September 27, 2020

"I clerked for Justice Scalia more 20 years ago, but the lessons I learned still resonate. His judicial philosophy is mine too. A judge must apply the law as written."

"Judges are not policymakers and they must be resolute and setting aside any policy views they might hold. The president has asked me to become the ninth justice. And as it happens, I’m used to being in a group of nine, my family. Our family includes me, my husband Jesse, Emma, Vivian, Tess, John Peter, Liam, Juliet and Benjamin. Vivian and John Peter, as the president said, were born in Haiti and they came to us five years apart when they were very young. And the most revealing fact about Benjamin, our youngest, is that his brothers and sisters unreservedly identify him as their favorite sibling. Our children obviously make our life very full. While I am a judge, I’m better known back home as a room parent, carpool driver and birthday party planner. When schools went remote last spring, I tried on another hat, Jesse and I became co-principals of the Barrett E-learning Academy.... Our children are my greatest joy, even though they deprived me of any reasonable amount of sleep. I couldn’t manage this very full life without the unwavering support of my husband Jesse, at the start of our marriage, I imagined that we would run our household as partners, as it has turned out. Jesse does far more than his share of the work. To my chagrin, I learned at dinner recently that my children consider him to be the better cook. For 21 years, Jesse has asked me every single morning what he can do for me that day. And though I almost always say, 'Nothing,' he still finds ways to take things off my plate. And that’s not because he has a lot of free time, he has a busy law practice. It’s because he is a superb and generous husband.And I am very fortunate. Jesse and I have a life full of relationships, not only with our children, but with siblings, friends and fearless babysitters...."

Said Amy Coney Barrett (transcript).

67 comments:

MayBee said...

His judicial philosophy is mine too. I am pro-choice, unlike him. But the constitution is our backbone, and it must remain so.

Marcus Bressler said...

Handmaid's Tale, indeed.

THEOLDMAN

Never get tired of all the winning

Mr. Forward said...

That was very gracious and well spoken. It did lack dachshunds.

Jersey Fled said...

There's no question that as a lawyer she is fully qualified. That should be the end of the story. But 47 Democrats will find a reason to vote against her.

gspencer said...

It's not what the lawmakers intended to do that controls. It's what the lawmakers did that is the gruel of courts. To do otherwise permits the courts to become lawmakers.

That's precisely what the left wants because they cannot, by and large, get democratically their radical reshaping of society.

Oso Negro said...

Yeah, hating on her could be a bad look with the fabled suburban moms.

rhhardin said...

The question is how long can she keep from thinking like a woman. I'd guess three months.

traditionalguy said...

The law lives deeply within Amy. Deeper than he Catholic Church Dogma.Good work Amy.

Ralph L said...

I am a judge, and a good judge, too.

Unknown said...

And somehow there will be a problem with this nomination??

Kevin said...

Shorter Barrett: When you interpret the law as written, you have time left to live a full life.

traditionalguy said...

FTR: Scalia was not Italian. He was Sicilian.

Krumhorn said...

Being miserable, unhappy, nasty little shits, the lefties will try to beat this poor woman into girl pulp just because they cannot identify with someone like her. Remember how they treated Michele Bachman?

- Krumhorn

curt said...

It seems this woman was specifically invented to deprive every lefty of what little remains of their sanity.

wendybar said...

Too bad RBG and the rest of the liberal judges don't feel this way. This is what a REAL judge looks like.

David Begley said...

Think of this. On this Sunday the Dems are plotting to destroy this woman and her family. The same Democrat party that prizes empathy and believes it is morally superior to the GOP.

TheDopeFromHope said...

The left's principal objections to the nominee:

To be a true feminist, you can't be married or have children.
Seven children!? What about climate change and the population bomb?
Transracial adoptions are the work of white colonizers.
Down's children are to be killed in the womb.

We'll see how the Dems on the Judiciary Committee play this. I say Harris won't be able to contain herself.

Owen said...

She is the real deal. Democrats are going to have a hard time finding anything to attack. To reverse the old saying, their best offense may be a good defense: speak softly and delay, delay, delay. In a sense that’s already their strategy with Biden: he is running a do-nothing campaign in hopes that many tens of millions will just hate Trump; not just hate him, but hate him passionately enough that they come out on Election Day and crawl over broken glass to vote not *for* anyone but simply *against* Orange Man. Pretty inspiring, that.

