Geoff Shepard: Supreme Court's John Roberts may not be the savior the GOP hopes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Mitch McConnell is the savviest Senate majority leader that Republicans could ever want in a technical impeachment process. It's the Senate GOP's turn to participate in the impeachment process, and, as Hamlet once said, "Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished."
However, Mitch is not exactly holding four aces. He’s facing the strongest headwinds of his leadership career: an alleged “conservative” justice and self-centered shenanigans from fellow GOP senators, each seemingly ripe for bullying by the liberal media.
That media cheered House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., as House Democrats ran roughshod over the Republican minority. Secret hearings were deemed a good thing.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Then, when it came time for the spotlight and public consumption, the press saw no problem from denying appearances from opposing witnesses. The whistleblower’s testimony was suddenly unnecessary, and former Vice President Joe Biden’s conflicts were deemed off-topic. Democrats steamrolled their way to a partisan impeachment vote on two laughably un-substantive articles.
Now, with this mess heading into the Senate, the media is suddenly concerned about “fairness” – and are searching for Republicans to intimidate. Their primary focus will be Chief Justice John Roberts, who’s unaccustomed to the political spotlight. They’ll also invite GOP senators, such as Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, to join their game. The media’s interest is instigating internecine conflict, so they’ll provide fawning coverage for even the slightest GOP criticism of Trump and McConnell.
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While the Constitution specifies the chief justice shall preside over the Senate trial, it gives no further guidance – and Roberts’ past conduct is hardly reassuring. He cast the deciding votes to uphold ObamaCare and to crush the census citizenship question. Roberts’ pointed declaration that “there are no Obama judges” may be the most concerning. There are dozens of nationwide injunctions designed to thwart Trump initiatives that have been sought from and delivered by Obama-appointed judges.
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As an indication of this utopian ideal that background is irrelevant, Roberts recently named a judge with a strong liberal pedigree, James Boasberg, to head the super-secret FISA court, no doubt confident that an Obama-appointee would be ideal to lead that court’s response to the massive abuses that occurred by Deep State FBI and Justice officials opposed to Trump’s election.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}As a Republican-appointed justice, Roberts’ goal will be to preside in a manner designed to avoid any media criticism of GOP bias. He’ll bend over backward to accommodate every demand from Pelosi and Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York – and the mainstream media will back him every step of the way.
As a Republican-appointed justice, Roberts’ goal will be to preside in a manner designed to avoid any media criticism of GOP bias. He’ll bend over backward to accommodate every demand from Pelosi and Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York – and the mainstream media will back him every step of the way
We learned about Roberts’ susceptibility to external pressure from tales regarding his ObamaCare deliberations. Journalist Jan Crawford revealed that “Roberts pays attention to media coverage” and is “sensitive to how the court is perceived by the public.” She added that as critical media coverage began to build during that case, conservative justices noticed Roberts was getting “wobbly” about striking down ObamaCare. As we know, he eventually caved.
A virtue-signaling, image-conscious justice, overly sensitive to media coverage, has an undeniable potential to muck-up McConnell’s plans. The press knows Roberts is susceptible to reputational intimidation, and they’ll go all out to mold him as they please. This will be an incalculable boom for Democrats, even if detrimental to a fair process. It will be crucial that we focus on how Roberts adjusts his demeanor if even the slightest criticisms of him begin to bubble-up in the punditry. If Roberts plays the media’s game, they’ll reward him as a “Republican judge” rising above petty partisan politics.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Unlike House Democrats, McConnell has but a slim majority. The media only need find a few GOP Senators to express hesitation, which they can then quote to undercut the Majority Leader.
Recently, Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski let it be known that she was “disturbed” by McConnell’s intent to coordinate with the White House. She was immediately deified by the liberal media, who now could attach that ominous label to kneecap Mitch.
As if on cue, Trump critic-in-chief Mitt Romney is now calling for Bolton to be a witness in any Senate trial. Count on it, the media will herald any GOP bait-takers as having Solomon-like wisdom, providing praiseworthy coverage designed to entice other members of the Republican Party, particularly the Never Trumpers, to speak out against Trump or McConnell and see their comments proclaimed to be the personification of political bravery.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The media realize this impeachment is a sham, but it’s better for their bottom line if they can create enough conflict to keep an audience engaged.
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You’ve heard lots about how McConnell is an admittedly partisan juror. You’ll hear a lot less about how his counterpart Schumer echoed the exact same partisan sentiment during the Clinton years.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}If McConnell acts like Pelosi or Schiff, the media will be primed to pounce. Their standard of “fairness” will be whatever Pelosi and Schumer now want.