Bianna Golodryga twisted herself into a logic pretzel on Friday’s CNN Newsroom as she condemned Republicans for not appreciating Ketanji Brown Jackson’s to the Supreme Court while Vladimir Putin seeks to divide Americans and while waging war in Ukraine.
Making matters worse was that Golodryga seemed to understand the rhetorical leap she was making, but didn’t care. In an interview with White House nomination advisor for legislative affairs and former Sen. Doug Jones, she declared, “You know, ideological differences are expected, they’re even welcome, right, in this country. That is what we're all about in the United States.”
Still, she wondered “Given the context of what’s going on in the world, an unprovoked war at the hands of Russia, thousands of miles away, Vladimir Putin constantly trying to amplify our differences in the United States and our problems and lord knows we have a lot in this country, but in a moment like we saw yesterday where history was being made, was it a missed opportunity to only see one Republican senator really take in the moment and appreciate what it says about this country, at least trying to strive to be a better and more perfect union?”
Jones appreciated Golodryga’s concern, “I’m glad you mentioned that because I think you're absolutely correct… I do think you're correct. We could have sent a strong message about democracy, the rule of law, our constitutional principles and instead, we saw a—a-- partisan divide.”
Fellow host Jim Sciutto then took the conversation in a different direction with some tradition CNN fearmongering, “I mean, Roe v. Wade, being front and center, including how the Court has addressed it so far, but the make-up remains the same, 6-3 conservative-liberal with Judge Roberts sometimes siding with liberals but still outnumbered by the conservatives. For folks at home who don't follow the Court closely, is the life, are the lives of American people, the rights as we know them, about to change significantly?”
For his part, Jones concluded the segment by suggesting that Jackson is a consensus builder who will help depoliticize the Court when it comes to those controversial cases.
This segment was sponsored by Consumer Cellular.
Here is a transcript for the April 8 show:
CNN Newsroom
4/8/2022
10:33 AM ET
BIANNA GOLODRYGA: You know, ideological differences are expected, they’re even welcome, right, in this country.
DOUG JONES: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: That is what we're all about in the United States. I'm just wondering, given the context of what’s going on in the world, an unprovoked war at the hands of Russia, thousands of miles away, Vladimir Putin constantly trying to amplify our differences in the United States and our problems and lord knows we have a lot in this country, but in a moment like we saw yesterday where history was being made, was it a missed opportunity to only see one Republican senator really take in the moment and appreciate what it says about this country, at least trying to strive to be a better and more perfect union?
JONES: You know, I'm—I’m-- glad you mentioned that because I think you're absolutely correct. I think it was a missed opportunity by a lot of people on that Senate floor yesterday. Not just to stay there and—and-- soak in the moment of history but to be a part, to be on the right side of history. This was not a vote that people on the Republican side of the aisle should be afraid of. Not at all. This was a justice who has a solid record following the rule of law. It could have been a very easy vote, but we let things get out of hand but I—I-- do think you're correct. We could have sent a strong message about democracy, the rule of law, our constitutional principles and instead, we saw a—a-- partisan divide. Fortunately, we got bipartisan votes and I'm very, very thankful for the three Republican votes that we got. I think we, she deserved more, and I'm disappointed that we couldn't get more.
JIM SCIUTTO: I want to ask if I can, a question to look forward here because you're so deeply steeped in these issues but as we mentioned, the Court, it has a whole host of consequential decisions to come that are going to change people's lives, right? I mean, Roe v. Wade, being front and center, including how the Court has addressed it so far, but the make-up remains the same, 6-3 conservative-liberal with Judge Roberts sometimes siding with liberals but still outnumbered by the conservatives. For folks at home who don't follow the Court closely, is the life, are the lives of American people, the rights as we know them, about to change significantly?
JONES: I think that's hard to say, Jim, and you know, Judge Jackson will not take the bench until after Justice Breyer formally steps down and so some of those decisions are going to be made before she actually takes the bench but every term, the Supreme Court of the United States makes decisions that affect people's daily lives, I—I-- think people often forget about the consequential nature of every Supreme Court decision in one way or another. And so I, you know, right now, the Court is taking a look at a number of different things and they’re going to continue to do that in the near term.
You know, the one thing I think Judge Jackson brings to this court though is the ability to find common ground. She is a real consensus builder, and I think the Court’s own reputation. I think the way people see the Court will be enhanced. If she can bring people together and we don't have so many 6-3 decisions, we don't have folks in, you know, like yourself, in the media talking about conservatives versus liberals, but yet just a majority of the Supreme Court carrying the day. I think there's a long way to go but I—I-- really believe that this justice will have the opportunity to bring people together on that Court.