Johnula said...

I don't have a lot of experience listening to Supreme Court nomination acceptance speeches, but this strikes me as brilliant: To object to any of this should be political suicide, and the Democrats should be very wary of the political cost of doing so. It almost strikes me as Trumpian in the way that it forces any opposition into a corner of their own making.

GatorNavy said...

She is already confirmed.

Matt Sablan said...

"Yeah, hating on her could be a bad look with the fabled suburban moms."

-- This is why the othering of her has to start subtly. Give it time, and just like with Palin, who it was OK to joke about hate-raping for the left, and Christine O'Donnell, who literally had to keep people from witch hunting her, and the left will convince people, "This woman is an unwoman."

And I picked that term deliberately for the literary reference.

Bay Area Guy said...

Good speech by a great, accomplished woman.

Eminently qualified for a seat on SCOTUS.

Only an idiot could oppose her confirmation.

Andrew said...

You know what would be wonderful? If even one Democrat votes in her favor. She is both eminently qualified, and a feminist success story. Does even one Democrat have integrity, and a backbone to stand up against the mob?

Shane said...

Manchin will vote to confirm.

JAORE said...

"Jesse and I have a life full of relationships, not only with our children, but with siblings, friends and fearless babysitters...."

I have been reliably told you can NOT have a full and happy life as a wife and mother and also be a success in your chosen profession. Magic, black magic, is the only answer.

Burn the witch!

cacimbo said...

In the full transcript she thanks the "fearless babysitters, one of whom is with us today." Reminded me of Nannygate. Which makes me wonder if the family paid taxes on all the hired child carers over the years.Would the Democrats use that issue so close to an election.

Michael K said...

The strategy seems to be to go after her with racial lies and to delay the vote with useless motions until the election.

Bay Area Guy said...

Here's a handy link to Judge Barrett's actual written decisions, if, you know, Democrats had any interest in reading them and opposing her ON THE MERITS of her actual work.

mikee said...

I am old enough to understand that the abortion issue is maintained by political parties as a wedge issue to stir up the party base, on both sides, rather than as an actual problem to be solved via legislation. The parties have had 48 years since Roe v Wade to legislate the problem of abortion away, and have chosen to exacerbate it rather than resolve it. To hell with them. Here's hoping the Supremes overthrow Roe v Wade entirely and force the issue before Congress. Let the squirming begin as the politicians have to vote on resolution of the issue.

Ken B said...

The adoption attacks were such a fiasco yesterday, so far over the line that even TDS sufferers were howling, that the Democrats will have a tough time attacking her now. That is why the inane talking point today that merely accepting the nomination “in these circumstances” is disqualifying. That won’t fly either. These circumstances, like a vacancy?

Francisco D said...

Andrew said...
You know what would be wonderful? If even one Democrat votes in her favor. She is both eminently qualified, and a feminist success story. Does even one Democrat have integrity, and a backbone to stand up against the mob?

Is this a trick question?

Actually the Democrats will give the appearance of standing up to the mob if their internal polling and focus group results say they need to.

Browndog said...

GatorNavy said...

She is already confirmed.


Never underestimate Linsey Graham's ability to be "fair" to the democrats. His schedule has "watch me blow it" written all over it.

wendybar said...

The left is CRYING about her adopting two Haitian Orphans. I guess they would have been happier if she left them there?? What asses they are making of themselves. They only care about power...not people. This proves it. They want to kill babies, not save them.

Drago said...

David Begley: "Think of this. On this Sunday the Dems are plotting to destroy this woman and her family. The same Democrat party that prizes empathy and believes it is morally superior to the GOP."

The democraticals AND their LLR-lefty henchmen.

And if the posting history of some of our more "interesting" posters at Althouse is our guide, the fact that Amy Barrett is an attractive and successful female conservative with an attractive family very likely adds some weird and bizarro sort of sexual/violence angle to the abuse that will be heaped upon Amy and her family from those quarters.

Drago said...

wendybar: "The left is CRYING about her adopting two Haitian Orphans. I guess they would have been happier if she left them there??"

Yes, the lefties and LLR-lefties are indeed arguing just that.

Explicitly.

Kate said...

Giving me a cavity. Stop trolling for feminist brownie points and tell me how you'd deliberate on Big Tech and big govt cases, and whether you'd recuse over abortion cases.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Oso Negro said...
Yeah, hating on her could be a bad look with the fabled suburban moms.

