A Train Whistle, Not A Dog Whistle
Senate Republicans are no longer even pretending to hide their race-baiting appeals, as they used Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation hearing to levy more culture war attacks.
I’m Michael A. Cohen, and this is Truth and Consequences: A no-holds-barred look at the absurdities, hypocrisies, and surreality of American politics. If you received this email - or you are a free subscriber - and you’d like to subscribe: you can sign up below.
All Text, And No Subtext
Yesterday, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Biden’s nominee for the Supreme Court, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Judge Jackson’s nomination is a truly historic occasion. She would be the first black woman to serve as a Supreme Court Justice — and would place the court one justice away from having a female majority.
However, Republicans spent much of the day accusing the nominee of coddling pedophiles and child pornographers, among other offenses.
I am exaggerating but only partly. Republicans repeatedly accused Judge Jackson of going too easy on criminals and sexual predators, being soft on crime, and promoting critical race theory. In perhaps the most ludicrous and ostentatiously racist questioning of the day, Texas Senator Ted Cruz repeatedly asked Jackson about library books at the DC private school where she serves on the board, which he claims promote critical race theory. At one point, Cruz asked Judge Jackson, “Do you agree... that babies are racist?" Though I suppose this is better than the question asked by Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn, “Can you define the word ‘woman?” as part of an attack on trans Americans.
None of Cruz’s questions had anything to do with Jackson’s legal judgment or fitness for the highest federal court in the land. Rather it was a convenient way for Cruz to reference “critical race theory” and remind his Republican supporters that Judge Jackson is a black woman.
Once upon a time Republicans would have felt the need to question a black Supreme Court nominee with a bit more nuance, and not be so ostentious about sounding dog whistles intended to inflame racial animus. But those days are clearly long gone.
Indeed, this tweet from the Republican National Committee tells you all you need to know (the black letters replacing white ones is a particularly odious touch).
When it came Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton’s turn to ask questions, he focused on a reduced prison sentence that Jackson had handed out to a convicted drug dealer … for reasons so obvious that I won’t bother to enumerate them here. This ad is enough of an explanation.
Missouri Senator Josh Hawley spent his thirty minutes of questioning discussing a single child pornography case that Jackson presided over as a trial judge. His time in the spotlight allowed him the opportunity to play on the conspiratorial fixations of QAnon supporters, who falsely believe that President Trump is doing political battle with a host of Democratic elites engaged in child trafficking and pedophilia. Hawley’s attacks, which Cruz and Blackburn picked up, have been derided by the conservative magazine, the National Review, as “meritless to the point of demagoguery.” But, of course, Hawley, Cruz, and Blackburn don’t care about the National Review or even the views of their own Republican peers. They are playing to the cheap seats because they understand what appeals to Republican voters these days. With a significant minority of Repulican voters sympathetic to QAnon conspiracy theories, clearly this is a constituency that presidential aspirants must lavish attention on.
Lindsey Graham took the opportunity to rehash old grievances and remind conservative voters about the alleged iniquities of Democrats. The South Carolina senator focused on the allegedly unfair treatment received by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings. He also brought up the filibuster of a black Republican judge, Janice Brown, which happened nearly two decades ago during the first term of George W. Bush’s presidency.
In short, yesterday’s hearing became yet another venue for Republicans to play culture war politics and raise issues of race, gender, law and order, and the alleged mistreatment of conservatives to assail Democrats and play on the grievances and resentments of their supporters.
Do As We Say, Not As We Do
When not harping on issues intended to rile up conservative voters, other Republicans on the Judiciary Committee repeatedly warned about the dangers of judicial activism and jurists imposing their judgment over that of elected leaders or the will of the voters.
As I noted yesterday, in live blogging for MSNBC:
“This is a recurring Republican talking point, but one that seems to magically disappear when courts make decisions they support. For example, it was only a few months ago that the Supreme Court overturned the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate, in effect imposing its judgment over elected leaders and public health experts. Republicans didn’t complain about that decision — they cheered it.
When the court considered multiple cases that would overturn Obamacare, Republican members of Congress were the loudest cheerleaders for scrapping the legislation, even though such a decision also would have defied the will of the people, who elected President Barack Obama and a majority of Democrats to Congress.”
Republicans hate judicial activism — except when conservative judges are the ones acting as activists.
Indeed, as Judge Jackson frequently explained, some of the lighter sentences that she gave to criminal defendants resulted from her following the legal guidelines established by Congress. She was, as they demanded, abiding by the law as written by them. But, of course, that didn’t stop them from attacking her.
Part of the problem for Republicans is that Jackson has been repeatedly confirmed as a federal judge, and there isn’t much ammunition with which to criticize her. Moreover, with 51 Democratic votes in the Senate (including Vice President Harris), her confirmation is likely a foregone conclusion.
But make no mistake, what took place on Tuesday had nothing to do with the Supreme Court and everything to do with politics. Cruz, Cotton, Hawley, and possibly Blackburn (god help us) are considering running for president in 2024. The spotlight of a Supreme Court nomination hearing allowed them to make their appeals to GOP primary voters. That those entreaties revolved around open racism, conspiracy theories about Democratic pedophiles, conservative victimization, and coded anti-trans attacks tells you pretty much everything you need to know about the modern Republican Party.
Ukraine Update
There’s been a host of interesting reporting coming out of Ukraine on the current state of hostilities there.
According to a senior NATO official, “Russia has suffered between 30,000 and 40,000 battlefield casualties in Ukraine through the first month of the war, including between 7,000 and 15,000 killed.” The tally of dead Russian generals is now up to six. And according to a report in the New York Times, dissent over Vladimir Putin’s handling of the war is on the rise. There has also been reporting of a Ukrainian counter-attack that has recaptured territory around the Kyiv suburbs from Russia. If true, it would represent a major set-back for Russian forces and make it that much harder to capture the capitol.
Take this one with a grain of salt, but on an intercepted call, released by the Ukrainian government, two Russian soldiers are caught railing against Putin’s “bullshit” war. They complain about not having good enough Kevlar vests to protect them, claim 50 percent of their unit has frostbite, and say their commanders have continuously lied to them about the war. Again, consider the source, but the recording does seem consistent with other reporting about Russian troop morale.
In perhaps the most important news story of the day, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken accused Russia of committing war crimes in Ukraine. I don’t doubt this accusation is correct, but simply levying the charge will make it challenging for the United States to play an effective diplomatic role in mediating the conflict. Moreover, labeling Putin a war criminal could also impede the ability of the United States to eventually lift sanctions on Russia if a diplomatic arrangement is achieved.
More and more, one gets the sense that the United States is looking toward a post-Putin reality in Russia, or at the very least is giving up any hope of having a normal relationship with Moscow as long as Putin is in power.
The photo above is from this drone footage of the destsruction of Mariupol. You can watch the whole thing below.
What’s Going On
Once again the Supreme Court has issued a voting rights decision that benefits Republicans. The Court’s conservative majority is no longer even pretending to be an arbiter of justice.
Jeff Schogol looks at why Russian generals keep getting killed.
Daniel Drezner asks: how much more can the US escalate in Ukraine?
Donald Trump has rescinded his endorsement of bomb-throwing Alabama congressman, Mo Brooks, who is running for Senate. In response, Brooks says Trump tried to get him to orchestrate a coup so he could remain president. Oops.
Musical Interlude