a woman and a woman was needed to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg. So I presume the same critics would say that Clarence Thomas was a DEI hire since he took Thurgood Marshall’s seat on the court. One critic – who I designate as a fool – said that Barrett was a “rattled law professor with her head up her ass.” 

Goodness gracious! What blind partisan idiots. What no criticism of Roberts whose vote gave us Obamacare? What a joke. All of the justices, save Alito and Thomas have been subject to tantrums from the right because they do not rule 100 percent on things some on the far far right would like. Gorsuch has often sided with the liberals, especially on Native American issues. Kavanaugh has been called “wobbly”. Roberts, of course, is called a traitor. What about rulings that were unanimous? Are all the conservative justices then wobbly?

The criticisms from the lunatic fringe on the right are embarrassing. Barrett has a terrific mind and is her own person. Her interpretation of the Constitution is as solid as Thomas’ or Alito’s. Her intellect is on par or above any member of the court. She is certainly not out of her league like Sotomayor. She has certainly not let her personal views trump her opinions like Kagan. I admire her (and Gorsuch and Kavanaugh) who unlike most of us does not let the brutal vitriol from the democrats in her senate hearing bias her rulings. Many if not most of us would never rule on any matter that would favor the democrats if we went through the hell of a confirmation hearing. Yet Trump’s appointees have risen above that and have ruled in a manner consistent with their interpretation of the constitution, The vast majority of Barrett’s votes have been with the other conservatives on issues important to the right such as abortion, and affirmative action admissions. She has voted with Thomas and Alito 80 percent of the time.

One legal scholar has called Barrett among “the most distinguished conservative jurists of the past 100 years.” He also said that “She’s been in the vanguard of conservative jurisprudence on abortion, racial preferences, the administrative state, religious freedom, Trump immunity, guns and the Second Amendment.” Obviously, her critics have forgotten about those opinions. They have also forgotten that she also voted to grant Trump sweeping immunity from criminal prosecution for official actions.

Two separate constitutional scholars have said the same about her. “Barrett clearly has some procedural preferences — she’s more hawkish on standing than many, she’s skeptical of the virtues of the emergency docket, and she dislikes reaching the merits of a big case when the details aren’t entirely clear — and she follows those preferences rigorously.”  They find her rulings consistent with her principles and may end with some votes that favor Trump and some that don’t. For this she should be lauded rather than cursed. She is indeed a terrific justice.

BTW although I am not a lawyer I think Trump’s tariffs are illegal. They are a clear misuse of the Emergency Economic Powers Act. I am wondering when will Trump be sued over it. . What will be the vote on the Court? I will bet that Trump will lose and it should be unanimous. If so, what will the MAGA zealots scream then?