9/27/20, 6:34 AM

Don't underestimate the number of women who will look at someone like ACB and feel inadequate. Women who had abortions because they put their career first will not look kindly on a woman who managed to successfully juggle a great career and motherhood. Plus, she's attractive and has a supportive husband, which will also fuel jealousy.

But those women already vote Dem.

James Pawlak said...

I doubt me that her children will go about the world accepting bribes from corrupt foreign governments OR engage in racist rioting and looting.

PackerBronco said...

Barrett has more black children than Ginsburg had black law Clerks.

JAORE said...

You know I could almost support Barrett if she'd just left those two kids in Haiti and aborted three or four of her biological kids.

Such a winning (as defined by Charlie Sheen) strategy.

William said...

There's no question in my mind that Kagan and Sotomayor, like O'Connor and Ginsburg before them, are smart, honorable, and worthy of respect. Why is it so hard to extend the same courtesy to ACB.... I can see how the Democrats could object to a conservative appointment or to the circumstances surrounding her appointment, but any personal attack on her is scurrilous.....I'm too high minded to make invidious comparisons, but someone with less character than me might point out that ACB had similar accomplishments to those other jurists while at the same time raising a large family. She's the Ginger Rogers figure in this dance, doing it backwards and in heels.

John henry said...

Acb has more black children (2) than rgb had black law clerks (1 out of 160)

I think I saw that on Insty this morning. Or somewhere else.

John Henry

Readering said...

a lot of nonsense being written about the opposition to ACB. There will be too lines of opposition. One will be procedural, to try to run out the clock in order to force vulnerable Senators running for re-election to stay in DC, and hope, as with opposition to the repeal of Obamacare, to scrounge out some Republican votes. The other will be to highlight areas where a conservative Court, reinforced by ACB, will vote in ways contrary to most voters. This will be aimed at winning the election. All this stuff about trying to go after ACB personally as a Democratic strategy is nonsense.


Joe Smith said...

"Judges are not policy makers..."

How come nobody (except Scalia) ever thought of that before? What a concept!

It's as if there's a separate branch of government for that...you know, people who write laws and things that affect our lives.

By jove, I think she's got it!

Joe Smith said...

"...and whether you'd recuse over abortion cases."

Why on earth should she recuse herself on abortion cases?

Because she's a practicing Catholic?

If any senator asks her that, she should just say 'No.'

Jamie said...

whether you'd recuse over abortion cases

Considering the well-known political position of all the Democrat-appointed judges on the question of abortion, why would they not recuse themselves? I mean, after all, they clearly won't be about to rule objectively on the law when their consciences have long since dictated a particular moral basis for their decisions. Right? Isn't that how it works?

Francisco D said...

Readering said...
All this stuff about trying to go after ACB personally as a Democratic strategy is nonsense.

You are probably right, but we both know that their strategies will be focus group tested before they demonstrate the deeply felt integrity of their approach.

Of course, there will be vicious ad hominem attacks on ACB from the Democrat propaganda organs (aka the media).

Jupiter said...

"Judges are not policymakers and they must be resolute and setting aside any policy views they might hold."

Fairly sure she said "resolute in setting aside". I'm guessing these are machine-made transcripts.

rhhardin said...

She knows the secret of being somebody in life, not just another indistinguishable drone. Do stuff to help other people. It's what, for instance, blacks fail to do, and find they are missing dignity, as if dignity were being withheld from them. By whites, they assume.

But the downside of doing something to help somebody else, if you're a powerful judge, is that you deprive the objects of your helpfulness of the ability to do the same thing. The dependency trap, explained, differently.

So she might choose to be helpful while being blind to the bad effects of her helpfulness, as a SC justice. Reasoning like a woman, in other words.

rhhardin said...

When I'm in the supreme court, I'll vote to put abortion back in the states as a political question, and leave it up to the political process to determine when a fetus is cute enough to merit spontaneous protection.

Not at the one cell point, I'd assume. Presumably late enough so that the woman has a chance to find out she's pregnant. Just a guess where the political optimum will be.

France, if you believe the movie plots (Spiral), has an earlier point than Belgium, so the lady may take a short trip if she finds out she's pregnant too late.

Michael K said...

