Joni Ernst Slyly Confronts Biden TVA Nominee on 2015 Insult Complete With Floor Chart – Opinion

There are many memorable moments in American politics, including confirmation hearings when either the nominee of a member or deputy of Congress says or does something which has the effect to rally the troops for the next day.

For instance, there was this classic clip from Clarence Thomas’ 1991 Supreme Court confirmation hearings, which some have dubbed his “never bend a knee” speech. In it, Thomas tells then-Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) that he’d “rather die than withdraw. If they’re gonna kill me they’re gonna kill me.” There was also the moment during Amy Coney Barrett’s 2020 SCOTUS confirmation hearings where she held up a blank notepad to show the “notes” she was going off of.

Though the confirmation hearings for Tennessee Valley Authority board of director nominees don’t usually get much attention and typically aren’t nearly as entertaining, one held this week for Biden TVA BOD nominee Beth Prichard Geer took a very interesting turn when Geer, who has been former Vice President Al Gore’s chief of staff since 2012, was being questioned by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa).

Ernst talked about written comments Geer has made about the need for civility and how she felt she was qualified to serve on the board of directors because of her supposed ability to “build relationships and work together.” When Ernst asked her about the comments, she confirmed she made them and reaffirmed her stance.

It was at that point that an Ernst staffer pulled out a floor chart that displayed a tweet in which Geer wrote “hideous” in response to a Fox News tweet that contained a photo of Ernst and a quote from her State of the Union response. Here is Geer’s reaction to the Fox News tweet.

How did it feel? @SenJoniErnst‘s #GOPresponseYou can find more information here #SOTU? #FoxNewsCHAT pic.twitter.com/6i715Q5Z3t

— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 21, 2015

Geer’s tweetThis is the one she can only see through her followers, as she has locked her account at the time I wrote it:

.@bpa65After Sen. Ernst challenged her about her mean tweet, she has now locked her account down. LOL. pic.twitter.com/W8C6m4QzpP

— Sister Toldjah 😁 (@sistertoldjah) April 7, 2022

You can see Ernst setting Geer up, then going for the jugular.

I would have ✨died on the spot✨@SenJoniErnst just confronted a Biden nominee with a FLOORCHART of her 2015 tweet attacking Ernst’s physical appearance 😳💀 pic.twitter.com/Ysh51OUKar

— Lyndsey Fifield (@lyndseyfifield) April 6, 2022

Because it was such an embarrassing moment for Geer, some of her defenders have claimed she was calling Ernst’s quote from the Fox News tweet “hideous” but if you watch the clip she asks Ernst to read the tweet she was responding to and then promptly apologizes for offending her. She never denied it was about Ernst’s looks, so the defenses for Geer on that front don’t really hold any water.

This is one reason why I would never want to be nominated for any such government position, because I know I’ve got tweets that would come back to haunt me, some of which I would stand behind and some of which I would admit I could have worded better or perhaps shouldn’t have tweeted.

Though Geer’s “hideous” tweet is unlikely to keep her from being confirmed, it is yet another reminder for people to not post anything on social media that you don’t want used against you later in life.

Flashback:Following House Speaker’s Attack on Sen. Joni Ernst, Pelosi Takes a Shot at Her Concerns Over How Elections Should be Decided