It’s safe to say that the left is in full-blown panic mode over the Supreme Court vacancy and have already begun viciously targeting possible Trump pick and U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Amy Coney Barrett over her conservative values, her Catholic faith, and, most of all, her gender.
A Tuesday afternoon CNN Newsroom segment illustrated that with guest and Daily Beast contributing editor Erin Gloria Ryan asserting that, if President Trump selects a woman, they “should be known as the Aunt Lydia of the Supreme Court” in reference to a villain from liberal dystopian show The Handmaid’s Tale. In addition, Ryan argued they shouldn’t be supported by women because they are the anthesis of feminism.
Host Brooke Baldwin set the tone with this grim intro about the finalists writ large:
President Trump today tweeting that he has interviewed “four very impressive people” as he looks to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court and CNN has learned he met with three men and a woman and it appears that all would vote to rollback abortion rights and one seems to have clear views that the President should not be subject to a criminal investigation.
After The Weekly Standard’s Alice Lloyd noted two of the possible female nominees in Barrett and Joan Larsen, Baldwin teed up Ryan by fretting that “there’s a lot concern among liberals and some conservatives that — that the Roe v. Wade would be reversed” and alluded to the possibility that if Trump picks a woman, then the abortion ruling would be “safe.”
Ryan disagreed and asserted that Roe “is not safe” and “I don't care if my rights are being taken away who’s taking my rights away” and a woman reversing Roe would not be “a victory for women at all.”
“And, actually, I was thinking it is kind of a dubious position, but I'm sure that whoever — you know, if he does pick a woman, she should be known as the Aunt Lydia of the Supreme Court. She will be a woman who will expected to take away that a right that women have had in America since 1973,” she added.
Ryan also sought to diminish the historic nature of a fifth woman serving on the Supreme Court by complaining that “Donald Trump has a very bad track record of appointing women...so — so this won't fix it” and “[o]ne high profile woman won't suddenly undue the sexism of Donald Trump.”
Going back to Handmaid’s Tale and for those not watching that monstrosity of a show (which includes this writer), Aunt Lydia is portrayed in the series by Ann Dowd.
The Aunts are women who propagandize to the Handmaids (the women who can still have children) about the need to accept their new lives as sexual objects for the conservative elite as vehicles for bearing children. She’s also the chief nemesis of Elizabeth Moss’s character Offred.
Lloyd countered that abortion cases have come become before the Supreme Court in the past, but Roe was never overturned and thus having a female conservative wouldn’t be the end of the world (for abortion, that is).
Ryan dismissed that, ruling that “Democrats aren’t stupid” and again showcased the left’s double standard with conservative women by attacking them for having somehow betrayed their gender:
Just picking a woman to do the bidding of a deeply misogynist President with a deeply misogynist agenda doesn't undo any of it. I think that it’s — it’s sort of — it demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of what feminism is and what women who fight for women’s rights are working towards. We're not working toward elevating a woman to a position where she can take rights away from other women. We're working at empowering women across the board.
To see the relevant transcript from July 3's CNN Newsroom with Brooke Baldwin, click “expand.”
CNN Newsroom with Brooke Baldwin
July 3, 2018
3:17 p.m. EasternBROOKE BALDWIN: President Trump today tweeting that he has interviewed “four very impressive people” as he looks to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court and CNN has learned he met with three men and a woman and it appears that all would vote to rollback abortion rights and one seems to have clear views that the President should not be subject to a criminal investigation. The President plans to announce his choice next Monday night in a primetime event. So, to discuss, I want to bring in Erin Gloria Ryan, contributing editor for The Daily Beast and Alice Lloyd, staff writer for The Weekly Standard. And, Alice, I wanted to talk to you today. I read your piece this morning and I saw the pictures of all six women. You’re headline: “All of Trump’s SCOTUS Women.” You have six. You can give me one or two lines on each of these women who you reported out today?