This will be aimed at winning the election. All this stuff about trying to go after ACB personally as a Democratic strategy is nonsense.

Too late. The usual suspects, like Al the man, have begun already with the race card.

Kate said...

ACB: "If a judge ever felt that for any reason that she could not apply the law, her obligation is to recuse."

She's walked that back, or clarified, and everyone's all convinced because she ruled on a death penalty case she wouldn't recuse on abortion. I'm more interested in hearing a definitive answer on this than whether or not her husband is the better cook in the family.

Szoszolo said...

"Does even one Democrat have integrity, and a backbone to stand up against the mob?"

In addition to Manchin, maybe Sinema, who stood and applauded during the State of the Union address, when Trump mentioned Tim Scott's work on "opportunity zones" and the women in white stayed seated, steeping in resentment.

Marcus Bressler said...

"Don't underestimate the number of women who will look at someone like ACB and feel inadequate. Women who had abortions because they put their career first will not look kindly on a woman who managed to successfully juggle a great career and motherhood. Plus, she's attractive and has a supportive husband, which will also fuel jealousy"

Exactly. This burns feminists' fat asses.

THEOLDMAN

Because they say it cannot be done and look down on women who give up or postpone "careers" to have and rear children...

Milwaukie guy said...

I believe all the European countries, except for Poland, allow elective abortions.

I was trying to find a list of the limitations I have read previously, but couldn't find it.

Everyone but two limit elective abortions to 12 or 16 weeks. The UK and the Netherlands are about 24 and 26 weeks. I would certainly be in favor of a 16 week limit.

Dave Begley said...

Every husband in America should ask his wife every day, "What can I do for you today?"

And the wife should say the same thing to the husband!!

Jupiter said...

Kate said...
"... everyone's all convinced because she ruled on a death penalty case she wouldn't recuse on abortion. I'm more interested in hearing a definitive answer on this than whether or not her husband is the better cook in the family."

She did not say that her husband was the better cook. She said that her children think he is. Hope that helps with whatever decision you're struggling with.

Bunkypotatohead said...

What's with all the fluff about husband and kids and babysitters.
Are they going to be deciding cases too?

Narayanan said...

A judge must apply the law as written
--------------==================
I don't get this at all >>>> at appellate level isn't the question whether lower court held and met this standard?

Big Mike said...

For 21 years, Jesse has asked me every single morning what he can do for me that day. And though I almost always say, 'Nothing,' he still finds ways to take things off my plate. And that’s not because he has a lot of free time, he has a busy law practice. It’s because he is a superb and generous husband.

Wife is gonna make me sleep on the sofa.

Bob Smith said...

“ She did not say that her husband was the better cook. She said that her children think he is.“
She clearly makes well balanced nutritious meals while he lets them eat pizza and hot dogs every night.

Anonymous said...

somebody tell the Dems that Haitians are Catholic?

Rich Vail said...

Ann, despite all that quoted, you're STILL GOING TO VOTE FOR JOE BIDEN AS (temporary) PRESIDENT. So, please, just stop with our holier than thou attitude...

Browndog said...

Kate said...

She's walked that back, or clarified, and everyone's all convinced because she ruled on a death penalty case she wouldn't recuse on abortion. I'm more interested in hearing a definitive answer on this than whether or not her husband is the better cook in the family.


I hope you lose sleep over it. Not to be mean, but because it's what you deserve.

79 said...

"Ann, despite all that quoted, you're STILL GOING TO VOTE FOR JOE BIDEN AS (temporary) PRESIDENT. So, please, just stop with our holier than thou attitude..."
This...I'd do "LOL" but it is sooooo not funny...
Althouse is pro-choice...and that trumps everything for her and those women like her who believe that abortion is an acceptable form of birth control...
She will vote against Trump even though she knows Biden is suffering from an advanced and accelerating dementia that disqualifies him from any elected public office... because women are incapable of saying "NO".... or whatever...

heyboom said...

Good grief, lighten up folks! This is just an introduction to Amy Coney Barrett the human being. Her judicial record is out there for all to see (a link was even posted upthread), and we will see more and more of that discussed in the coming days. I appreciate this as a way to get to know her outside of her capacity as a judge.

And I'm sure commenter Kate never got any cavities over the fawning worship of RBG the "prophet".

Mazzuchelli said...

Althouse is a Dim? Oh.My.Dog.