Tures: Several GOP Senators confirm unpopularity at the Ketanji Brown Jackson hearings

This is a column by John A. Tures, a professor of political science at LaGrange College. He is a regular contributor to the Savannah Morning News.

As Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson answers questions before the Senate Judiciary Committee, she has actually increased her support for being confirmed to the highest court. Several of her Republican Senators grilling her are the ones confirming how unelectable they are when they pursue the Presidency in 2024 or attempt to take the Senate in 2022.

Normally, I assume that only political scientists like me and those interested in the legal realm would listen to Supreme Court confirmation hearings. But my students surprised me by begging me to start class with a discussion of the questions. Given the media attention the live hearings have received, they’re not the only ones.

From the confirmation hearing: Ketanji Brown Jackson's opening statement to Congress

Members of the GOP Senate leadership warned their party members that going after Biden’s nominee would not be a wise decision. The Democrats had the votes to confirm her. She had a moderate record and had already been through the confirmation process for other courts, so she had experience and a track record. She would be merely replacing another Center-Left Justice, Stephen Breyer, so the ideological balance of the court would not shift at all. Little would be gained from smearing her. It was best to move on to other, more winnable issues.

Several Republican Senators clearly didn’t get the memo.

It’s clear that some on the Right felt they could use these hearings to demonstrate how they are truly the most conservative. And it’s not about how most Americans define their ideology, with viewpoints, backed by logic, but it’s more about an attempt to show off how they can punch the hardest below the belt, which has become the newest attempt to attract followers and campaign contributions, often feeding their own egos in the process.

Some attempted spirited debates about federalism, the power of the states vis-à-vis the national government and judicial philosophy. We could have been treated to a discussion of original intent, textualism, judicial balancing and maybe something about the increasing deference of the legislative branch to the executive branch, a hearing that would teach listeners something about the law and judicial institutions.

But no. Several Senators did everything from storm out of the hearings to shouting loudly to trying to make the Judiciary Committee turn into a referendum on critical race theory, to asking to “define a woman,” to attacking Judge Jackson’s record on child pornography sentences.

Business Insider writes “legal experts have said the GOP claims lack context and are misleading, citing evidence that Jackson's sentencing fell within the standards of most federal judges.”

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Perhaps those GOP Senators who chose this line of questioning should have thought to examine the records of Trump judges who they voted to confirm, who had similar records on child porn sentences, as fact checkers eagerly pointed out. As my father-in-law, an attorney, once told me, “Never ask a question unless you already know the answer.” Guess that legal adage was missed.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s approval ratings have climbed from just over 50% to 58 percent in favor of her confirmation, confirmed by other polls.

As for these Senators, they are hardly astounding in their poll numbers when surveyed (infrequently when not up for reelection).

Sen. Ted Cruz has higher disapproval ratings than approval ratings, with more Texans issuing a strong disapproval than strong approval rating by nearly 10 percentage points.

Sen. Lindsey Graham similarly has far higher disapproval ratings than approval ratings.

Unlike Sen. Graham, Sen. Marsha Blackburn has higher approval-than-disapproval ratings, but we’re talking 21% to 13%, with barely more than 50% knowing who she is. And that’s before she confused the Constitution with the Declaration of Independence.

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Hawley has been increasing in his polls from negative numbers in 2021 but also polled at 0% for the 2024 nomination.

All can win a red state election with such red meat, of course, while costing their party national support.

Moderate GOP Senators like Mitt Romney announced their support for Judge Jackson, as did conservative Democratic Se. Joe Manchin.

Those members of the Senate Judiciary Committee who hoped to ride these confirmation hearings to the Republican Party nomination are the ones who will find themselves rejected by the voters.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: GOP Senators fighting weak polling during SCOTUS confirmation hearing