Stop Fighting Amy Coney Barrett
I hope I never see Amy Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court. She would see women and LGBTQ folks lose their rights as equal citizens. She stands for everything I oppose, and yet I have a limited capacity to fight, she has been all but confirmed, and I will be taking my fight elsewhere.
With Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito signaling their intentions to roll back protections for gay and lesbian couples seeking to be married, and without the strong force that was Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the court to stop them, Democrats and progressives nationwide are becoming increasingly nervous. Democrats in the House have “not ruled out” another round of impeachment proceedings in the final months of the Trump presidency, and those Democrats in the Senate are gearing up for a committee battle to stop an appointment until after the inauguration in January. Let me be clear: fighting Amy Coney Barett is a race to the bottom and a losing game for Democrats that will leave all Americans worse off for it. For now, I will skip the inherent and continued politicization of the court this represents and instead present that this fight is not even politically expedient, let alone beneficial in the long term.
In July of 2018 — just four months before the 2018 midterm elections — when Donald Trump nominated now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, the backlash was swift. Even months before Professor Christine Blasey Ford went public with allegations of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh, Democrats in the Senate and community organizers across the country successfully formed a coalition to oppose the nominee on the basis that he would be a threat to some of the court’s most controversial rulings including Obergefell v. Hodges, Roe v. Wade, and Bostock v. Clayton. To many lawmakers, Professor Ford’s allegations served as no more than an excuse to strengthen their predisposed opposition to Kavanaugh. That is to say that their response was calculated. We know this because the confirmation hearing for Justice Neil Gorsuch, which lacked any major scandals or theatrics form lawmakers, was similarly divided along partisan lines. Irrespective of the truth in the situation, it would not have risen to such prominence in the media or the news if it didn’t benefit Democrat’s policy agenda and election chances in 2018. This truth doesn’t make Professor Ford’s allegations any less true or these issues any less serious, but it does represent an important distinction for today’s voting — and protesting — public, much of which would never have heard the name “Christine Blasey Ford” if not for politicians wanting for them to.
The lesson from all of this? Do not repeat history. Not that of Brett Kavanaugh, and certainly not that of Neil Gorsuch. Following some infected GOP Senator’s return to Congress, the Senate will vote to confirm Amy Coney Barrett as the ninth Justice of the Supreme Court and she will be seated as such. Fighting the inevitable will only embolden Trump’s most vile base with a new fight for them to take on and a new “boogey-man” for them to oppose. This will be markedly to the detriment of Joe Biden and countless other Democrats and progressives running for election down-ballot in contentious areas of the country. Mitch McConnel has already told his majority that a fight is what they want — and what they’ll need in order to have a fighting chance of maintaining control. We have made so much progress, and with Trump behind by ±10 points nationally, why risk alienating swing voters or expending Democrats’ limited political capital on a known factor this close to an election? This is a losing strategy (and a short-sighted one at that).
We need to stop placing so much consequence in the appointees of a man, never democratically elected to lead this nation. Our focus in the next two months (yes two) should not be obstructing the Senate or re-impeaching the president. Our goal should not be to subject Barrett— or the country for that matter — to endless scrutiny through Senate committee hearings or via the “court of public opinion”. Our goal should not be to waste our time or our energy fighting the confirmation of a conservative judge through a Republican-held Senate.
Don’t let this discourage you though. Your energy would be better served fighting for your local Senate, house, or state legislature race. Our goal this October (and yes, this November) should be to follow through on flipping the Republican-held Senate, electing Joseph R. Biden and Kamala Harris as the President and Vice President, and maintaining a majority in the House of Representatives. Our goal should be codifying Obergefell v. Hodges, Roe v. Wade, and Bostock v. Clayton into law, not praying that Amy Coney Barrett and Clarence Thomas will string them along until a more favorable administration is installed. Our focus should be deciding — and voicing our decision at the ballot box — to make our nation the more inclusive, equitable, and caring society that we want to see, not waiting around for someone to allow it to be. Put frankly, Ruth Bader Ginsburg may have been holding our democracy together, but now, it looks like you’ll have to.
