Does Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) hear himself? During Tuesday’s hearings dealing with the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for the U.S. Supreme Court, he asked the nominee: “What faith are you, by the way?” How is that remotely relevant? Jackson responded that she was a Protestant Christian — which Graham indicated wasn’t enough, leading the judge to add that she was non-denominational. The South Carolina Senator then asked whether she could “fairly judge a Catholic.” Graham then explained that he pursued this line of questioning “because, how important is your faith to you?” Jackson replied that her faith was important in her personal life — adding, “but as you know, there’s no religious test in the Constitution under Article IV.” Watch Graham’s questions below:
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) begins his questioning with "What faith are you, by the way?"
Then, this: “Can you fairly judge a Catholic?”
Then, this: “How important is your faith to you?”
Judge Jackson says: “There’s no religious test under the Constitution.” pic.twitter.com/6SPRZZvoGe
— The Recount (@therecount) March 22, 2022
As summarized in Bloomberg, Graham eventually “made clear he was asking to point out how uncomfortable it was for Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who is Catholic, to be subjected to questions from Democrats about her religious views during a 2017 hearing when she was a nominee for a Circuit Court post.” So Graham was asking a U.S. Supreme Court nominee questions that he admits… weren’t related to the nominee? And that was supposed to accomplish… what exactly? “Judge Barrett I thought was treated very, very poorly and I just wanted to get that out there,” the Senator insisted. We get it — Republicans rhetorically lose their minds for years on end if the metaphorical red carpet isn’t eternally laid out for them.
"If you express your faith as a conservative, all of a sudden you're an F'n nut. And we're tired of it. And it's not going to happen to you. But it just appalls me that we can have such a system in America"
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) March 22, 2022
During his questioning, Graham also complained about the treatment of Judge Michelle Childs, who was another potential contender for the nomination that Jackson has now received. (Graham had supported Childs.) Graham asked, “Did you know that a lot of people from the Left were trying to destroy Michelle Childs?” Again — (inappropriately construed and) not relevant! Jackson observed that “a lot of people were supporting various people for this nomination,” but Graham wasn’t done. He continued: “So you’re saying you didn’t know there was a concerted effort to disqualify Judge Childs from South Carolina because she was [a] ‘union-busting, unreliable Republican-in-disguise’?” Jackson replied by noting that she is a sitting judge who was concerned with the cases before her — not politics. Watch more of Graham melting down below:
Lindsey Graham is a big baby. Ketanji Brown Jackson is trying her best not to take his bait. pic.twitter.com/AHfz1I7MMo
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 22, 2022
