Friday, Day of the New, CNN’s Brianna Keilar hosted another segment stacked with criticism of Republicans over their treatment of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, liberal nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. Frequent guest Sophia Nelson, who has a history of making incendiary attacks on black conservatives, hypocritically accused Republicans of “race-baiting” in their questioning.
After informing viewers that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell would vote against confirming Judge Jackson, Keilar brought up Republican complaints about the treatment of Justice Brett Kavanaugh by Democrats from 2018, and asked Nelson for her reaction to the Jackson hearings.
Nelson, a disgruntled former Republican who is currently a contributing editor for The Grio, made the “race-baiting” charge as she began:
Look, Being a Republican my entire life, 25 of which were as a black woman of color, I can appreciate how challenging it is to belong to that party. The shenanigans, and disrespect we saw this week were racially motivated.It was not politics, it was condescension. These attacks are not justified by anything this judge has ever done or said in her past.
After admitting she believed Kavanaugh ought to be treated better, she said:
However, the fact is that Ketanji brown Jackson was supported by Republicans in the past. Mitch McConnell voted to her — Ted Cruz voted her in — John Thune voted her in — Chuck Grassley For them to quickly forward and declare that somehow the woman is incompetent. Excuse me.
Nelson has her own history of making incendiary comments regarding race. In September 2020, after Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron decided not to charge police officers who shot Breonna Taylor while executing a late-night warrant involving her ex-boyfriend, Nelson excoriated the black Republican attorney general, calling him an “Uncle Tom” and a “step & fetch Negro” in a tweet.
Even after the attack, she defended it and didn’t apologize.
A Nexis search revealed that Nelson appears as a CNN guest 15 times over the past year, but with no obvious consequences.
Nelson made fun of Judge Jackson’s inexcusable refusal to define “woman”, while Nelson was still laughing.
This is hackery partisan on the judge.Let’s face facts. This system, you stated, is flawed. Senator Cruz is an embarrassment. Senator Graham is a disgrace. They never asked her any further questions. They shouted at her and interrupted her but she didn’t respond. Senator Durbin was not as strong as I would have liked if I were the chair.’…
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You can find the transcript below. To read it, please click on “expand”.
CNN’sNeue Day
February 25, 2022
Eastern, 7:41 AMBRIANNA KEILAR: A day after tense Senate questioning, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters he would not be supporting Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson. Her testimony was called “evasive,” and “unclear” by McConnell. Jackson will likely be confirmed. However, there is very little room for error. Carlos Moore, president of National Bar Association is joining me. Judge Jackson has been endorsed by the organization. Sophia Nelson is also endorsed by the organization. Her contributions to the magazine include Sophia Nelson. The GrioAuthor and co-author of the book Black Woman Redefined: Uncovering Myths, Finding Fulfillment In the Age of Michelle Obama. Also, she was the House Republican’s former investigative counsel.
(…)
According to Sophia, the ABA, she is well-qualified. Amy Coney Barrett, also well-qualified. The ABA called for an FBI probe into Brett Kavanaugh. This is just to be clear about the difference between some nominees’ reactions.
Sophia, do you have any thoughts about the Republicans? What did they do during this hearing and how would they respond to your question, “Well Brett Kavanaugh was treated very unfairly?”
SOPHIA NELSON, THE GRIO: Look, Being a Republican my entire life, 25 of which were as a black woman of color, I can appreciate how challenging it is to belong to that party. We witnessed the racism and shenanigans this week.It was not politics, it was condescension. This judge’s past actions or statements do not justify such attacks. This was a positive distinction she made regarding Justice Kavanaugh. Brianna: I did not think Justice Kavanaugh had been treated with respect, Brianna. I thought they should have gone into private session with that information, and spared the judge and the witness most importantly, the type of attacks and scrutiny that they came under.
However, the fact is that Ketanji brown Jackson was supported by Republicans in the past. Mitch McConnell voted to her — Ted Cruz voted her in — John Thune voted her in — Chuck Grassley For them to quickly forward and declare that somehow the woman is incompetent. Excuse me.
Brianna, I believe that the most disturbing thing about this nomination, in my opinion, is that it is historic. Sandra Day O’Connor, 99 votes; Thurgood Marshall, 69 votes. Sonia Sotomayor has 68 votes. The Senate has a tradition of historic firsts such as first African woman, first black man or first female to receive significant bipartisan support. This judge should be recognized for it. The way she was treated by them was beyond reproach. It is shocking that they treated her like a black woman.
KEILAR : Carlos, does it concern you, the American Bar Assocation, that there is now a partisan split in confirmation of justices as with Amy Coney Barrett and what we expect to see here with Judge Jackson?
(…)
Sophia, please listen to Mitch McConnell’s words.
MICHELLE McCONNELL, SENATE MINORITY EDUCATOR: The past 48 hours have been a pleasant and dry legal seminar in contrast to the circus Democrats brought on the nation a few years ago. Americans know that it’s not too hard to question a federal judge about her past record. The Senate should have gotten more details.
KEILAR – What do you think, Sophia?
NELSON: This is hackery partisan on the judge.Let’s face facts. This system, you stated, is flawed. Senator Cruz is an embarrassment. Senator Graham is a disgrace. They never asked her any further questions. They shouted at her and interrupted her but she didn’t respond. Senator Durbin was not as strong as I would have liked if I were the chair.’…
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