U. S. Senator Marsha Blackburn is taking heat for outrageous remarks she made during the Senate confirmation hearing of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be the next Supreme Court Justice. During her opening statement, the extremist Tennessee GOP lawmaker accused the accomplished jurist of having a “hidden’ critical race theory “agenda” while supporting pedophiles. She made transphobic and homophobic remarks, and claimed “white privilege” does not exist.
“Educators are allowing biological males to steal opportunities from female athletes in the name of progressivism,” Blackburn told Judge Jackson at one point. “Some girls have been forced to share lockerroom with biological males,” she went on. “You serve in the board of a school that teaches kindergarteners – 5-year-old children – that they can choose their gender, and teaches them about so-called white privilege.”
“Your philosophy or lack thereof may be the root of the problem here,” Blackburn continued. “And you have made clear that judges must consider Critical Race Theory when deciding how to sentence criminal defendants.”
The Tennessee far-right Republican was pilloried on social media:
“Is it just me, or does Marsha Blackburn seem *really* stupid? Like, not just Lauren Boebert stupid, but something even more profound?” asked Random House copy chief and author of the New York Times bestselling book, “Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style,” Benjamin Dreyer.
CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said Blackburn’s statement “show[s] how the QAnon obsession with fake pedophilia accusations has entered the Republican mainstream.”
Democratic Party political strategist Christine Pelosi (daughter of the Speaker of the House) noted how “Marsha Blackburn serves up a Qanon word salad of choose your gender, trans kids, critical race theory, child porn sentencing and public defending … then claims she supports equal justice and opportunity for all.'” She added: “I’m rolling my eyes so Judge Jackson won’t have to.”
Award-winning investigative journalist Victoria Brownworth observed, “Marsha Blackburn has gone full homophobe and transphobe in her opener.”