Well, we expected shenanigans during the hearings on the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Nothing happened. Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee have nothing. They hit her about her textualist views on the Constitution, COVID, Obamacare, Second Amendment rights, and other things. Nothing stuck. There were no haymakers because there’s nothing. Judge Barrett was calm, collected, and insanely prepared. She didn’t need notes to school Democrats, cite her own decisions, and render cogent and detailed answers when she could. Obviously, like many judges up for nomination to SCOTUS before her, she invoked the Ginsburg rule, especially on abortion. Chuck Schumer and the Democrats banked that these hearing would dent her prospects for confirmation. It did not. Support for confirming her before the 2020 election has remained pretty solid.
ACB killed those hearings. They have nothing on her and people know it. https://t.co/nYnGFQejpu
— (((AG))) (@AGHamilton29) October 21, 2020
The GOP has the votes. She will be confirmed. It’s only a matter of time, but not before Senate Democrats try and boycott the committee vote tomorrow (via Huffington Post) [emphasis mine]:
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee plan to boycott Thursday’s committee vote on Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination as a protest against Republican efforts to rush her through before the election.
The plan hasn’t been finalized yet, according to a Democratic aide, but Democrats are preparing to fill their empty seats with poster-sized photos of people who would be hurt by Barrett potentially casting a deciding vote against the Affordable Care Act. These would be the same pictures of people Democrats had on display during Barrett’s confirmation hearing last week.
Democrats also intend to hold two press conferences to push back on Barrett’s confirmation ? one on the Capitol steps and one on the Supreme Court steps. They will go to one or both of these pressers during the committee vote, according to the Democratic aide.
The offices of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and committee ranking member Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) declined to comment.
A boycott will delight progressives, who have been clamoring for a big fight by Democrats over Barrett’s confirmation. It won’t stop Republicans from advancing Barrett’s nomination, though.
Two Dem aides confirm @jbendery’s report that the 10 Democratic senators on the Judiciary Committee will boycott the committee vote on Amy Coney Barrett tomorrow
— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) October 21, 2020
That’s the ballgame. In reality, this game was over before it began. There was never going to be a robust opposition. Judge Barrett’s nomination was never in danger. We had the votes. Elections have consequences. When a weak piece of trash Mitt Romney says he will vote for confirmation, you know there is no battle to be had—no votes to peel off from the Senate GOP. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) had to do what she had to do because a) Maine is weird, and b) she’s in the fight of her life right now. This SCOTUS fight wouldn’t have helped her, but it will help everyone else. And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m going to defend Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. She gave Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the chair of the committee, a hug after the proceedings. This infuriated the progressive Left, of course. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the two of them had a chat regarding how she handled the hearings. This comes after a Politico piece detailed scores of Hill Democrats who felt Feinstein was too weak to mount an offensive against this nomination. But there was no offense to be had. Again, lefties, your side lost before you even took the field. So, continue to scalp your own side, I guess—but what was Feinstein supposed to do besides, I don’t know, setting that committee room on fire. It’s ridiculous.
The vote is tomorrow. Here’s to you soon-to-be-Justice Amy Coney Barrett. She will be filling the vacancy left by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.