Amy Coney Barrett

[Titchou]

Ranaldo: I'm not going to argue with you as we each have the right to our opinions. I do not believe ACB has a enough of a body of judicial work for us to know how she might vote - that and her personal beliefs concern me. I live in Alabama and, should SCOTUS send abortion rights back to the states, it will be devastating for the women who will have to search out illegal abortions as we did before Roe. And yes, as a woman of 74 years of age who has lived thru legal gender discrimination for decades, I am concerned.

[Benzgirl]

Originally Posted by Titchou

Ranaldo: I'm not going to argue with you as we each have the right to our opinions. I do not believe ACB has a enough of a body of judicial work for us to know how she might vote - that and her personal beliefs concern me. I live in Alabama and, should SCOTUS send abortion rights back to the states, it will be devastating for the women who will have to search out illegal abortions as we did before Roe. And yes, as a woman of 74 years of age who has lived thru legal gender discrimination for decades, I am concerned.

Agreed. Three years is not enough.

[What?]

Originally Posted by Benzgirl

Agreed. Three years is not enough.

As to your and Titchou’s point, did you take issue with Elena Kagan’s lack of experience on the bench?

As in she had none.

[33girl]

Is Opus Dei the one Mel Gibson and his dad are in?

As for People of Praise, mixing Pentecostalism and Catholicism sounds to me like putting ketchup on a banana split.

[Benzgirl]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Is Opus Dei the one Mel Gibson and his dad are in?

As for People of Praise, mixing Pentecostalism and Catholicism sounds to me like putting ketchup on a banana split.

I'm not sure if Mel and his father are members but for a time, former Justice Scalia attended services at an Opus Dei "chuch". Probably scared the Roman Catholic out of him and he ran.

BTW...love the anology.

[Benzgirl]

Originally Posted by What?

As to your and Titchou’s point, did you take issue with Elena Kagan’s lack of experience on the bench?

As in she had none.

Rightfully so, but Elena Kagan had was the Dean of Harvard Law School for a decade at the time of her nomination and the deans of over one-third of the country's law schools, 69 people in total, endorsed the nomination in an open letter.

As for ACB, I'm waiting on that letter of support.

[Benzgirl]

My cousin, also a member of my sorority, is a very devout Roman Catholic. She was raised in a Catholic household, attended Catholic schools k-12 and a Catholic college. That said, she has come out strongly against ACB because of her faith. I have another cousin who is a less devout Catholic and a KD who is also against her appointment. Not that any of this matters to those who will review her appointment, but I'm giving my two cents.

The statements from my 2 cousins piqued my interest so I researched the Catholic Group, People of Praise, of which ACB and her husband are part. First and foremost, People of Praise subjugates women. They are a religious community based in charismatic Catholicism, a movement that grew out of the influence of Pentecostalism, which emphasizes a personal relationship with Jesus and can include baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues.

ACB’s family are deeply connected with the organization. As recently as 2017 ACB served as a trustee at the People of Praise-affiliated Trinity Schools Inc. Barrett’s father has served as the principal leader of People of Praise’s New Orleans branch and was on the group’s all-male Board of Governors as recently as 2017. Her mother has served in the branch as a “handmaid,” a female leader assigned to help guide other women.

The group has been portrayed by some former members, and in books, blogs and news reports, as hierarchical, authoritarian and controlling, where men dominate their wives, leaders dictate members’ life choices and those who leave are shunned. A former member has been indicated her mother saying a wife could never deny sex to her husband because it was his right and duty. She also recalled People of Praise meetings held in her parents’ living room where members prayed in tongues to cast out demons from a person writhing on the floor, rituals she described as exorcisms.

People of Praise has roughly 1,800 adult members nationwide, with branches and schools in 22 cities across the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. It was founded in South Bend in 1971.

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by Ronaldo9

[snipped]
Yikes, Mr. Barrett must be totally embarrassed that he's a trial lawyer in a small town law firm and his wife just got nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court!

