By FRC's Travis Weber and Ruth Moreno
Despite her Senate confirmation hearing being in the rearview mirror, the smear attempts against Amy Coney Barrett's faith just keep coming. This time around, however, these attacks didn't primarily come from elected officials within the Democratic Party, but rather the party's obedient servants in the mainstream media. While Democratic senators used last week's hearing to push their political agenda in preparation for the election, the media has continued bashing Barrett for her religious beliefs and personal opinions--because they simply can't find any valid reason why she is not qualified to serve on the Supreme Court.
The Washington Post decided to write a lengthy article diving into the weeds of Barrett's faith group, People of Praise, and its "complicated" relationship to Catholicism. One may wonder why such a story is newsworthy, but the Post is so fixated on Barrett's faith that the attacks have come full circle. First, the argument was that Barrett is so Catholic (flashback to Senator Diane Feinstein's (D.-Calif) "dogma" comments several years ago), her beliefs might interfere with her duties as a judge. Now, the argument is that she's not Catholic enough because certain Catholics are uncomfortable with People of Praise's worship style.
The Associated Press has taken a new angle, criticizing Barrett for her service on the board of private Christian schools affiliated with People of Praise. The three schools hold to biblical standards of sexuality--as might be expected--and view marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The Associated Press describes the schools' policies on LBGTQ people as "discriminatory," though the article admits they are "probably legal." At the end of the day, this is an attempt to smear Barrett by going after her religious beliefs.
This unspoken partnership between big media and Senate Democrats is the ultimate "tag team" wrestling match. As the Wall Street Journal wryly notes, Feinstein "was onto something" when she told Barrett that "[t]he dogma lives loudly within you." Feinstein's line from Barrett's confirmation hearings for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit back in 2017 has since become infamous; while Democrat senators may be skittish of going there again, the media is clearly unafraid to keep peddling the same argument--that Barrett's religious beliefs render her unfit to serve on the Supreme Court.
The media are not alone in going after Barrett. Left-wing academics have as well; Professor Ibram X. Kendi from Boston University went as far as essentially calling Barrett and her husband racist "colonizers" in a tweet regarding the Barrett family's adoption of two black children from Haiti.
Remember, these are the same people who claim to want more women in positions of power. The truth is, the Democratic Party and their allies in the media and academia are only supportive of women who align with them politically. Barrett does not, so it's no surprise that in addition to attacking her for her personal beliefs and choices, the Left has sunk to calling her a liar, implying she does not have her own mind, and even judging her by her appearance. The fact that Barrett is an extraordinarily accomplished woman means nothing to a monolithic Left who does not share her views. Yet Amy Coney Barrett is a woman of integrity, and her background is so clean that they have nothing to attack her with.
Despite these smears from the media and academia, a poll from Morning Consult and Politico has found that 51 percent of Americans support Barrett's confirmation to the Supreme Court. This includes 32 percent of Democrats and 44 percent of Independents and makes Barrett President Trump's most popular Supreme Court nominee yet. Barrett's performance at her confirmation hearing has undoubtedly contributed to her increasing popularity. The hearing made clear that Democrats have no real arrows to sling her way, as she has proven herself to be a judge of sound and unbiased reasoning.
Even the Washington Post had to admit that Barrett was a hit during her hearings. After interviewing several Catholic women about Barrett's personal and professional life, the overall consensus was clear: she's a remarkable woman, whether one agrees with her or not, and a highly qualified nominee to the Supreme Court.
With the confirmation hearing in the rearview mirror, the Senate Judiciary Committee now will vote on Judge Barrett's nomination tomorrow, October 22. Assuming she receives a majority of votes in committee (a virtual guarantee), the full Senate will begin consideration of her nomination on October 23. Debate and procedural votes will occur over the course of a few days, and the final floor vote will be sometime in the week of October 26.
The fact is, Barrett will very likely be confirmed to the Supreme Court on Monday. There is very little Democrats can do to stop this, so they have resorted to turning her confirmation process into a sideshow in a desperate attempt to make President Trump look bad for nominating her. After the debacle with Senator Feinstein's "dogma" comments several years ago, Democrat senators this time decided to let the media do their anti-religion dirty work, while they sat on the sidelines hoping to reap the benefits. Yet Barrett performed admirably over the past week, and the American people can see right through this charade.
May we all continue to back Judge Barrett as she moves closer to the confirmation finish line. You can do your part and tell your senators to vote to confirm her by going here: frcaction.org/fillthatseat
