Whoever debases others debases himself.

James Baldwin

This week, Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson was subjected to a veritable circus of questioning by GOP lawmakers during three days of US Senate confirmation hearings. If confirmed, judge Jackson would be the very first African American woman to serve on the nation’s highest court. Jackson exhibits impeccable credentials: A graduate of Harvard Law School, editor of the Harvard Law Review, three clerkships (including one with U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer), serving as a district judge for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, vice-chair of the United States Sentencing Commission from 2010 to 2014, and currently a member of the Harvard Board of Overseers.

Although Judge Jackson’s resume outshines many of those justices appointed before her, this didn’t seem to matter to certain GOP lawmakers. 

Unlike the bizarre Brett Kavanaugh hearings in 2018 in which Kavanaugh broke into tears when questioned about sexual harassment claims put forward by Christine Blasey Ford, Jackson (KBJ) was the epitome of professionalism and composure. The fact that she did not “take the bait” while legislators talked past her, and grilled her with ridiculous questions such as “how do you define a woman?” or “on a scale of 1–10, how faithful would you say you are in terms of religion?” shows that she is more than capable of the post.

Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) showed her true colors with her questioning. She asked KBJ, “You have praised the 1619 Project, which argues the U.S. is a fundamentally racist country, and you have made clear that you believe judges must consider critical race theory when deciding how to sentence criminal defendants,” Blackburn boldly asked, “Is it your personal hidden agenda to incorporate critical race theory into the legal system?”

Blackburn’s question is a replay of Senator James Eastland’s line of questioning during Supreme Court nominee Thurgood Marshall’s confirmation hearings in 1967. Eastland posed the question “Are you prejudiced against white people in the South?” 

Blackburn and other Republican senators continually injected race-baiting into KBJ’s confirmation hearings, but KBJ never once fell for it.

Then there’s Lindsey Graham’s tantrums and constant interruptions of KBJ. On Tuesday, Graham opened his time with a series of questions badgering KBJ about her religion, her Christian affiliation, and how often she attends church services. Graham apparently has an ax to grind with Democrats, alluding to the fact that they mistreated Justice Amy Coney Barrett during her confirmation hearings. Graham also attempted to gaslight Senators in stating, “to my Democratic colleagues, if you’re a person of color, a woman, supported by liberals, it’s pretty easy sailing,” he said. “But if you’re Miguel Estrada, Janice Rogers Brown, Amy Coney Barrett, on and on and on, your life gets turned upside down.”

Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Mitch McConnell (R-K) all claimed that throughout her career, KBJ has been soft on crime and pedophiles, and accused her of coddling sexual predators and promoting the indoctrination of children with CRT. These same senators also attacked her legal advocacy on behalf of suspected terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay. Hawley specifically accused KBJ of letting sexual offenders and pedophiles off the hook. Perhaps the highlight of the GOP circus was Wednesday’s photo of Senator Ted Cruz searching for his own name on Twitter in the Senate hearing room.

The ludicrous line of inflammatory questioning based on misinformation posed by GOP Senators during the hearing was both embarrassing, shocking and downright racist.

Perhaps the reason the GOP blatantly resorted to racist attacks is that they got nothing else to go on. They can’t attack KBJ on her actual record as a lawyer or judge, her LSAT scores (Tucker Carlson I hope you’re listening), or her academic achievements. They can’t get her on temperament or paint her as a “fragile woman” either. This was evidenced by her composure, restraint, and professionalism during the barrage of bizarre questions about race, child porn, LGBTQ subjects, and her personal spiritual beliefs. 

I was both moved and impressed by KBJ’s composure and professionalism as she weathered the onslaught of race-baiting and unveiled disrespect by white senators. The attempts of these lawmakers to debase and ridicule her failed miserably, and by stooping so low they debased only themselves.