He's definitely gonna hafta retake People of Praise 101: Introduction to Wife Domination.

To be completely candid, I said basically this same thought to mr. honeychile earlier today. Good call!

[AGDAlum]

The KD chapter at Rhodes didn't know what Amy Coney's political leanings were when they extended a bid and, a few weeks or months later, initiated her. At that age her political leanings were most likely still being formed. (Sure, rush conversation has changed over the years but I rather doubt that her political views came up.)

I object to her nomination is first and foremost the Republican hypocrisy of pushing it forward NOW in contrast to the Republican stonewall of Merrick Garland's nomination four years ago. Sure, we understand why McConnell acted that way then and why he and his cronies are acting that way now.

I also object to ACB's nomination because I don't think she has enough experience. It's a very Trump-typical appointment: pick someone who looks right and ram the nomination through, whether that person if fully qualified or not.

And, yes, of course I object to ACB's nomination because I don't want a 6-3 conservative anti-choice, anti-universal-health-care, etc., etc. Supreme Court.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by AZTheta

Kevin, if you or anyone else (you know who you are and I am not going to call you out, we are friends IRL) delete this or edit it, I will keep reposting it. I've said nothing here that isn't true, and you all know it. I didn't insult or name call. I did nothing to get banned. I expressed my opinion respectfully. Calling for death is beyond nasty. I'm enraged.

Oh, just for the hell of it - IBTL (this will probably go to mods' corner now).

*mic drop*

I don't plan to edit or delete anything because thankfully, this entire post was on topic. To be clear, what I will delete without hesitation are posts spent entirely attacking other posters. Attack the subject matter which you disagree with to your heart's content.

I have no agenda. I'm just trying to call balls and strikes here.

[bevinpiphi]

Well. This election cycle is certainly reminding me that bad faith arguments aren't worth my time.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by bevinpiphi

Well. This election cycle is certainly reminding me that bad faith arguments aren't worth my time.

This.

This is really about the GOP wanting a 6-3 majority and that they are going to do their damnedest to achieve it. Right and wrong do not matter in politics. Winning is what matters. All of this silly bullshit moralizing about "How Lincoln didn't appoint a justice in an election year" and about Merrick Garland's failed nomination is nonsense. The GOP has the means an opportunity for a huge win. I don't like it. I don't think a supermajority on the Court is going to be a good thing for either side in the long run. If PP v Casey was really overturned, and reality sets in for a lot of women, I think the backlash will be massive for the GOP. Similarly, if you take away expanded Medicare for millions of people, there's going to be a massive political price for that. I am not sure why the GOP wants to achieve either of those results because either result for the GOP is simply an exercise in self-immolation.

I would similarly have no problem if the Court was to be expanded if the Dems win the Presidency and both houses. One raw exercise of power invites the next one and that'll continue until we have a 3rd party or until we have a failed Republic.

[Benzgirl]

Originally Posted by Kevin

This.

This is really about the GOP wanting a 6-3 majority and that they are going to do their damnedest to achieve it. Right and wrong do not matter in politics. Winning is what matters. All of this silly bullshit moralizing about "How Lincoln didn't appoint a justice in an election year" and about Merrick Garland's failed nomination is nonsense. The GOP has the means an opportunity for a huge win. I don't like it. I don't think a supermajority on the Court is going to be a good thing for either side in the long run. If PP v Casey was really overturned, and reality sets in for a lot of women, I think the backlash will be massive for the GOP. Similarly, if you take away expanded Medicare for millions of people, there's going to be a massive political price for that. I am not sure why the GOP wants to achieve either of those results because either result for the GOP is simply an exercise in self-immolation.

I would similarly have no problem if the Court was to be expanded if the Dems win the Presidency and both houses. One raw exercise of power invites the next one and that'll continue until we have a 3rd party or until we have a failed Republic.

I just fell virtually in love with you!

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by Ronaldo9

As an originalist I, of course, disagree slightly with this. I would like a 9-0 originalist court, frankly.

