In the Democrats’ race to the bottom to find something with which to smear U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, Hawaii’s Senator Mazie Hirono is winning.
A member of the Judiciary Committee now considering Barrett’s nomination, yesterday Hirono asked the mild-mannered judge and law professor, a devout Catholic and mother of seven, whether she had ever raped anyone.
Other than to smear Barrett the way she and other Democrats smeared U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh with false charges of sex assault and gang rape, the question is inexplicable.
But then again, a smear was the point. Presumably, the committee’s members will now ask all nominees whether they are rapists, but in any event Hirono’s sneak attack was unsurprising in one sense.
It comports with her despicable behavior with past Catholic nominees.
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The Question
Of course, the immigrant senator from Japan didn’t bluntly ask Barrett, “are you a rapist.” Rather, she opened with a preamble about her solemn duties as a senator.
“Judge Barrett, Chief Justice John Roberts has recognized that, and I quote him, ‘The judicial branch is not immune from the widespread problem of sexual harassment and assault’ and has taken steps to address this issue within the judiciary,” she began.
Barrett probably anticipated what was next from Hirono:
As part of my responsibility as a member of this committee and indeed all of the committees on which I sit, to ensure the fitness of nominees for a lifetime appointment to the federal bench or to any of the other positions for any of the committees on which they appear, I ask each nominee these two questions and I will ask them of you.
Since you became a legal adult, have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors or committed any verbal or physical harassment or assault of a sexual nature?
Of course, Barrett answered “no” to the flatly ridiculous question. As Hirono knew she would.
But Hirono dropped another bomb: “Have you ever faced discipline or entered into a settlement related to this kind of conduct?”
Target missed. But again, Hirono knew the answer was “no.”
The suggestion that Barrett was a sexual predator, or would have to force herself on a healthy man, was not only repulsive but also insulting.
Hirono’s Record on Nominees
Yet forcing Barrett to deny she is a sex criminal was just another of Hirono’s Banzai charges.
Of course, she enthusiastically joined the smear campaign against Kavanaugh and, 30 minutes into the opening statement of Kavanaugh’s original accuser, began raising money for her next campaign.
“I am spending every minute of my day fighting the Republicans who are desperate to rush Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination and deny a fair investigation into the credible sexual misconduct allegations against him,” the senator wrote.
Then came the second false claim that the allegations were “credible” and the predictable pitch for money:
I’m going to continue to prepare and demand a thorough investigation into these claims — and I am going to fight to make sure Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez, and any other woman who courageously steps forward to tell her story isn’t smeared by conservatives ready to walk over these credible claims against Kavanaugh.
What that means is I have limited time to campaign for re-election or fundraise. So, while I’m focused on stopping Kavanaugh’s nomination and finding the truth, I’m asking you to step up now and ensure my team in Hawaii has everything they need to win our campaign in November can I count on you?
Amusingly, Hirono’s campaign legmen claimed the appeal was a big mistake.
But even worse was Hirono’s clear suggestion, at Christmastime, 2018, that Catholics aren’t welcome to serve as federal judges.
In questioning Judge Brian Buescher, President Trump’s nominee to the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska, Hirono implied that members of the Knights of Columbus are “extremists” if they don’t approve of abortion or same-sex “marriage.”
Like Barrett and Kavanaugh, Buescher is a Catholic.
“The Knights of Columbus has taken a number of extreme positions,” Hirono claimed. “For example, it was reportedly one of the top contributors to California’s Proposition 8 campaign to ban same-sex marriage,” she averred.
“If confirmed,” Hirono asked, “do you intend to end your membership with this organization to avoid any appearance of bias?” And “If confirmed, will you recuse yourself from all cases in which the Knights of Columbus has taken a position?”
Hirono also suggested, without evidence, that Buescher might not treat litigants in his courtroom fairly or impartially because of his Knights membership.
Hirono could save a lot of time and energy by skipping confirmation hearings and asking an aide to leave a sign at her seat that says “Catholics Need Not Apply.”
