People Aren’t Buying Amy Coney Barrett’s Claim That The Supreme Court Isn’t Filled With ‘Partisan Hacks’

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Donald Trump was elected in part to push the Supreme Court to the right. And that he did. During his single term, he was able to name three judges to the highest court in the land. One was accused of sexual misconduct. Another was confirmed less than a week before the election that would boot Trump from power. The latter is Amy Coney Barrett, who was widely seen as someone who would do the rightwing’s bidding. And Barrett doesn’t like that characterization, despite recent evidence supporting it.
As per CNN, Barrett delivered a speech Sunday at the University of Louisville’s McConnell Center, named after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who was instrumental in getting her her lifetime appointment.
“My goal today is to convince you that this court is not comprised of a bunch of partisan hacks,” Barrett told the crowd. “Judicial philosophies are not the same as political parties.”
Barrett swore that “it’s not my job to decide cases based on the outcome I want.” She also came for journalists. “The media, along with hot takes on Twitter, report the results and decisions,” she added. “That makes the decision seem results-oriented. It leaves the reader to judge whether the court was right or wrong, based on whether she liked the results of the decision.”
It’s true that Barrett hasn’t always voted predictably. The Supremes even unanimously shot down a case from the Trump team involving loony election fraud claims, much to Trump’s shock and fury. But lately she’s voted more in line with the right. She voted to block the Biden administration’s pandemic-related eviction moratorium. And two weeks ago she voted to uphold Texas’ draconian abortion law, which makes the procedure illegal after only six weeks — when most women don’t even know they’re pregnant.
In other words, people weren’t buying Barrett’s claim that she and other Trump appointees — to say nothing of Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito — weren’t “political hacks.”

Justice Amy Coney Barrett should not be gaslighting the American people. She voted to allow an extreme Texas anti-abortion law to take effect even though it violates the law of the land. And she did it by hiding behind the Court’s shadow docket. Her actions screamed partisanship. https://t.co/GcQ2zBKe38
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) September 13, 2021

Area partisan who was installed to overturn roe doesn’t want you to call her a partisan hack. https://t.co/TiOs6KDBAU
— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) September 13, 2021

Fair. The phrase is “fundamentalist zealots with no respect for the law”. https://t.co/aP8VGFrnoQ
— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) September 13, 2021

Many marveled at how brazen her statement was.

Amy Coney Barrett said the Supreme Court isn’t partisan, after being introduced by Mitch McConnell at a venue named after him. More proof we must expand the court.
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) September 13, 2021

She said this while STANDING NEXT TO MITCH MCCONNELL.
She’s the freaking hot dog car meme now.https://t.co/bwRhhKggnO
— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) September 13, 2021

Some wondered if she’s just a troll.

I think the best way to understand Barrett here is that she’s shitposting. https://t.co/PL30IT1r8y
— b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) September 13, 2021

Others wondered if this wasn’t simply a victory lap for herself and those who made her one of the most powerful figures in American life.

Amy Coney Barrett and Mitch McConnell took a victory lap together. https://t.co/5QxqWhaY6n
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) September 13, 2021

Even Dan Rather — who of late has thrown up his hands and started dragging conservatives with sarcastic tweets — wasn’t having it.

We’re apparently playing the “Things you can’t make up” game this morning. So Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett (speaking at a center named after Mitch McConnell, introduced by Senator McConnell) worries that the Court is seen as “a bunch of partisan hacks.”
— Dan Rather (@DanRather) September 13, 2021

(Via CNN)