That said, I do agree with your position that one raw exercise of power invites the next. I would just note, however, that the Democratic Party would have the power to block and filibuster the ACB nomination right now except McConnell removed the filibuster on SCOTUS judges. He did that to make good on a promise he made to the Democrats that he would take that course of action if they used their 2011 Senate majority to remove the filibuster on Circuit and District court judges, which - despite the warning this would be the response - they did.

So, yes, we are seeing the raw exercise of power inviting the next, however, this process was set in motion - not this year - but in 2011 and by Harry Reid. In other words, were it not for an action taken by Harry Reid nine years ago, there would be no chance ACB will be confirmed the week after next as will happen.

So your response is that the Dems did it first and that justifies equal retribution. Okay. I guess that's fair. It's a bit juvenile--and "He hit me first" in the schoolyard nowadays still results in both students going home. It's regrettable that option is not really available.

And if that continues, absent intervention, that'll spell the end of the significance of being a Senator rather than a Representative and we'll have a "judicial" body consisting of 30 some-odd justices acting as essentially a super-legislature. I don't want that. I would hope no one wants that. I would hope one side would pump the brakes, but everyone is so cynical, that they rightly or wrongly believe that one side pumping the breaks would simply invite the other side taking full advantage of that situation.

I'm not sure there are really any true originalists on the Court or whether there ever have been. Off of the top of my head, Scalia had a rather expansive interpretation of the interstate commerce clause when it came to finding federal jurisdiction under the interstate commerce clause exists to regulate marijuana grown entirely within a State using only implements from within the State. I've found "originalist" judges are often using originalist arguments to complete the mental gymnastics necessary to obtain a certain result, e.g., reading the Second Amendment's clause regarding "a well-regulated militia" to essentially be without meaning or importance in interpreting the right to bear arms.

I used to think I was an originalist. Then I went to law school and saw how inconsistently the philosophy was applied. And now I'm a lawyer who uses whatever argument to advance my cause which I think has a chance at working. Was I to serve on the bench, I would aspire to originalism, but recognize it's a much more squishy proposition than anyone wants to admit considering the Bill of Rights contains that whole 9th Amendment thing.

[Sister Havana]

Originally Posted by Ronaldo9

I would just note, however, that the Democratic Party would have the power to block and filibuster the ACB nomination right now except McConnell removed the filibuster on SCOTUS judges. He did that to make good on a promise he made to the Democrats that he would take that course of action if they used their 2011 Senate majority to remove the filibuster on Circuit and District court judges, which - despite the warning this would be the response - they did.

So, yes, we are seeing the raw exercise of power inviting the next, however, this process was set in motion - not this year - but in 2011 and by Harry Reid. In other words, were it not for an action taken by Harry Reid nine years ago, there would be no chance ACB will be confirmed the week after next as will happen.

Let’s remember why Reid and the Democrats changed the rules to remove the filibuster for all but Supreme Court nominations. It’s important to understand it in context. McConnell and the Republicans used the filibuster a then-unprecedented amount of times to block or stall pretty much all of Obama’s appointees. They filibustered appointees they all agreed were qualified, for no other reason than Obama was doing the appointing. They even filibustered Chuck Hagel’s nomination for Secretary of Defense - yes, that would be former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel.

The event that was really the tipping point for the rule change was when Obama nominated three judges to fill three vacant seats on the DC Circuit Court. Not only did Senate Republicans scream and yell about how Obama was court-packing (by filling existing vacancies!), but they even introduced legislation to remove those three seats from the DC Circuit so Obama could not appoint people to fill them. (It didn’t pass, obviously.) This was the climate in which the rule was changed. Harry Reid didn’t do it just for fun.

And if the filibuster hadn’t been removed during the Obama years, anyone who thinks Mitch McConnell wouldn’t have done it himself the first time Democrats tried to filibuster any of Trump’s nominees has not paid attention to Mitch McConnell.