Thread by @DrJasonJohnson

The entire #KetanjiBrownJacksonHearing has been performance art at a time when #SCOTUS public approval ratings are at an all time low. (SCOTUS public approval is lower than after Bush v Gore 😬). It's bread an circuses to give the court a patina of legitimacy.

https://twitter.com/BreeNewsome/status/1507142947682271233

The process is broken, Gorsuch, Barrett and Kavanagh arguably should not be on the bench. They are only there through the machinations of a GOP Senate leadership that was obsessed with 1) Undermining Obama 2) Ensuring Trump remained in office should his 2020 lawsuits get that far

Even the most casual American voters saw the GOP senate steal a seat from Obama. Millions watched as Kavanagh screamed and pouted to avoid answering questions about his finances, alleged sexual assaults (there were more than 1) and writings on torture during the Bush years

If getting on SCOTUS is just a numbers game in the Senate then why have hearings at all? If the Senate is not obligated to respect elections, the president's nomination or ANY criteria for qualifications then what were we truly watching for the last few days?

A public flogging

Judge Thomas famously called his confirmation hearing "A high tech lynching of an uppity black man". It was a seminal moment meant to embarrass white Democrats many of which's racial politics didn't give them the moral highground to question Thomas's own backwards positions

It was a "lynching" because Hill's testimony put Thomas confirmation in doubt. That isn't the case w/ #KetanjiBrownJackson . Not one Senator's vote was up for grabs. So racist senators just gave her a public flogging to reinforce the racial order before her inevitable rise

#KetanjiBrownJackson was questioned by GOP Senators who are actively abetting the #Jan6thInsurrection & used witnesses who refuse to acknowledge the 20 election. She will join a SCOTUS w/ Clarence Thomas who's been a walking conflict of interest for years. How is this credible?

So while symbolically she is a shining star the entire process temains broken just one Senate death, or election away from again rendering SCOTUS a weakened branch subject to the whims of insurrectionists in the Senate