Americans have learned a lot about Amy Coney Barrett in four weeks. They know about the family's chinchilla, which parent does the laundry, and whether the Notre Dame alum hates warm puppies (she doesn't). But they've also come to know more important things: she loves her country, its Constitution, and she'll stand on her faith no matter how many Democrats try to shame her for it. In the end, that's what Americans will remember. And in this next chapter of the Supreme Court, that's what they'll respect.
Today with Chief Justice Roberts, the mother of seven raised her hand, with another on the Bible, and took the judicial oath of office. After years of dreaming about this moment, she couldn't have known that her time would come at such a pivotal moment: her country in one of its darkest years, a hurting people on the verge of a bitter election. But maybe Barrett's confirmation -- a symbol of young, honest, humble hope -- is what our nation needs: a woman at one of the highest pinnacles of government who's still inspired by the good of America.
"I love the Constitution," Barrett said again, at her White House swearing in, "and the democratic republic it establishes. And I will devote myself to preserving it." Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), like a lot of conservatives, watched the president's nominee hold her own through the process with pride. "Marsha Blackburn and I have had the most wonderful conversations about how great it is that President Trump made this nomination -- a strong woman of faith, a mom, [who is] obviously extremely successful and bright in her career. It really does give women something to aspire to." Maybe now, she said, conservative women will start to realize that they "don't have to march in lockstep with what the liberals believe in idea of a woman should be. And I think it's important for us to recognize that we can be conservative, and we can be strong, and we can set that example for others."
But unfortunately, while the American people have warmed up to the newest justice, the same can't be said of Senate Democrats. In a pathetic display, they marched, one by one, to podiums or Twitter accounts and bashed the confirmation. On the floor of the Senate, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) even dared to call it "one of the darkest days in the 231-year history of the United States Senate." Why? Because his chamber confirmed an accomplished woman who wants to uphold the law? What a sad commentary on the state of the Democratic Party.
This is a justice whose first speech after her swearing in was to say that she understood her place. "The confirmation process has made ever clear to me one of the fundamental differences between the federal judiciary and the United States Senate," Barrett insisted. "It is the job of a senator to pursue her policy preferences... It is the job of a judge to resist her policy preferences. Federal judges don't face election. Thus, they have no basis for claiming that their preferences reflect those of the people." Those sentiments aren't just a win for Republicans -- they're a win for every American who cares about the Constitution. But then, maybe that's the problem. Democrats don't. They're terrified of the rule of law because it stands in the way of every radical thing they want to accomplish.
So instead of celebrating the confirmation, they warned of "consequences," like Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), or uttered profanity like Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii). Or you say outrageous things, like Senator Schumer, who apparently didn't sense the irony when he thundered that "generations yet unborn will suffer the consequences of this nomination." He's right about one thing. Generations will be affected, to be sure -- but under a justice who reads no right to abortion in the shadows of the Constitution, they will not suffer.
Piling on the Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) even threatened to upend the lower courts. "Hundreds" of judges, he warned, shouldn't "be allowed to sit peaceably without our re-examining the process, the results, and the consequences." The bottom line, Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) fired back, is "they want to rig American democracy. Overturn the results of the last two elections. That's their agenda. [Joe Biden], of course, [is] going to give into it. He doesn't have the guts to say it." Of course, David Harsanyi points out:
"When you're under the impression that the system exists solely to facilitate your partisan agenda, something will seem 'broken' every time you lose. When Barack Obama was unable to pass his agenda after 2010, the system suffered from 'dysfunction.' ... But now that Democrats are in the Senate minority, employing the very same tools to slow the president, we must 'fix' the Electoral College, the Senate, and, most recently, the Supreme Court.'"
As Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said, regardless of what the Left does or says, Barrett's confirmation should have been a happy night for our country. But it's also a clear reminder of what's at stake in seven days: a republic and a Constitution, if we can keep them.
