Amy Coney Barrett is a dangerous appointment
This is no ordinary confirmation hearing; behind the approachable exterior there is a hard right ideologue championed by the most regressive elements of the religious right.
In the non stop turmoil that is US politics right now it’s getting increasingly difficult to find a second to stop, think, and take in what’s happening. Don’t let that be the case with the ongoing senate confirmation hearings of Amy Coney Barrett.
On the surface things have broadly gone as anticipated; the Democrats have been typically useless, merely complaining about what’s going on and being characteristically cautious about the whole thing, basically begging “moderate” Republican senators to deny Barrett her confirmation. However, this would be to look purely at the surface; actually think about a few of the things Barrett has said.
When quizzed about LGBTQ rights, Barrett spoke of “sexual preference”. This seems irrelevant but this language is of the type used through the ages to isolate LGBTQ people (especially used by the religious right) making their plight irrelevant by implying their behaviour is an immoral choice rather than something intrinsic to their identity. This tells us that Barrett quite possibly sees LGBTQ people that way, making her patently unfit to serve on a supposedly secular court in 2020 making decisions that affect LGBTQ peoples’ rights. The language was an age old anti-gay dog whistle.
When the questioning moved to the topic of rulings on potentially contestable 2020 election results Barrett refused to commit to recusing herself; all but confirming why Trump and his cronies are desperate to get her confirmed and on the bench before November’s poll.
Most worrying was when the queries wandered onto the topic of climate change. Barrett refused to acknowledge the threat of man made climate change (a scientific fact) before labelling it a contentious political subject. I’m sure this pretty much makes and shuts the case against confirming ACB in of itself.
Amy Coney Barrett isn’t a fair, moderate justice. She’s being appointed to help drag the United States to the right, strip away rights and protections, and usher in Republican’s dark-age vision of regressive conservatism. Democrats, and Americans, have to do everything they can to stall this dangerous appointment.