Well, it’s becoming clearer. This is the third day of hearings on the Supreme Court nomination for Judge Amy Coney Barrett. And support for her confirmation in the polls are soaring. In liberal America, they think confirming her is an unpopular position. It’s not. It’s risen 17 points, with nearly half the country supporting her placement on the Supreme Court, 48/31. Twenty-one percent are still undecided, but it has remained the case that more Americans want her confirmed than not (via Morning Consult) [emphasis mine]:
The level of support for Barrett’s nomination, an increase of 11 points since President Donald Trump announced her nomination on Sept. 26, also compares favorably with public sentiment toward Justice Brett Kavanaugh prior to the first day of his confirmation hearings in September 2018. At that time, 37 percent of voters said the Senate should vote to confirm Kavanaugh to the court, compared with 29 percent who said it should vote to deny his nomination.
At this point in the process, a larger share of Republicans and Democrats are voicing support for Barrett’s nomination than they did for Kavanaugh’s: 77 percent of GOP voters and 27 percent of Democratic voters said Barrett should be confirmed, compared to 67 percent and 15 percent, respectively, who said the same of Kavanaugh ahead of his hearings.
Turning to more recent trends, the latest poll provides another warning sign for Senate Democrats — process arguments about when the chamber should hold a vote on Barrett’s nomination have yet to sway public opinion.
By an 8-point margin, voters say that the Senate should vote on Barrett’s nomination as soon as possible, rather than wait to see if the president can defeat Democratic nominee Joe Biden on Election Day.
???? Support for Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to the Supreme Court at +17 in Morning Consult. 48-31. pic.twitter.com/3zgf6qe4Vw
— Ben Williamson (@_WilliamsonBen) October 14, 2020
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The Democrats' pundit class keeps telling me there is overwhelming public opposition to this nomination, but the polls keep saying otherwise. https://t.co/QJDPCCVxws
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) October 14, 2020
Supposedly, Democrats thought once Judge Barrett was brought before the Senate Judiciary Committee and members were able to ask her questions, this nomination would become unpopular. Wrong (via Politico):
Because Republicans are already committed to voting for her and can confirm her unilaterally, most of the drama in the committee surrounds how Democrats handle the nomination.
For Schumer, the task at hand is enormously important. Already the New York Democrat raised eyebrows when he briefly seized the Senate floor and forced a vote on protecting the Affordable Care Act, an unprecedented move for the minority leader. That vote was a key piece of Democrats’ campaign to tie Senate Republicans, Barrett and an Obamacare lawsuit together.
[…]
He is calling his members on an almost daily basis to check in with them about how they might handle the hearing, trying to coordinate without the luxury of time or in-person party meetings due to the ongoing pandemic. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), acknowledged Schumer is dealing with “very independent senators on the Judiciary Committee,” but is advising them on the political implications of their message.
He’s “been very helpful about bringing information from the political frontlines where the election is going to be decided, as to what the landmines are to avoid and what voters are most interested in,” Whitehouse, who sits on the Judiciary panel, said. “Out of that has arisen a pretty solid natural consensus about what is top priority here.”
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), another Judiciary Committee member, said that he expects Barrett to respond to questions about her viewpoints with calm, measured answers and impenetrable legalese. He views his job as translating it for the public what a vote to confirm Barrett really means.
“A vote for Judge Barrett is a vote for repealing the ACA. And a vote for a conservative activist judge that will revisit, reconsider and repeal long-standing precedent,” Coons said of his message. “Her faith is not an issue here, nor should it be.”
Republicans are eager to see Democrats stumble in their attacks against Barrett…
Well, for Mazie Hirono, stumbling has certainly been the case. While she vowed to ask every judicial nominee this question, she probably could have removed this from her docket, as she asked Judge Barrett if she raped anyone.
And yes, Obamacare has dominated these hearings from Senate Democrats, as a case deciding its fact is set to begin a week after the 2020 election, but it’s not impacting the polls. There’s some stuff about voting rights and gun rights as well, but it’s quite clear that Democrats have nothing. In the meantime, Judge Barrett was so well-prepared that she didn’t even need notes for these proceedings. She gave an ace answer regarding Obamacare and severability, which is one of the key legal points in this case. She has invoked the Ginsburg rule on a variety of questions, as giving her personal opinion on matters that could come before the Court would be unethical. She has done so with the line of inquiry concerning abortion. She has proven herself to be eons smarter than the Democrats in the room. She is qualified and her credentials are beyond reproach. This is going to happen.
Judge Amy Coney Barrett will soon be Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg replaced by a young conservative Catholic judge...talk about an "up yours" gesture to the Left. Hey, elections have consequences.
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