Judge Jackson's interrogation reveals a racist GOP uninterested in increasing its minority vote
There is a belief that the GOP had an opportunity to do their party some good during the committee hearings on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination for SCOTUS. For example, in an opinion piece for Politico, Sheryll Cashin, a law professor at Georgetown University, wrote,
“Republicans had an opportunity with Jackson’s nomination to do the right thing. The votes for her confirmation are all-but assured. They could have used this as an opportunity to repair division in a time of war, compete for Black voters and, frankly, signal that the arc-bending party of Lincoln still exists.”
On his TV show, Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough said,
"It really is shocking to me that Republicans wouldn't use this opportunity to soften some of their harder edges."
This sentiment points to a weakness in an analysis of the Republican Party. It ignores the fact that the GOP does not care. Logic says the GOP would be in a better position if they reached out to minorities. But they just do not want to. Why not? Are Republican politicians racist? I think they are. But regardless, they know their base is, and they will not do anything to cool those racists’ passions.
Decent people know conscience regulates behavior. But the GOP has none. People with empathy will never truly understand the mind of a sociopath. They cannot imagine living in a conservative world where morality does not exist. Except as a cynical vehicle to punish people who offend the conservative belief that the world should be as they want it. How else do you explain the opposition to gay marriage?
Gay marriage has no victim. It has no impact on the lives of straight folk. Thomas Jefferson observed, “It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are 20 gods or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.” The same can be said about a neighbor's marital choices. The conservative may not like it — but so what? Ask a conservative how they would feel if their neighbor claimed the right to legislate whom they could marry. That zealot would be the first to the barricades to protect their ‘natural rights’.
Consider the fight over Critical Race Theory (CRT). There are plenty of sociological explorations of the structure and dynamics of society. Why do conservatives reserve particular ire for CRT — especially as no kid in primary/secondary schools will be exposed to it? Racism — pure and simple. Children are a lot more decent than adults as a rule. And if young children knew about the racist history of the US they would be more likely to grow up to be tolerant adults — maybe even Democratic voters. And no conservative is going to risk that.
So why didn’t the Republican Senators of the Judiciary Committee at least pretend not to be racist? Wouldn’t it have been a small price to pay for an uptick in minority support? No. Not by the GOP’s electoral calculation. Their strategy is three-fold. Scare their base into the ballot box. Disenfranchise minorities. And gerrymander the political map to maximize the white vote.
Best of all, racism comes easily to these people. It makes them happy to do the wrong thing. They can proclaim their aim is to guarantee election integrity. And the base is dumb and bigoted enough to believe them. But most of the Ivy-league educated lawyers and other cynical bastards designing Republican strategy know there is no election fraud and that Biden legitimately won the 2020 election.
However, 71% of their base believes Biden is an illegitimate President. A sizable 63% of independents are not 100% sure Biden won. And the GOP propaganda has been so effective, even 17% of Democrats have at least some doubt.
This naked racism was a product of the Trump years. It was always there. But the sweat stain in a suit permitted it to be unleashed The only question is whether there will be a change in attitude when that election failure is finally exposed as an insignificant and toothless windbag. The answer is no. America may be trending toward a less white, more diverse country. But until racism becomes a clear negative for the GOP they will elect candidates who are white-nationalist loving, neo-Nazi embracing rabble-rousers. Who, in turn, will keep slinging the red meat of bigotry at the rabid pack while using dog-whistles so loud only the most credulous listener will miss the blatant racism.