MSNBC, The View, and more lash out after Ketanji Brown Jackson receives few votes from GOP
Liberal media outlets and personalities vented that Ketanji Brown Jackson isn't getting more GOP support, at times claiming racism.
Liberal media outlets, including MSNBC, The New York Times, Washington Post and ABC, slammed the GOP over only a few Republican Senators voting to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, despite similarly partisan confirmation processes for justices in the Trump era.
Sens. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, have said in separate press releases that they will vote for Jackson's final confirmation, along with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. Jackson's confirmation was already essentially guaranteed with apparently unanimous Democratic support.
In this screengrab, Joy Reid speaks at the 33rd Gloria Awards: A Salute to Women of Vision - VIRTUAL EVENT on May 19, 2021 in New York City. ((Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images Ms. Foundation for Women))
MSNBC’s Joy Reid and several of the hosts of "The View" were among the more vocal critics of opposition to Jackson’s confirmation, injecting race into the discussion.
MSNBC'S JOY REID: REPUBLICANS AGAINST JACKSON ON THE 'DIXIECRAT SIDE OF HISTORY'
During a Monday interview with failed New York City mayoral candidate Maya Wiley, Reid compared Senate Republicans to past segregationist Dixiecrats for their opposition to the Supreme Court nominee.
"Do you think ultimately, the history books, do you think they’ll even care that they’ll come down on the Dixiecrat side of history here?" Reid asked.
She compared Republicans, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to Dixiecrats multiple other times during the segment. At one point she claimed Republicans had "no reason" to deny a Black woman the position and wondered if they would regret coming down on "the wrong side of history."
Reid reiterated her Dixiecrat comparison in a tweet later that night. In a separate tweet on Tuesday, Reid said that Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., was letting Graham "dog walk him" and accused him of going along with Graham’s "barking-dog racism" against Jackson.
Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., are photographed as they meet on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, March 15, 2022. ( (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster))
Frequent MSNBC guest Elie Mystal also slammed Republicans, calling them "dangerously out of touch" by failing to support Jackson.
SENATE VOTES TO MOVE FORWARD WITH KETANJI BROWN JACKSON'S NOMINATION TO SUPREME COURT
On ABC's "The View," Whoopi Goldberg and Ana Navarro, also ripped into Republicans over their lack of support for Jackson on April 4.
Navarro accused the GOP of "lame pathetic cowardice partisanship" before asserting that Republicans were missing out on having the opportunity to vote for the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.
‘You know this is the most ridiculous—just say I don’t trust a Black woman to do the job because I know ya’ll didn’t have these same issues with Amy Coney Barrett," Whoopi Goldberg chimed in during the segment.
That same day, MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle asked former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal about the GOP’s reluctance to vote in favor of Jackson. She began by reading a quote from Romney, in which he stated that while he does not agree with "every decision" she may make on the court, he believes Jackosn "more than meets the standard of excellence and integrity" needed for the job.
Ruhle asked, "Should that not be the standard for all the Senators?"
Katyal quickly ripped into Republicans after agreeing with Ruhle’s assessment, claiming that Republican votes against Jackson show that they "don’t share the same respect about the Supreme Court" as Romney.
"I mean that Senate vote was ridiculous. It amounted to Republicans saying, we’ll never confirm someone who’s not Republican. They basically said the quiet part out loud," Katyal added.
WHOOPI GOLDBERG CLAIMS REPUBLICANS OPPOSING KETANJI BROWN JACKSON NOMINATION BECAUSE SHE'S BLACK
Ketanji Brown Jackson departs a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. (Photographer: Julia Nikhinson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Sharp criticism of the GOP also made its way into print.
Supreme Court reporter Linda Greenhouse claimed in a Friday New York Times opinion piece that Senators who vote against Jackson on the nation’s highest court will be "complicit" in her "abuse" by Republicans.
"Every mischaracterization of Judge Jackson’s record on the bench. Every racist dog whistle about crime. Every QAnon shout-out about rampant child pornography. Every innuendo that a lawyer who represents suspected terrorists supports terrorism," Greenhouse added. "The Republican Senators who don’t disavow their colleagues’ behavior during last week’s confirmation [sic] hearing will own it. All of it."
The Washington Post editorial board also offered some strong words for GOP members with the bluntly titled piece, "Republicans excuses for rejecting Ketanji Brown Jackson are absurd."
"Kind words cannot disguise the fact that they are grasping for pretexts, each more preposterous than the last, to oppose this historic nominee," the editorial states in part.
A number of prominent liberal media hosts, guests and writers have previously accused the GOP of propping up QAnon conspiracies against Jackson, as well as engaging in racism and sexism, among other things.
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Former President Trump's Supreme Court nominees all received scant or no Democratic votes in their confirmations, but to little or no teeth-gnashing by liberal media outlets. Amy Coney Barrett got no Democratic votes in 2020, while Brett Kavanaugh got only one in 2018. Neil Gorsuch got three Democratic votes for his confirmation in 2017.
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