Democrats are tearing into Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Monday after the newest member of the Supreme Court dismissed concerns that the body was comprised of 'partisan hacks' and blamed the media for how it reports on cases in a speech in Kentucky Sunday.
'Justice Amy Coney Barrett should not be gaslighting the American people,' Rep. Ted Lieu of California wrote on Twitter.
'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.'
Barrett said to an audience at the University of Louisville's McConnell Center, 'My goal today is to convince you that this court is not comprised of a bunch of partisan hacks.'
She was speaking at a celebration for the McConnell Center's 30th anniversary. The center was founded by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who introduced her at the event.
Some Democrats think that alone is more proof that President Biden should pack the court - a persistent rallying cry among progressives.
'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,' The Democratic Coalition executive director Scott Dworkin said on Twitter.
U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett speaks to an audience at the 30th anniversary of the University of Louisville McConnell Center in Louisville on Sunday
Rep. Ted Lieu of California, a progressive, criticized Barrett's remarks and compared them to her siding with Texas's Republican-led government on the state's restrictive new abortion law
Michael Stern, a USA Today opinion columnist, agreed 'fully.'
'We have a limited window to make that happen,' Stern replied. 'Expanding the Court is something that could happen now - if all Democrats in the Senate get on board.'
At least one Senate Democrat is irked by Barrett's comments.
'Not “partisan hacks”? Then explain 80-0 partisan 5-4 record for big donors. And explain judicially conservative principles rolled over to get those wins for donors who put you on the Court,' Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said.
The Supreme Court became a hotbed for controversy last week when it declined to block a restrictive new law in Texas that prevents women from getting an abortion if they are more than six weeks pregnant, a point when many don't even know they are.
The 5-4 ruling prompted a fierce response from Democrats in government and a Justice Department lawsuit against Texas.
Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Breyer - the court's three liberals - issued scathing dissenting opinions in which they accused their conservative counterparts of burying 'their heads in the sand' with an 'unconstitutional' decision.
But on Sunday, Barrett blamed the media for how it reports on the Supreme Court, the Louisville Courier Journal reports.
'The media, along with hot takes on Twitter, report the results and decisions,' Barrett said. '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.'
In addition to Lieu, Democrat Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse also went after Barrett's speech
She insisted that 'judicial philosophies are not the same as political parties.'
'To say the court´s reasoning is flawed is different from saying the court is acting in a partisan manner... I think we need to evaluate what the court is doing on its own terms.'
But Barrett's critics on the left are pointing out the optics of denying partisanship while speaking at an event for the Republican who rushed her confirmation through the Senate.
'Partisan hack Amy Coney Barrett doesn't want to be called a partisan hack,' mocked former Hillary Clinton adviser Peter Daou.
Florida Democrat Pam Keith, who ran for Congress unsuccessfully and now runs Fight 4 Florida's Future, a group aimed at turning the battleground state into a Democratic stronghold, said any judge endorsed by the conservative Federalist Society is a 'partisan hack.'
'Think of the Federalists Society as the Klan in Brooks Brothers suits. Their mission is to put fancy, high-falutin’ words to bogg-standard conservative white male supremacy,' Keith said.
'They’re kinda like Ivy League Proud Boys.'
Other Democrats, including a former Hillary Clinton aide, criticized and mocked Barrett
Veteran television anchor Dan Rather also mocked the circumstances of Barrett's speech on Twitter.
'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,"' Rather said.
Yale Law School Professor Scott Shapiro expressed his discontent visually, writing 'Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett expressed concerns Sunday that the public may increasingly see the court as a partisan institution' - accompanied by a photo of Barrett with former President Donald Trump.
During her Sunday speech the Trump appointee conceded that she's not immune to personal disagreements with court decisions she helped propel.
'But it's not my job to decide cases based on the outcome I want,' she said.
She added that Justices must be 'hyper vigilant to make sure they´re not letting personal biases creep into their decisions, since judges are people, too.'
Barrett was speaking at the 30th anniversary of the university's McConnell Center, founded by the Senate minority leader himself to provide scholarships to Kentucky students.
Several supporters of abortion rights demonstrated on Sunday outside the Seelbach Hotel, where the private event was held.
Abortion rights supporters protested outside the hotel where Barrett was speaking on Sunday
A protester dressed as a handmaiden, stands outside the Seelbach Hotel
She was asked about the Supreme Court's 'shadow docket,' which came under scrutiny after the Texas decision was announced just after midnight with little explanation for its rationale.
Barrett said it would be 'inappropriate' for her to comment on the case as it could possibly come before the court again.
The justice was introduced at the event by McConnell, who praised her for her 'middle America' roots and not trying to 'legislate from the bench.' Barrett was born in Indiana and is the only current justice who didn't attend Harvard or Yale.
McConnell played a key role in pushing through her confirmation in the last days of the Trump administration following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
She was confirmed by the Senate in a 52-48 vote last year, a little over a month after Ginsburg's death.
Democrats opposed her nomination, arguing that the process was rushed and that the winner of the 2020 presidential election should have been able to choose Ginsburg's replacement.
McConnell´s decision to move forward with Barrett's nomination was a contrast to the position he took in 2016, when he refused to consider President Barack Obama´s choice to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February of that year.
The court's three liberal justices issued scathing dissenting opinions in the Texas ruling in which they accused their conservative counterparts of burying 'their heads in the sand'
McConnell blocked hearings for then-judge Merrick Garland, now Biden´s attorney general, saying the choice should be left to voters in an election year.
Barrett, 49, also spoke about her introduction to the court in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, saying it 'certainly is a different experience.'
The court has for more than a year been hearing arguments by telephone though it recently announced a return to the courtroom in October.
Barrett described the court as a 'warm, collegial place.' She said that after she was confirmed a colleague brought Halloween candy for her children.
The first mother of school-age children on the high court also spoke about balancing her job and family life.
'I have an important job, but I certainly am no more important than anyone else in the grocery store checkout line,' Barrett said, describing how her relationship with her children - who are not 'particularly impressed' with her high-profile post - helps her stay grounded in her 'regular life' where she is busy 'running carpools, throwing birthday parties, being ordered around.'
When asked what advice she would give to young women who would like to pursue a career in public service, the justice said she would like young women to know it is possible to raise a family and be successful.
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