Sunday School 1/30/22: Extra Credit

In this week's Sunday School, I spent time in the classroom with George and the gang at ABC's This Week. For your Extra Credit, I hung out in CNN's State of the Union classroom, with Dana Bash in the host chair. 

I want to focus on the panel discussion, with former Trump advisor David Urban, former Pence and Trump aid Alyssa Farah Griffin, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), and former Obama advisor Stephanie Cutter. One topic was the upcoming Biden nomination of a Black woman to the Supreme Court. (And, I'll confess, I didn't even know that CNN SOTU had a panel now. Shame on me for not paying attention.)

Rep. Blunt Rochester was "beyond thrilled" with Biden's plan. She was at the debate when Biden made the commitment to do that, and she anticipates he'll pick someone who's very qualified.

But, also, I really thought back to when I was ending high school and President Reagan announced that he was going to appoint a woman to the Supreme Court, and how excited I was then. This moment, I think, is long overdue. And I feel like, for all the little girls out there, for all of the -- for everybody, this is a big deal. I'm not going to say another word in the middle there, but this is a big deal.

Farah Griffin was asked to compare Biden's promise to that of president Trump's promise to put a woman - but not a black woman - in RBG's seat. I hoped that she would admit Trump had exactly zero intention of nominating a Black woman, so there was no reason for him to say it, but she didn't go there. 

Rather, she said she didn't "really understand the strategy," noting the undoubtedly "highly qualified" nominee would be called "somebody who was there because of affirmative action." And we know, already, that the Rs plan on using that in their messaging, if not in their vetting. 

I think the bigger thing here is, Joe Biden's struggling with African-American voters. And it's surprising. Last year, in April, he had 83% support. Now he's got about 64%. I think he's hoping this is going to give him a bump. But I think he's misreading the tea leaves. I think it's much more it's economic policies that are resulting in this, not simply who he is nominating to the bench.

Talk about misreading the tea leaves! It's not that Biden thinks the SCOTUS pick is more important than the things Farah Griffin mentioned; rather, it's the promise he made, at the South Carolina debate, and how that promise got him the support he needed to win the primary. In fact, Biden placed first in every county in the state, and took nearly 49% of the vote, compared to That Guy from Vermont's just-shy-of-20%. Keeping that promise is hugely important, no matter what the polls show. 

Cutter tried to pretend it wasn't a political decision at all; Biden had another reason, she said.

I think he's making this decision to ensure that the Supreme Court represents the people that it is supposed to serve. And we have never had a black woman on the court. And that's a tragedy, you know? So, this is a historic moment. And it's a shame that people can't see the importance of the moment. He's not making this choice because of politics. He's making this choice to ensure that the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, represents all Americans.

Urban was incredulous - as was I - and continually spoke over Cutter's attempts to explain herself.

Steph, did you say that without laughing? He didn't -- this is not a political pick? All Supreme Court picks are political picks... They're political. It's completely political. And it's his right. He can -- it's well within his right to do...But to say it's not political... Joe Biden wouldn't be president if it weren't for black women... Joe Biden wouldn't be president but for black women... He wouldn't be president. So, let's -- it's his pick. It's his pick...

You can watch this entire segment here.

After reaching bipartisan consensus that elections have consequences and Biden can pick whoever he wants, they moved on to talking about the women on the short list, only some of whom have been identified. Farah Griffin mentioned what she considers "kind of the open question" - what kind of person will he pick?

...if he's going to go with one of the more moderate ones who in the past has gotten Republican support at lower court levels, or if he's going to go with a very progressive left, and that -- left-leaning judge... Is this a justice for the entire country or for the leftmost flank?

And when has that ever been a question with Republicans nominees, I wonder? 

My favorite part, though? Cutter wrote an op-ed for the NY Times, in which she stated 

Thanks to President Donald Trump and the former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, there is a new set of rules in place for Supreme Court nominations that all but guarantees Democrats will succeed, unless, of course, we mess it up.

