From today forward, Joe Scarborough should never call himself a conservative again. If there is one thing that unites all conservatives, including critics of President Trump, it's praise for his excellent judicial appointments. But on today's Morning Joe, Scarborough actually criticized President Trump's judicial nominees. If there were any doubt, that ensconces Scarborough firmly in the liberal camp.
Scarborough did so in the context of saying that Marianne Williamson struck the right tone last night's Dem debate, because people aren't interested in hearing the details of Bernie's healthcare plan. Instead, claimed Scarborough:
"Americans want to hear about how Donald Trump is a bigot. How Donald Trump's a racist . . . he's appointing federal judges that don't respect precedent. That's what they want to hear."
President Trump's most important judicial appointments were, of course, those for the Supreme Court. Is Joe saying he would have voted against Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh?
When it comes to precedent, for liberals, the case that immediately comes to mind is Roe v. Wade. It sounds like Scarborough is setting the stage to oppose the overturning of Roe, despite it being criticized even on the left—and even by a legal analyst on his own network—as a bad decision based on a non-existent right.
Can Scarborough possibly believe that liberals like Ruth Bader Ginsburg give a fig for precedent? They only proclaim their respect for precedent when it comes to defending big wins, like Roe. For example, does Scarborough doubt that, given the chance, the SCOTUS liberals would, in a heartbeat, overturn the precedent of Heller, which recognized that the Second Amendment right to bear arms extends to individuals?
In an amusing bit of irony, Scarborough also criticized President Trump for appointing "sycophants." When he finished his statement, Mike Barnicle immediately chimed in, "Joe: bingo with a capital B on that!" Got your sycophant right here, Joe!
Here's the transcript.
MSNBC
Morning Joe
7/31/19
6:26 am EDT
JOE SCARBOROUGH: She [Marianne Williamson] is probably not to go anywhere in any of the primary contests, but certainly, I think she got the tone right, when it came to what the battle lines really are. We're not talking, again, Mike Barnicle, we’re not talking about the subsections of Bernie Sanders's Medicare-for-all bill. That’s not what Americans want to hear about.
They want to hear about how Donald Trump is a bigot, how Donald Trump's a racist, how Donald Trump has shattered constitutional norms, how Donald Trump is putting a dupe in for the most important position at NDI. He’s got a bunch of sycophants around him. He’s appointing federal judges that don’t respect precedent. That’s what they want to hear.
MIKE BARNICLE: Joe, bingo with a capital B on that.
