Jackassery 🌻🌻🌻🌻

Supremes:  Nebraska Republican Ben Sasse accurately described the absurd, hate filled, performative crap emanating from his Senate colleagues during Judge Ketanji Jackson’s Senate Judiciary hearing as jackassery, as in behavior encouraged by the presence of cameras and the desire to generate media soundbites, for a future presidential run perhaps? Though Sasses’ description is spot on, he doesn’t deserve too much credit because though his style is more civil, in all likelihood he, like all the other Republicans on the Judiciary Committee and most if not all of the other Republicans in the Senate are likely to vote against confirming Judge Ketanji Jackson to the Supreme Court.  At one point it was thought that Lindsey Graham who voted for Jackson’s earlier confirmation to the Appeals Court would support her but given the thoroughly rude and obnoxious behavior he has demonstrated during the past two days, that’s no longer expected.  As a result it’s quite possible the committee which is made up of an equal number of Democrats and Republicans will be deadlocked, not great but in the past that wasn’t a problem, notably the still hospitalized Clarence Thomas’s nomination made it to the floor of the Senate for a confirmation vote without gaining majority support from the committee. Then again, who knows, precedent doesn’t appear to be a thing with this crowd of Republicans, they could decide to go nuclear, not that we should be using that word lightly these days.

Cory Booker’s Star:  As to Judge Jackson, she really is eminently qualified but you wouldn’t know it from the slime being tossed her way by a lot of Senators like Cruz, Hawley and Kennedy who are smart enough to know better and a few like Blackburn who aren’t.  They’ve asked her about her religion and her religiosity, questioned her “too light” sentencing of child porn possessors even though according to a letter from several conservative judges her sentencing was within the norm, and have suggested, with no evidence of course, that because she hasn’t condemned their bugaboo de jure, critical race theory, she believes babies are born racist.  Graham has also whined repeatedly that it’s not fair that his choice, Judge Michelle Childs of South Carolina wasn’t nominated instead, odd and childish, but then again that’s how Graham rolls these days. Some shout outs to the Democrats:  Senator Cory Booker used his time to celebrated Judge Jackson’s precedent setting nomination, Patrick Leahy called out Graham’s brutal behavior and Jon Ossoff once again demonstrated that though he’s a young newbie he’s one to watch. As to Mitch McConnell, the minority leader is not on the committee but he’s now moved from falsely claiming that he would fairly evaluate Jackson to criticizing her inadequate performance, his way of signaling to his crowd that he’s all in with their atrocious behavior and that he would really like them to vote against her confirmation.  Indiana’s Senator Mike Braun isn’t on the Judiciary Committee either but that hasn’t stopped him from saying some of the quiet part out loud.  Earlier this week  Braun said that the Supreme Court had made a mistake with its 1967 Loving v Virginia decision that legalized interracial marriage, because in his view decisions on who people can marry, like decisions about reproductive rights should remain with the states rather than the federal government. Braun then tried to retract his statement, but as nuts as it seemed, it’s scarily in line with what a lot of his other colleagues believe, after all Tennessee’s Blackburn is on record questioning the 1965 Griswold v Connecticut decision, that ruled that said that birth control was okay because the use of contraception is a private matter. Anti-abortion advocates hate Griswold because it provided some of the basis for the Roe v Wade decision.  And a lot of Braun’s like-minded friends also hate Obergefell v Hodges, the narrowly decided ruling that legalized same-sex marriage, another right that the conservative set would like to see sent back to the states.

Politics as Usual: The Former Guy rescinded his endorsement of Congressman Mo Brooks who is running to become the Republican candidate to fill the seat being vacated by retiring Alabama Senator Richard Shelby.  The FG called Brooks “woke” for suggesting he move past his complaints about the 2020 election.  Woke is hardly the word that most would use to describe the right wing Brooks who participated in the January 6^th festivities donned in protective combat gear.  Brooks retaliated by revealing that the FG  had pressed him to work to illegally remove President Biden from office and hold a new presidential election, moves that are both unconstitutional.  Memo to the January 6^th Committee and AG Merrick Garland, this seems like something you’d be interested in pursuing.  In other legal news, NY Times published the resignation letter that respected prosecutor Mark Pomerantz sent Manhattan District Attorney’s Office when he quit  over frustration with DA Alvin Bragg’s decision not to pursue charges against the FG.  In the letter Pomerantz said that he believed that the FG “was guilty of numerous felony violations” and that it was a “grave failure of justice” not to hold him accountable.  Speaking of guilty but getting away with it types, Paul Manafort tried to go to Dubai, the place where many Russian oligarchs can be found these days but was foiled because his passport had been cancelled.  Unfortunately, now that he’s pardoned he is entitled to a new passport and who doesn’t believe he’ll spend the money to expedite one.  As to oligarchs, it turns out that the reason that the US hasn’t sanctioned Roman Abramovich yet, is because Ukraine’s Zelenskyy asked Biden to hold off as Abramovich has been trying to serve as an intermediary between Zelenskyy and Putin.  Biden has however kind of sanctioned  Senate wannabees Mehmet Oz and Hershel Walker.  Last night he asked both to resign from the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition, appointments that both received in the waning days of the FG’s administration. The charming Oz responded by saying “Clearly, Joe Biden can’t be around anyone who doesn’t completely fall in line with his fear-mongering authoritarian one-size-fits-all COVID handling. I am proud of my service and will not resign.”  No matter, he’ll be off and probably won’t become a Senator either.

Ukraine: War sucks. Though he lost one of his ships overnight to a missile attack and two more are on fire, Putin is still doing his massively destructive thing.  The unhappy vile one is very pissed with a number of his senior advisors and to put it mildly it’s not a good thing when Putin decides to sideline you.  One of those advisors, General Anatoly Chubais resigned of his own volition and has left Russia altogether reportedly to protest the war. He’d be wise to stay away from windows and doorknobs. For his part, Biden is in Belgium today meeting with NATO leaders where everyone is concerned that the frustrated Putin is seriously considering using chemical and/or nuclear weapons.  Though he hasn’t attacked any countries so far, Kim Jung un appears to be frustrated that Ukraine’s getting all the attention so last night he launched his biggest intercontinental missile yet because why not.  By the way you might find it either entertaining or frightening to know that Kid Rock reports that the FG sought his advice on how to handle the North Korean dictator.  Kid Rock, who was apparently the adult in that room, wisely responded that he didn’t think he had the qualifications to opine.

Viral Musings: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki is not with Biden’s entourage today as she is COVID positive again, as are Hillary Clinton and Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey.  The highly contagious BA 2 variant now represents more than a third of new US cases, more in bell weather NY where cases are inching up, not dramatically but still heading in the wrong direction.  Moderna is planning to ask for emergency use authorization of its vaccine for children as young as 6 months of age shortly.  And the Republicans want us to know that if or when they take over Congress they plan to launch investigations into Dr Fauci because of course.

RIP Madeleine Albright