Democrats are giving out mixed messages on their opposition to the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court. Some Democrats want to attack her faith. Others, her opposition to Obamacare. Still others want to attack the process, arguing Trump shouldn’t have picked anyone.
Roe v. Wade, civil rights, a “balanced court” — all of these things are at risk if Barrett is confirmed, say the Democrats. But it’s so much easier to energize their base by going all anti-Catholic on Barrett, smearing her as some Handmaid’s Tale fanatic.
Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal:
People of Praise has been accused of being a right-wing sect. It answers that it has politically liberal and conservative members. They don’t appear to be obsessed with traditionalism or orthodoxy and are ecumenical: Members include Protestants as well as Catholics. They have joined together intentionally, in community, to pray together, perform service, and run schools. They’re Christians living in the world.
If they are right-wing religious extremists someone had better tell Pope Francis, who appointed a member of People of Praise’s South Bend community as auxilliary bishop of Portland, Ore. . . .
HBO host Bill Maher accused her of being a “speaking in tongues” Catholic — whatever the hell that is.
“Apparently, the pick is going to be Amy Coney—we’re going to be saying the name a lot, because she’s a f***in’ nut, religion, I was right about that one too!—Amy Coney Barrett,” said Maher. “ Catholic. Really Catholic. I mean, really, really Catholic—like speaking in tongues. She doesn’t believe in condoms, which she has in common with Trump, because he doesn’t either. We learned that from Stormy Daniels.”
Some Democratic senator will probably ask her during her confirmation hearing whether she has divided loyalties between the U.S. government and the Vatican. That’s been an anti-Catholic staple since the 1850s.
Democrats do not understand people of faith. They are completely clueless about evangelical Christians and devout believers of any kind. Barack Obama was perplexed that the “conscientious objectors” to Obamacare’s birth control mandate didn’t take the “compromise” he offered. He didn’t understand that there is no “compromise” with conscience. The rest of the left is equally perplexed when people base their political beliefs on religious premises.
Regardless, that angle will probably get replaced by the simple fact that the Supreme Court will hear a case on the fate of Obamacare after the election, and having six sitting justices who would probably vote to wink it out of existence has liberals terrified.
Obamacare is the last part of Barack Obama’s questionable legacy, with Trump and the Republicans having scuttled most of the rest of it. The Iran deal, immigration “reform,” and many environmental regulations have been ended. Obamacare is the last — and most important — pillar of Obamaism left standing.
Some Democrats believe they should fight harder to keep Barrett off the bench so that Biden could name a liberal justice who would give the law a decent chance to survive.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) on Friday expressed frustration with his party over its messaging regarding the current Supreme Court fight embroiling the Senate, saying Democrats should focus their arguments on Republicans’ efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Schatz highlighted remarks arguing that the GOP is rushing to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court so the party can install a justice who would overturn the Obama-era health care law, “kicking millions off their health care,” saying Democrats “should say this, using these words.”
“A little message discipline wouldn’t kill us,” he tweeted.
The more radical Democrats will go for the jugular and try to smear Barrett with her faith. But Democrats on the Hill will probably settle for trying to guess how Barrett will vote on various issues that will come before the Supreme Court and smear her for what she hasn’t even done yet.
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