Less than an hour after media reports leaked out Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement, far-left CNN legal analyst Laura Coates said she’s going to be “overjoyed and thrilled to know that somebody who looks like me” and shares her “lived experience” could end up on the Supreme Court if President Biden fulfills a campaign promise to pick a Black woman.
Inside Politics host John King told Coates he wanted to ask “a personal question” and, after having put on screen the names and faces of those thought to be on Biden’s shortlist, he emphasized that, while all Black women, they’re “accomplished legal professionals,” “judges,” and “attorneys” with “no question about their capabilities.”
That said, King teed up the woke pundit (who masquerades as straight-shooting legal mind): “[W]hat would it be like for somebody on the Supreme Court, finally, who looks like you?”
Without hesitation, Coates voiced her support for the Biden administration:
I would be overjoyed and thrilled to know that somebody who looks like me and has the mental prowess that each of these women have and the credibility, the capability, the distinction of having served as judges and as extraordinary lawyers over their time would finally — and I emphasize the word finally — finally, be given the opportunity to sit on the highest court in the land[.]
Coates expanded on the progressive legal world of expansionism and focusing on melding the law with one’s feelings, further gushing about how great it would be to have a pro-abortion and pro-affirmative action African-American justice (click “expand”):
And we talk about the many decisions that are before the Supreme Court of the United States, I never had the luxury of leaving any part of my identity at the door before I walked into a courtroom, walked into a boardroom, walked onto these very sets on CNN. I brought with myself the entirety of being a Black woman, the lived experience of what that's like in a country like this. And I think it's incumbent upon our country to recognize if we do not bring all of America and the holistic views of people, including Black women, then we are doing a disservice to any objective evaluation of laws in this country.
Just think of what's before this court, just this term alone. The Mississippi abortion ban. We're talking about discussions around the profound disparate impact of these lawyers against Black and Brown women in this country. Wouldn’t it be great to have a Black woman talking about these issues? How about the discussions about affirmative action? We learned from Justice Sonia Sotomayor where she described herself as the perfect affirmative action baby those years ago, describing it unapologetically of the gains and the benefits of having a race conscious admissions process. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a Black woman in that position as well? I'm not assuming what their holdings will be, but I am assuming that they will bring their entirety with them and we will be better for it.
King was fully onboard, insisting that while he had to “make clear” that “legal views are up to the justices,” the “[d]iversity of life experience is critical in every setting,” and thus “[i]t would be amazing” if Biden would follow through on his campaign pledge.
Without a doubt, it would be accurate to say said appointment would be historic. Although Coates would claim below that Black women aren’t “a monolith,” it’s abundantly clear in the coverage thus far that Black women are being equated with a politics tilted to the left.
King and Coates promptly did just that after a clip of Biden from a March 2020 debate (click “expand”)
KING: Said in the middle of a political campaign, Laura Coates, when candidates are trying to get, you know, votes, trying to appeal to important democratic constituencies. But of critical importance for a president who always says he got into politics because of his views on civil rights and that he’s the President of the United States because of the support in the Democratic primaries of black voters.
COATES: Yes and, you know, black women often complain, and we do with justification, about the ways in which phrases like Black girl magic are thrown around during an election year and an election cycle and the Black woman vote as if it were a monolith is coveted and then people suddenly abandon and their attention span goes other places. And then oftentimes, we're left with our wheels spinning, wondering about the bridge between campaign promises and what you’ll actually do in reality of practice. Well, here’s an opportunity for that to be demonstrated....We're not talking about plucking somebody out of oblivion and saying, “hey, you're a Black woman and I promised to have a black woman on the bench, so how about you?”
Hilariously, Coates argued that Biden’s options “are revered in their field for their impartiality, their intellect, their ability to synthesize information, who has — who have court experiences up and down the levels of what it means to be a public servant in the law.”
Of course, all of the women on the shortlist (whether you use, say, CNN or Politico) have either been appointed to previous courts by Democratic presidents, been elected as a Democrat, or clear to most with a clear mind as a partisan activist (ex. NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s Sherrilyn Ifill)
“It's a fascinating and a potentially historic moment for the President of the United States,” King replied.
