Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst called attacks on Amy Coney Barrett “demeaning to women” during the first day of Barrett’s confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill.
Ernst said that this week’s confirmation hearings would provide lawmakers an opportunity to dig into Barrett’s background more and to understand her judicial philosophy better, but noted that Barrett’s political opponents attempt to paint her “as a TV or cartoon version of a religious radical, a so-called “handmaid” that feeds into all of the ridiculous stereotypes they set out to lambaste people of faith in America.”
“And that’s wrong,” Ernst said, adding that it might be less “comical” if it was the first time “the left has trotted out this partisan label.” (RELATED: Hawley, Sasse Unleash On Harris, Democrats, Media For Treatment Of Barrett)
“Your political opponents have made these types of religious attacks on nearly every Supreme Court candidate nominated by a Republican president in the modern era,” Ernst said. “And every time, like clockwork, they say they really mean it this time, this nominee, this woman in front of us, she is the absolute worst.”
Ernst referenced media and Democratic attacks on Barrett’s faith, such as Democratic California Sen. Dianne Feinstein telling Barrett at her 2017 confirmation hearings, “The dogma lives loudly within you, and that’s of concern.”
Media also previously falsely linked People of Praise’s use of the word “handmaid” to the dystopian novel and show, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” before issuing corrections and retractions noting that there is no established link between People of Praise and novelist Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
“I’m struck by the irony of how demeaning to women their accusations really are,” Ernst said, citing Barrett’s professional and academic accomplishments and praising her as a “working mother of seven,” and a “practicing Catholic.” (RELATED: Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy Says People Are Scared Amy Coney Barrett Will Cause Discrimination Against Women)
“The great freedom of being an American woman is that we can decide how to build our lives,” Ernst continued. “Who to marry, what kind of person we are, and where we want to go. I served in the army, something not exactly popular at various points in America’s history. We don’t have to fit the narrow definition of womanhood, we create our own path. Justice Ginsburg was one such woman, and I would like to pay tribute to her for what she did to pave the way for women of today.”
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