Oh, how many times I've said that myself over the years! The Democrats are their own worst enemy, always. And yes, they could easily mess this up - does anyone doubt that? 

Cutter said that with the Amy Coney Barrett appointment, which took a mere 8 days from the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg to her Rose Garden, COVID super-spreader nomination party, and only a month more to her swearing-in, the Rs set the stage for speedy confirmations, while also being criticized for "not having a deliberative process."  They couldn't, really - they were too giddy, remember?

I don't expect President Biden and Senate Democrats to move that quickly. But we need to take some lessons from that. It is -- we should move quickly, so that this nominee doesn't get tarnished by somebody like Senator Wicker, or we know that a lot of this conversation in the Republican Party is going to be about affirmative action and undertones of racism. We need to be careful and not tarnish the nominee. Let's move quickly. They are incredibly accomplished women. We should do our jobs, vet, deliberate, but get it done. Do not drag it out.

She's right. Do NOT drag this out. 

Biden needs to get with Senators in his own party to talk about his options, and they need to have quiet conversations with their colleagues on the other side of the aisle, too. And Biden is welcome to reach across the aisle himself, too. 

And I'll get flack for this, I'm sure, but members of the House need to sit this one out. The last thing - the absolute LAST THING we need, is for the fractured Dem caucus to start their usual infighting and filling the airways with their complaints about who Biden picks. If they do that, they'll provide all the ammunition the Rs need to stonewall the nomination, hold it up, and fill the airwaves with their own special version of claptrap. 

And, the Dems also need to get in front of what else is on their agenda, and how they can do more than one thing at a time, and then they need to do something, starting with the looming budget deadline. Separate from the benefits to Biden - putting his stamp on the budget and government agencies, or whatever - the Dems need to show they can prioritize, and lead.

Yep. Democrats will succeed, unless of course, they mess it up.

See you around campus.

Sunday School 11/29/20: Extra Credit

In yesterday's Sunday School, we heard from a couple of retired admirals and a current Republican Senator. In your Extra Credit today, we'll wander through some of the other classroom conversations, starting with some of the panel discussion on Meet the Press.

On that count, Hugh Hewitt (Salem Radio Network) said that "every day" he talked to folks who believe "there's massive fraud in Georgia." He tells them that's not true, and that they have to vote in the primary. He also said that people are undervaluing the intelligence of the president's voters.

They're very sophisticated. They know President Trump is as of today planning on running for election in 2024 against President-elect Biden. And he's doing things consistent with that. And I think he is going to spend the next four years underscoring the big successes of his tenure, including Operation Warp Speed...  He's going to emphasize his military rebuild, the Supreme Court, he's going to emphasize conservative realism versus Chinese Communist Party and The Abraham Accords. So, he's just setting up a campaign that's already begun. And I wouldn't be surprised, Chuck, if on or before the inauguration of President Biden, he announces Trump 2024 is formed and it's off to the races.

And finally, here's Michael Eric Dyson (Vanderbilt University), talking about the potential long-term damage from Trump's dog whistles about "the cities." 

Look at, he's attacking Detroit: 79% Black. He's attacking Atlanta: 52% Black. He's attacking Philadelphia: 42% Black. He's attacking Milwaukee: 39% Black. So we get what he's doing here. He's trying to have his cake and eat it too, so to speak. He wants to -- he has an uptick in voting among African-American people by 5% among Black men, 4% among Black women. And yet, at the same time, he wants to be able to whistle to white supremacists and white nationalists that he is still their guy and that he will continue to send out the notion that somehow this is a fraud, the fraud is related to race, race is, itself, illegitimate, and as a result of that, you, as a white person, have every reason in the world, regardless of your stratification, whether you're making, you know, $100 million a year or whether you're barely making $10,000, to “vote for me because I'm your guy.” This is destructive to the process of American democracy and one of the most powerful repudiations of enlightenment. Here's a guy who's anti-science, he's anti-race, he's anti-everything that makes this country, it seems, the very great thing he wants to make it.

Quite the interesting approach Trump is taking, wouldn't you agree?