CNN’s cheerleading was made possible thanks to advertisers such as Ensure, Indeed, and Select Quote. Follow the links to see their contact information at the MRC’s Conservatives Fight Back page.
To see the relevant CNN transcript from January 26, click “expand.”
CNN’s Inside Politics
January 26, 2022
12:27 p.m. EasternJOHN KING: Let me ask you — this is much more of a personal question than a legal question. But if we could put up on the screen for a minute the potential nominees to replace Justice Breyer, we know President Biden has said that if he gets a pick, his first pick will be a Black woman. When you look at those judges, and you're right, you just went through. These are accomplished legal professionals, accomplished judges, accomplished attorneys. There's no question about their capabilities. I want to make that crystal clear. No question about their capabilities. But what would it be like for somebody on the Supreme Court, finally, who looks like you?
LAURA COATES: I would be overjoyed and thrilled to know that somebody who looks like me and has the mental prowess that each of these women have and the credibility, the capability, the distinction of having served as judges and as extraordinary lawyers over their time would finally — and I emphasize the word finally — finally, be given the opportunity to sit on the highest court in the land and it's not something to be taken lightly. And we talk about the many decisions that are before the Supreme Court of the United States, I never had the luxury of leaving any part of my identity at the door before I walked into a courtroom, walked into a boardroom, walked onto these very sets on CNN. I brought with myself the entirety of being a Black woman, the lived experience of what that's like in a country like this. And I think it's incumbent upon our country to recognize if we do not bring all of America and the holistic views of people, including Black women, then we are doing a disservice to any objective evaluation of laws in this country. Just think of what's before this court, just this term alone. The Mississippi abortion ban. We're talking about discussions around the profound disparate impact of these lawyers against Black and Brown women in this country. Wouldn’t it be great to have a Black woman talking about these issues? How about the discussions about affirmative action? We learned from Justice Sonia Sotomayor where she described herself as the perfect affirmative action baby those years ago, describing it unapologetically of the gains and the benefits of having a race conscious admissions process. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a Black woman in that position as well? I'm not assuming what their holdings will be, but I am assuming that they will bring their entirety with them and we will be better for it.
KING: The diversity of life experience, legal views are up to the justices. I should just make clear. Diversity of life experience is critical in every setting. It would be amazing at the highest court in the land. And, again, this is not pure speculation. Let's listen to then-candidate Joe Biden saying if I get a pick this is what I will do.
JOE BIDEN [on 03/15/20]: I committed that, if I'm elected President and have an opportunity to appoint someone to the courts, will be — I’ll appoint the first Black woman to the courts.
KING: Said in the middle of a political campaign, Laura Coates, when candidates are trying to get, you know, votes, trying to appeal to important Democratic constituencies. But of critical importance for a President who always says he got into politics because of his views on civil rights and that he’s the President of the United States because of the support in the Democratic primaries of Black voters.
COATES: Yes and, you know, black women often complain, and we do with justification, about the ways in which phrases like Black girl magic are thrown around during an election year and an election cycle and the Black woman vote as if it were a monolith is coveted and then people suddenly abandon and their attention span goes other places. And then oftentimes, we're left with our wheels spinning, wondering about the bridge between campaign promises and what you’ll actually do in reality of practice. Well, here’s an opportunity for that to be demonstrated and, again, it's not because you're just making a promise that can't be supported by qualified candidates — let me repeat this to people so there's never any mincing of the words. We're not talking about plucking somebody out of oblivion and saying, “hey, you're a Black woman and I promised to have a black woman on the bench, so how about you?” We're talking about women who are revered in their field for their impartiality, their intellect, their ability to synthesize information, who has — who have court experiences up and down the levels of what it means to be a public servant in the law. And that is the ideal, you know, sort of choices that you are going to choose from. It will be a difficult one for this President to make. But, you know, in the last few weeks, we've been hearing about the President who has been, in some ways, condemned for his deprioritization of voting rights in this country as a legacy of a promise made to black voters and also to voters in this country who believe in voting rights and not just the beneficiaries, but thinking about that. And so, this is yet another instance for him to make good on a promise that should be easy given the breadth and scope of so many skilled Black woman judges in this country, not the least of whom you said have been nominated and confirmed on a bipartisan basis.
KING: It's a fascinating and a potentially historic moment for the President of the United States.
