NEWS AND OPINION:
Buckle up. Stay calm. The nation faces what likely will prove a particularly bitter and aggressive partisan battle over the next Supreme Court nominee following the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. That nominee may have to face the same challenge Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh experienced — a three-month public ordeal of accusations about his personal life and much more.
“Prepare for Kavanaugh-like attacks from the left on any nominee,” predicts Penny Nance, CEO and president of Concerned Women for America.
The group, a public policy organization which promotes Biblical values and Constitutional principles, vows to pray for “God’s comfort over Justice Ginsburg’s family” and offers public appreciation for her role as a trailblazer.
“May she rest in peace,” says Ms. Nance.
She also notes, however, that her group is prepared “to withstand the left’s radical attacks on any nominee” in the near future.
“If there is one thing we learned from what they did to Justice Brett Kavanaugh, it is that it doesn’t matter who the nominee is, nor his or her record. What matters to the radical left is that it is President Trump‘s nominee. Not even truth mattered to them with the nomination of Kavanaugh. But we withstood their attacks then, and we will do so again. We are ready to put another constitutionalist on the high court and stand ready to spend considerable resources to see him or her through to confirmation,” Ms. Nance advises.
FOR THE LEXICON
“Fill that seat!”
This was a repeated, enthusiastic chorus during President Trump‘s rally in North Carolina on Saturday. Republicans are anxious to begin the process of confirming a new justice, Democrats are not, simple as that. Can Mr. Trump swiftly land a preferred nominee on the bench?
It could happen. The Federalist and other observers have already pointed out that several justices were confirmed by the Senate in under 45 days, including the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was confirmed in 42 days. In addition, Sandra Day O’Connor was confirmed in 33 days while John Paul Stevens waited just 19 days.
AND WHERE IS BIDEN?
President Trump‘s clever reelection campaign offers a pertinent public question to Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden daily, Here is the query for Sunday: “In June you said you would release a list of your Supreme Court candidates. Where is it?”
Good point. Impatient news organizations now wonder when Mr. Biden will reveal his wish list, though he’s already said he doesn’t want to “politicize” the Supreme Court vote. Democrats are now steering the narrative to protect Mr. Biden.
“He doesn’t need to issue some lists in order for Democrats to be comfortable that they know his values and his priorities,” Sen. Chris Coons, Delaware Democrat, told The Associated Press, predicting the “Biden administration” will choose a “qualified, mainstream jurist.”
TRUMP AND THE DEBATE
The countdown is on for the first of three presidential debates between President Trump and Democratic rival Joseph R. Biden. The big day is Sept. 29, when the pair face off in an event moderated by Fox News host Chris Wallace. Mr. Biden, according to press reports from NBC and other sources, has been preparing for the event while Mr. Trump has not. Does it matter?
“Success or failure in politics is often in the eye of the beholder. Trump’s off-the-cuff style is seen as brutish and amateur among most in Washington and the media, but it’s seen as refreshing or genuine to his supporters,” writes Nate Ashworth, an analyst for Election Central.
“Voters, by this point in history, are well-acquainted with his style and it’s likely that a few answers which do not pass media standards don’t impact much beyond that realm as Americans have heard ‘Trumpisms’ for nearly five years now. That’s not to say his style can’t be harmful, it most certainly can with various segments of the voting public. The question is whether those voters who detest his answers and personality were ever on the table as undecided voters in 2020 in the first place,” Mr. Ashworth says.
He predicts Mr. Wallace will likely ask unexpected questions to both candidates — a situation where debate prep could pay off. Or not.
“It shouldn’t go unnoted that Trump’s frequent and lengthy press conferences, where he takes direct questions from numerous journalists, do resemble at least something that looks like a debate. The questions are often antagonistic in nature, and the president appears to revel in the worst ones because it gives him an opportunity to attack the media while answering,” Mr. Ashworth observes.
THE COALITIONS MULTIPLY
President Trump‘s reelection campaign continues to create an unprecedented number of voter coalitions devoted to many distinct demographics, from sheriffs to Italian Americans. The campaign has just added its 38th group: Jewish Voices for Trump, chaired by philanthropist Sheldon Adelson and Miriam Adelson, his wife.
“Today’s extremist Democrats are electing anti-Semites into Congress and inviting them to speak at their national convention. They are turning their back on our Israeli allies, minimizing the Holocaust and fermenting anarchy in our streets. In stark contrast to the radical, hateful Democrats, President Trump remains the most ardent champion of the Jewish community and friend to the State of Israel,” says Boris Epshteyn, a Trump campaign adviser.
Other faith coalitions within the Trump fold also include Latter-day Saints for Trump, Catholics for Trump, Evangelicals for Trump, Hindu Voices for Trump, Muslim Voices for Trump and Sikhs for Trump.
POLL DU JOUR
• 69% of U.S. adults say it should be mandatory to wear a mask in public; 49% of Republicans, 63% of independents and 93% of Democrats agree.
• 55% overall always wear a mask in public; 45% of Republicans, 46% of independents and 74% of Democrats agree.
• 22% overall wear a mask in public most of the time; 24% of Republicans, 27% of independents and 18% of Democrats agree.
• 17% overall wear a mask some of the time; 24% of Republicans, 21% of independents and 6% of Democrats agree.
• 6% overall never wear a mask; 7% of Republicans, 5% of independents and 2% of Democrats agree.
Source: A Yahoo poll of 1,539 U.S. adults conducted Sept. 15-17.
• Kindly follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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