Amidst the collapse of the Senate GOP’s health care legislation, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell added a court nomination to the agenda, bringing John Bush, a Kentucky lawyer, before the Senate. Bush was nominated by the Trump Administration for the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
McConnell described fellow Kentuckian as someone with “a strong legal ability and a thoughtful demeanor.”
Both the mainstream media and the abortion lobby were respectively outraged about Bush’s nomination. Groups such as NARAL, the American Federation of Teachers and MoveOn pushed back on President Trump’s nominee Claiming that Bush is “anti-choice, anti-LGBT and anti-progressive,” . Of course, the activists are attacking Bush, who is staunchly pro-life, in defense of their treasured abortion access, as they do in the event that anyone, court nominee or otherwise, challenges it.
Opponents of Bush’s nomination are unsettled by his controversial blog posts, run under the pseudonym G. Morris, which, most notably, compared abortion to slavery and called the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade a tragedy. Democrats believe that these sentiments, which Bush posted as a private citizen, deem him unfit to serve.
During Bush’s Judiciary Committee hearing, Chairman Chuck Grassley reminded Democrats of former President Barack Obama’s nominee, Stephen R. Bough, who berated former president George W. Bush on the internet.
The aforementioned liberal groups penned a letter in opposition to Bush’s nomination:
“Bush has expressed biased and offensive positions on wide-ranging issues...He likened abortion to slavery, calling these issues ‘the two greatest tragedies in our country...He applauded [former GOP presidential contender] Mike Huckabee for saying he ‘strongly disagree[s]’ with ‘the idea of same-sex marriage,” the letter read.
NARAL, an a prominent organization within the abortion lobby, turned Bush’s nomination into an attack on women, storming the capitol building ahead of the hearing:
We're on Capitol Hill today to deliver print-outs of Bush's appalling, anonymous blog and call on the Senate to #StopBush! pic.twitter.com/YEzWiQi1PC
— NARAL (@NARAL) July 19, 2017
Sens. Patty Murphy (D-WA) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) mirrored the efforts of NARAL and other lobbying groups on the Senate floor, painting Bush as bad for women and unqualified for the bench:
.@PattyMurray: For nearly a decade, John Bush has made inflammatory, troubling comments on a number of issues impt to women. #StopBush pic.twitter.com/08DSqclTqH
— NARAL (@NARAL) July 19, 2017
.@maziehirono: "John Bush is a political blogger whose incendiary comments are beneath the dignity of the federal bench." #StopBush pic.twitter.com/nfjiSQWgyJ
— NARAL (@NARAL) July 19, 2017
Bush’s conservative positions, offensive to some on the Left, automatically disqualify him for the nomination, obviously.
John Bush was confirmed by the Senate with a vote of 51-47.