Down the hall in the Fox News Sunday classroom (with Bret Baier sitting in for Chris Wallace), Jason Riley (Wall Street Journal/Fox News) talked about 'pandemic fatigue' and a fear of more shutdowns.

I think talk of a shutdown is just crazy talk at this point. I mean we lost more than 20 million jobs during the first shutdown. We saw depression era unemployment rates. The idea that we would want to return to that. You know, third quarter economic growth was record-breaking, more than 30%. The fourth quarter is off to a very good start. You see optimism among investors in the stock market. Why we are even talking about a shutdown? I think is just ridiculous. And we -- you're right about the fatigue as well among people -- COVID fatigue, as they call it, and we saw more holiday travel than I think a lot of people were expecting and that reflects the COVID fatigue.

But it also, I think, reflects the fact that people see these elected officials not following their own public health edicts. And people say to themselves, well, you know, I look at Governor Newsom out in California, I look at Andrew Cuomo in New York, I look at the -- the mayor of Denver and they don't seem to be following what they're telling us to do. I – you know, I think all those elected officials take this seriously. They're just weighing the risks and taking precautions and saying, you know, if I get it, I'll be OK. We know better now how to treat it. We've got a vaccine around the corner. Trust the American people to make those same decisions. And, of course, the Supreme Court has now told us that just because there's a pandemic doesn't mean our civil liberties can be -- can be suspended. So I think people are taking that in mind too.

Juan Williams (Fox News) addressed the SCOTUS decision Riley mentioned.

And so what you saw was a 5-4 decision with the newest justice, Amy Coney Barrett, casting the deciding vote. So I'm thinking she maybe even wrote the opinions suggesting that in New York specifically that you cannot put a limit on what goes on in terms of religious gatherings, the synagogues and the churches. And I think that people there -- you know, the reason it was such a close decision, 5-4, is because, you know, you have to take into consideration, we're in the middle of a public health crisis. So, you know, the -- it becomes a matter of weighing one side versus the other. I mean we clearly have a right to gather in terms of religious practices. But at the same time, you have to take into consideration the spreading of something that could cost -- cost us dearly in terms of human life, which is, of course, you know, in all religions, sacrosanct.

Susan Page (USA Today) talked about the Senate and the importance of the Georgia runoffs to the Republicans.

Oh, no kidding. A Senate with 50 Republicans is very different from a Senate with 51 Republicans. It makes all the difference for Republicans' ability to shape who President-elect Biden can appoint two key jobs, what kind of relief package for coronavirus might finally get through the Congress, whether major proposals that we've seen pass the House and get stalled in the Senate might have a chance of going through. It is a different world in Washington depending on who wins these two seats in Georgia. You'd assume that Republicans would be favored because Republicans hold every statewide office in Georgia and yet that's not the case. These are very competitive elections in part because of some legal problems that -- some ethics investigations that the two Republican incumbents are facing on stock trade. This is a big deal. So you can tell how concerned Republicans are, although you don't really see that reflected as a top priority at the moment, I think, of President Trump.

Williams had the last word, on Biden's announced Cabinet picks. 

Well, you know, remember, I think many people see him as having campaigned, Bret, to bring government back to boring and normal. And I think so far that's what we've seen in terms of his reaction to President Trump's intransigence, difficulty in approving of the transition process.

But I think I've been keeping an eye more on the cabinet appointments. And, again, the appointments have been middle-of-the-road. They are appointments that I think, for the most part, even a Republican majority, a Senate could approve those nominees. I'm keeping an eye on the attorney general who's yet to be -- that person has yet to be named. But if you're looking at people like Xavier Becerra, now attorney general of California, Sally Yates, the former deputy, if you're looking at people like Amy Klobuchar even, the former senator, I think you're looking at a more aggressive approach. On the other hand, if you look at people like Doug Jones or Merrick Garland, I think more pragmatic.

It's going to be interesting to see if Biden goes pushes the envelope a little with any of his remaining picks, or if he focuses on people who have the best chance of being confirmed. 

See you around campus, masks on, of course.