ALICE LLOYD: Sure. So, obviously the buzz is with Amy Coney Bryant — I’m sorry Amy Coney Barrett because the President met with her today and she has been considered frontrunner for a few days now. She’s out of Indiana with the — with the 7th Circuit, was a professor at Notre Dame for a long time and has many devoted former students all over the legal world. Let's see. Joan Larsen was confirmed to the 6th Circuit, really recently in November and very seamless. So it could be embarrassing to have a — to try to have a controversial confirmation for her, so she might appear to be strong choice for that reason. Allison —
BALDWIN: Let me interrupt you because I know there are four more to go.
LLOYD: Please go ahead.
BALDWIN: I want to — I know there’s a lot to get to. We'll throw their pictures back up. But we get it. You’re reporting these six women, so you know, Erin, there’s a lot concern among liberals and some conservatives that — that the Roe v. Wade would be reversed and a thought out there among some groups so if he chooses a woman, then it is safe. You're looking at me and shaking your head.
ERIN GLORIA RYAN: No. No. it is not safe. I don't care if my rights are being taken away who’s taking my rights away. If I got punched in the face and it was a woman, I wouldn't be like yay, feminism. I don't consider a person who has rolled back Roe v. Wade a victory for women at all. And, actually, I was thinking it is kind of a dubious position, but I'm sure that whoever — you know, if he does pick a woman, she should be known as the Aunt Lydia of the Supreme Court. She will be a woman who will expected to take away that a right that women have had in America since 1973. Another thing I want to point out is that Donald Trump has a very bad track record of appointing women. As of may, he was appointing men 2:1 in the Trump administration, so — so this won't fix it.
BALDWIN: Yeah.
RYAN: One high profile woman won't suddenly undue the sexism of Donald Trump.
BALDWIN: I got you. There are numbers though. This is how Americans are seeing Roe v. Wade, right? So, there were Quinnipiac numbers yesterday. More than 6 in 10 voters agree with the landmark decision on abortion and so Alice, do you know — you know, of your six women that you were reporting on today, would all of them — would any of them go with the majority of America and, you know, believe that the law is settled, the precedent is set and they would not reverse it or is that absolutely wrong?
LLOYD: I know that in — in confirmation hearings, they were specifically asked about it and all say that the law is the law and that, you know, one’s faith, in particular — I know this particularly comes up with Amy Coney — Amy Coney Barrett that — that a personal faith does not — ought not factor in and that would be inappropriate. It’s also, I think, probably important to remember that Roe v. Wade’s that come up every time a Republican president has nominated a justice. And so — so Kennedy's nomination, too, that — that everyone was afraid that we would lose Roe, right, and then of course in 1992, it was Kennedy who saved Roe. So it’s important to remember that this comes up every time.
BALDWIN: Alice also points out in the piece that a female justice would be helpful to the White House with pre-existing women problems which you pointed out and if Trump does pick a woman, would Democrats have a harder time pushing against that?
RYAN: No. Because Democrats aren't stupid. Just picking a woman to do the bidding of a deeply misogynist President with a deeply misogynist agenda doesn't undo any of it. I think that it’s — it’s sort of — it demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of what feminism is and what women who fight for women’s rights are working towards. We're not working toward elevating a woman to a position where she can take rights away from other women. We're working at empowering women across the board.
BALDWIN: She pointed out — just last quick point — that, you know, this always comes you up with any Republican president appointing a Supreme Court justice and we've seen it stood through the test of time. You don't think so?
RYAN: No, I actually think — let's go back to a time that a Republican appointed a Supreme Court justice. Samuel Alito. He was appointed in 2004 and he replaced Sandra Day O’Connor. When Sam Alito was in federal courts, he was a — he was a justice who wanted to uphold part of a Pennsylvania law that would have required women to get their husband's permission — their husband’s permission before they had an abortion. He was the only person on that circuit, this was in the Planned Parenthood vs. Casey case which came up in 1992, only one who wanted the husband's permission thing to stay. What ended upholding was a waiting period and standards around teen and parental notification.
BALDWIN: Just such a huge piece of this whole conversation everyone’s having here around this next supreme court pick. Erin Gloria Ryan, good to see you and Alice Lloyd, Thank you both so much for coming on from The Weekly Standard.
