A non-working clock is right twice a day, so I guess Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) got the jackassery in the Senate right today.
Jackassery in the Senate called out by their own
The most petulant senators in the Ketanji Brown Jackson SCOTUS hearing over the last few days were Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, and Tom Cotton. They have no heart or sense of empathy. Their grandstanding on issue after issue made that clear.
But then Ben Sasse, a member of their party, gave a short monologue as he urged Ketanji Brown Jackson not to support cameras in the Supreme Court. His reasoning was sound as he called out his obnoxious brethren.
“We’ve had a number of members of this committee comment on cameras in the court,” Sasse said. “I’ve made my position on this clear a lot of times that if I can give a tiny bit of friend of the court brief in advance because I think when you’re on the court and you all continue to debate this issue, I think it should be a decision for the Supreme Court to make about whether or not there are cameras in the courtroom, not a decision for the Article One branch to make for Article three.”
After pointing out that the argument for cameras is for transparency, he points out that pens, pads, and recordings work just fine. He then elaborates on why cameras in the courtroom are a terrible idea.
“There’s a whole bunch of things that humans can do if they’re not immediately mindful of some distant camera audience that they might be trying to create a soundbite for.” Ben Sasse said. “. And Instagram can be useful for some small things, but for intellectual discourse, it is not a friend. And I think we should recognize that the jackassery we often see around here is partly because of people mugging for short-term camera opportunities. And it is definitely a second and third, and fourth-order of fact that the court should think through before it has advocates in there who are not only trying to persuade the nine justices but also trying to get on cable that night or create a viral video.”
I am sure the four Senators got the message. Unfortunately, it is unlikely to faze them.