I urge Sens. Romney and Lee to vote “yes” on Judge Jackson’s SCOTUS appointment. Bipartisan support of her confirmation is important for the credibility of the court which has been seriously undermined by recent history. Failure to appoint the most qualified person to appear for court confirmation in my lifetime will only further send the signal of the court’s illegitimacy, not to mention perpetuation of racial and gender inequality.
The Senate and the past administration failed to give President Obama a court appointment that was legitimately his, claiming that the vacancy occurred too close to an election. It then filled that vacancy with Justice Kavanaugh; he is now the second justice credibly accused of sexual misconduct. Finally, Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s appointment was rushed through in the final days of a profoundly corrupt administration, literally while people were voting. The clear intent was to ensure a conservative majority intent on stripping marginalized groups, including women, of basic civil rights.
The recent Ginni and Clarence saga is the frosting on the cake of SCOTUS de-legitimacy. Failure to recuse oneself from cases that directly impacted Congress’s fact-finding efforts around efforts to overthrow the government while your wife is actively engaged in those efforts at the highest levels of the former administration is unconscionable.
I grew up in an era of respect for the court and its credibility. That is no longer the case. A vote for Judge Jackson can help to restore some of that trust in a system designed to protect the “little person” and the integrity of our constitution. Go one step further and investigate “Ginni and Clarence Gate” and embed an enforceable code of judicial ethics into law that prohibits the kind of activities in which this pair has engaged.
Ellen Brady, Murray