As speculation rages over who Biden might pick to replace retiring Supreme Court justice Stephen Breyer — he made a campaign pledge to nominate a black woman — let’s look at one of the leading contenders, Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was appointed as a D.C. Circuit district judge by Obama in 2013 and promoted by Biden to the D.C. Court of Appeals last year, at that time getting 3 Republican votes for her confirmation.
Jackson, or KBJ as she’s often referred to, has a resume that says “Supreme Court”: Harvard, magna cum laude; Harvard Law, cum laude and Harvard Law Review; law clerk at the district court, appeals court, and Supreme Court levels (she clerked for Breyer); and well-rounded legal experience that includes private practice with a high-profile D.C. law firm, a stint as a federal public defender, and government-agency service with the U.S. Sentencing Commission. This is a resume that closely resembles those of many past Supreme Court justices. This is someone who was minted, trained, and groomed for the Supreme Court.
Here are some of the questions Republican senators asked her in last year’s confirmation hearing, after which 47 GOP senators voted against her:
Sen. Jon Cornyn (R-TX): “What role does race play in the kind of judge you have been and the kind of judge you will be?”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): “Do you believe that Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford?” [He asked other questions, too, but I decided to use the juiciest. For more Ted Cruz questions, go here.]
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE): “Since becoming a legal adult, have you participated in any rallies or demonstrations where you or other participants have willfully damaged public or private property?”
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR): “Since becoming a legal adult, have you ever been arrested for or accused of committing a violent crime against any person?”
It’s unreasonable to assume these senators are stupid. For example, Ted Cruz graduated from Harvard Law, too, which is no remedial school for dummies. There’s an alternative, more plausible explanation: They’re malicious. And not a little racist.