This Just In – Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is on the job. Jumping into the questioning in early cases before the Court this week, Justice Jackson made clear that she is ready for work.
During her Investiture Celebration at the Library of Congress, Jackson gave a brief and sometimes emotional speech about standing on the shoulders of women and people of color who came before her. She was humble and inspiring – a breath of fresh air.
Never more so than when she described something that happens to her regularly now: people of color stop her on the street, acknowledge who she is and say to her “Look at what we’ve done!”
If the first couple of days of arguments before the Court are any indication, Jackson is going to shake up the dynamics among this very unusual group of nine co-workers. White men are now a minority on the Supreme Court. Judge Jackson used a so-called “originalist” argument to slap down the Alabama Solicitor General when he tried to argue that Article Two of the Voting Rights Act should be “race neutral.” Some of the conservative justices supported her view in that.
Indeed… look at what we’ve done.
Meanwhile, in North Carolina, just a few minutes on the TV will get you saturated with ads attacking Judge Cheri Beasley. These ads are sponsored by the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee – headed by Senator Rick Scott of Florida. Senator Scott, you’ll recall is the same guy who (on multiple network interviews) this past weekend could not find a way to say “that’s disgusting” when asked about Donald Trump’s racist death threat against Mitch McConnell and his wife, Elaine Chow.
These ads against Beasley are the polar opposite of the investiture of Justice Jackson. They are deeply racist, fear-based, fact free and outrageous in their deception. “Beasley is coming for you,” they say, citing that she will be going after working people who make less than $75,000/year and using her 87,000 new IRS agents to do it. This is all while showing images of law enforcement with guns drawn.
Subtle as a jackhammer in the morning mist.
Meanwhile, opponent Ted Budd, who is not supposed to be coordinating his campaign or advertisements with the Senate committee, is running ads with lots of images of guns and homeowners using their second amendment rights to protect their families – presumably from a State Supreme Court justice who’s going to jump out of the bushes at any moment.
Judge Beasley’s television ads describe her as a hardworking, fair jurist. They emphasize her integrity and feature endorsements of retired judges who we all know. Her attack ads against Budd expose his record of self-dealing, but they don’t suggest he’s going to come and rob your house.
When Beasley and Budd debate tomorrow night, I hope that she will use some of her time to scold Budd on the disgraceful, racist messaging in those ads. If she does, his answer will be that it’s Rick Scott and the Senate Republican Campaign Committee and that he doesn’t direct that. I’ll bet the dog ate his homework, too. The race is now a dead heat, so the debate is probably important in persuading voters who have not paid much attention yet.
We must pay attention – up and down the ballot. It all matters a great deal. I hope that in January, we can look at Senator Burr’s successor and proudly say “Look what we’ve done!”
Jean Bolduc is a freelance writer and the host of the Weekend Watercooler on 97.9 The Hill. She is the author of “African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties: An Oral History” (History Press, 2016) and has served on Orange County’s Human Relations Commission, The Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, the Orange County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and the Orange County Schools’ Equity Task Force. She was a featured columnist and reporter for the Chapel Hill Herald and the News & Observer.
Readers can reach Jean via email – jean@penandinc.com and via Twitter @JeanBolduc
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