Amy Coney Barret Confirmation Hearing

[durangodawood]

Listened to a couple hours of it.

No news to report. Some people here thought the D's would attack her faith. They didnt, of course. Instead they pushed the (real) threat to the ACA and other issues.

But this was all about introductions. Will be interesting to listen in to the actual questioning. Hopefully she will get pressed about how she draws a line between her personal convictions and the law when necessary.

(Would prefer not to discuss the legitimacy of her nomination. I know thats a hot issue, but could we do it somewhere else, and keep this about the hearings?)

 

[JSRG]

I watched some of it today. Felt like a waste of time. Just a bunch of politicians posturing and demonstrating they had already made up their minds and trying to appeal to the American people for their viewpoint. Why even bother?

Okay, so you might say that the point is simply to try to convince the public of their predetermined viewpoint. Fine. But then why have every single blasted member give these speeches? Why not just have a few Democrats and a few Republicans do it? It'd cut down on the repetition and then with all the time they didn't waste, could've actually done the questions/answers (the actually important part of the hearing) today rather than saving it for the next day.

Granted, I expect the questions and answers are going to be similar posturing. But at least there we'd be hearing from the nominee.

 

[timothyu]

Sounded more like a political campaign than a civics procedure. Perhaps judges should be voted in and politicians appointed.

 

[FireDragon76]

Listened to a couple hours of it.

No news to report. Some people here thought the D's would attack her faith. They didnt, of course. Instead they pushed the (real) threat to the ACA and other issues.

But this was all about introductions. Will be interesting to listen in to the actual questioning. Hopefully she will get pressed about how she draws a line between her personal convictions and the law when necessary.

(Would prefer not to discuss the legitimacy of her nomination. I know thats a hot issue, but could we do it somewhere else, and keep this about the hearings?)

Amy Barrett speaks from a sunken place.

 

[durangodawood]

Amy Barrett speaks from a sunken place.

What do you mean?

 

[FireDragon76]

What do you mean?

Urban Dictionary: sunken place

Also, it's a term that's portrayed vividly in the recent film Get Out, a comedy horror film from a Black perspective.

Barret's true personhood and quest for individuation and self-actualization are "sunken" beneath her fundamentalist religious ideology. She portrays herself externally as a competent woman with the deserved privileges of other conservative white women, but on the inside is an undeveloped, childish psychic core.

 

[SimplyMe]

Sounded more like a political campaign than a civics procedure. Perhaps judges should be voted in and politicians appointed.

Given all the ads by group supporting her confirmation, it feels a lot like a political campaign.

 

[AvilaSurfer]

The senators made campaign speeches. It was a complete waste of time.

 

[Pommer]

The senators made campaign speeches. It was a complete waste of time.

Why bother the Senate at all?
Oh right that pesky “advise and consent” thing.

 

[cow451]

I watched some of it today. Felt like a waste of time. Just a bunch of politicians posturing and demonstrating they had already made up their minds and trying to appeal to the American people for their viewpoint. Why even bother?

Okay, so you might say that the point is simply to try to convince the public of their predetermined viewpoint. Fine. But then why have every single blasted member give these speeches? Why not just have a few Democrats and a few Republicans do it? It'd cut down on the repetition and then with all the time they didn't waste, could've actually done the questions/answers (the actually important part of the hearing) today rather than saving it for the next day.

Granted, I expect the questions and answers are going to be similar posturing. But at least there we'd be hearing from the nominee.

Congressional hearings are ridiculous. The only one I ever thought interesting was Watergate.

 

[GreatLakes4Ever]

The senators made campaign speeches. It was a complete waste of time.

A pretty good reason why this hearing shouldn’t be happening during an election. Several senators will be more concerned with getting re-elected rather than giving appropriate advice and consent on the candidate.

 

[Hazelelponi]

Congressional hearings are ridiculous. The only one I ever thought interesting was Watergate.

I was 4... never heard it personally. Learned about it in classes though.

I heard Trumps name today more than hers... ridiculous display.. I'd rather get on with discussing her legal competency to sit on the bench than ridiculous political posturing by people who act like this is a campaign speech instead of a nomination hearing...

 

[timothyu]

A pretty good reason why this hearing shouldn’t be happening during an election.

They electioneer the whole four years now leaving little time to actually govern.

 

[Hazelelponi]

A pretty good reason why this hearing shouldn’t be happening during an election. Several senators will be more concerned with getting re-elected rather than giving appropriate advice and consent on the candidate.

If they aren't going to do the job they were elected to do, unless or until they are no longer in office, there's no point electing them to begin with honestly.

 

[timothyu]

If they aren't going to do the job they were elected to do, unless or until they are no longer in office, there's no point electing them to begin with honestly.

Perhaps this is the way the younger generation thinks the system is supposed to work. The civil servants do the work while the entertainment is the politicians arguing and passing opinions like the cable news for four years. Everything is entertainment to them , a reality show. Even Cardi B thinks she is brilliant enough to get on the show. Perhaps they will do a celebrity version election someday.

 

[Pommer]

The OP’s title is wrong, this is just the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Hearing not “confirmation”; that takes place before the full Senate with witnesses and debates.

 

[FireDragon76]

They electioneer the whole four years now leaving little time to actually govern.

Congress long ago gave up on any form of governing responsibly in favor of trying to pass legislation on behalf of the interests that payed for their campaigns. Which makes all the Republican talk of "activist judges" ring hollow. Judges had to step in on Obergefell and settle something that was bound to balkanize the American Republic otherwise, but Republicans are still butt hurt over that and won't move on.

 

[JSRG]

You know, come to think of it, setting aside the fact it was just an excuse for the Senators to make campaign speeches, what was even the point of today's hearing? Now, a remidner: What happened in the hearing essentially was each Senator got 10 minutes to make a speech, then the nominee also got that amount of time to give a speech.

Let's suppose it was the best of times, and that the Senators didn't have their minds quite made up on the nominee, so they're trying to figure out whether they should confirm this person or not. What exactly does anyone get out of having a Senator pontificate for ten minutes about the nominee before the questions are even given? Even if the goal was to try to persuade others, it seems that would be a lot more useful after the fact than before it.

Of course, in this case it basically was just campaign speeches, but even in the best of times I'm not sure why they do these pre-hearing speeches.

 

[timothyu]

Publicity? Intimidation?

 

[durangodawood]

Yeah I agree day 1 was worthless. Probably what we'll get is a couple days of the nominee stonewalling on interesting and important questions. Followed by Lindsey Graham's predicted party line vote.

Still, it's not bad listening while I work. I do work you know. Not all of us liberals leech off the government.