Joined: 10-21-2000 Posts: 55,424 |
Who is it always rambling about Jim Crow 2.0??? Biden's past filibuster of black female judicial nominee raised in Supreme Court fight Conservative lawmakers and political commentators have resurfaced President Joe Biden's previous filibusters against a black female nominee for a U.S. appeals court amid his administration's pledge to nominate the first black woman to the Supreme Court.
During former President George W. Bush's administration, then-Sen. Joe Biden twice opposed and filibustered the nomination of Janice Rogers Brown to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 2003 and 2005 despite her confirmation that year. Recalling the president's previous move, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley tweeted Monday Biden should "make amends" and nominate 72-year-old Brown, who retired from the D.C. Circuit in August .
"If he wants to unite the country, Biden should nominate Janice Rogers Brown. Committed constitutionalist who is also an African-American woman," the Missouri senator wrote. "Sadly, Biden personally filibustered her historic nomination to DC Circuit twice when he was in Senate. Now is the time to make amends."
Biden, who has become exceedingly more critical of the Senate filibuster rule and has decried it as a relic of Jim Crow segregation laws, was not the only senator at the time to oppose Brown's nomination. In 2005, then-Sen. Barack Obama opposed Brown, saying she "is not simply a judge with very strong political views, she is a political activist who happens to be a judge."
Brown was born to Alabama sharecroppers and grew up in the segregated South, later raising her child as a single mother through law school. Her ideology shifted over time toward more conservative principles, and she notably wrote opinions opposing affirmative action and supported limited abortion laws.
According to the Washington Post, Bush had considered Brown to replace retiring Sandra Day O'Connor in 2005 but instead chose Samuel Alito. Supreme Court Justices John Roberts Jr., Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas, and the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg all ascended from the D.C. Circuit where Brown served.
Democrats also filibustered Bush’s 2001 nomination of Miguel Estrada to the D.C. Circuit. As a favorable nominee among conservatives, Estrada would have been the first Latino appointed to that bench but rescinded his name from consideration after being blocked for two consecutive years.
"Never forget what Democrats, & notably @JoeBiden, did to Janice Rogers Brown, Priscilla Owen — but more… Miguel Estrada," Republican Rep. Chip Roy tweeted on Jan. 26. "Destroying a good man specifically because he is Hispanic. We know this to be factually true, but the beltway media elites brush it aside."
Serving as Senate Judiciary chairman during Thomas's 1991 confirmation hearings, Biden also voted against George H. W. Bush's nominee and expressed "regret" regarding his oversight of Anita Hill's testimony alleging Thomas of sexual harassment against her.
"I wish I could have done something — I opposed Clarence Thomas’s nomination, and I voted against him,” Biden said during an event in March 2019.
Hill later went on to endorse Biden in his 2020 presidential campaign despite "mistakes he made in the past," she said.
The Biden administration signaled its preparedness on Friday to defend against Republicans opposed to the president's eventual nominee to the Supreme Court, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday.
Biden is "grateful to … the Republican members who have already indicated they plan to work with him," Psaki said, adding, "I think we also … should be clear about some of the games that we're already seeing indications of out there."
The White House has only confirmed one possible nominee on Biden's list to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, with officials saying South Carolina federal Judge J. Michelle Childs is under consideration and that the final list will be more than just three names. Biden has vowed to nominate a new justice by the end of February.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/gop-lawmakers-recall-biden-filibustering-black-judicial-nominee?
So, still think it's all about the optics of a representation of America?
|
