'Terrific choice'
The reaction to President Donald Trump's nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court on Saturday seemed to fall along party lines.
Butler County and Pennsylvania Republicans collectively gave an enthusiastic thumbs up. Democrats, not so much.
“She is a terrific selection,” said attorney Tom King, of the firm Dillon McCandless King Coulter & Graham in Butler. He also serves as general counsel of the Pennsylvania Republican Party.
“She graduated No. 1 in her law school class,” King said. “She was voted the outstanding professor at Notre Dame Law School three times and she serves on the United States Circuit Court sitting in Chicago.“She is the mother of seven children. She's squeaky clean, and a terrific choice. She will be on the Supreme Court for a long time.Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger praised the choice of the 48-year-old Barrett.“Judge Amy Coney Barrett is an excellent pick for the Supreme Court of the United States,” he said. “She is a staunch conservative who shares the values of many Butler County residents.“We can only hope the Senate will quickly and efficiently confirm her appointment so she may be seated on the court in this important time.”Al Lindsay, who is chairman of the Butler County's Republican Committee also liked the pick.“I think she's got a great record,” he said. “I think she's ideologically sound. I like the nomination. I think (Democrats) will have a hard time to do anything to derail this nomination.”Lindsay's political counterpart, Catherine Lalonde, chairman of the county Democratic Committee, said she was worried about Barrett's conservative views, and concerned whether the nominee could separate her personal beliefs from her rulings.“But the main issue is really the hypocrisy of the Republican Party,” Lalonde said, “having denied even hearing from Merrick Garland, who was quite moderate. It's just bold-faced hypocrisy.”She contended Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his fellow Republicans were being hypocritical after halting then-President Barack Obama's nomination of Garland to the court, citing the proximity to the 2016 presidential election.If confirmed by the Senate, Barrett would take over the seat of former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 87, who died Sept. 18 from complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer.Ginsburg's death less than two months before Election Day immediately stirred a political fight over whether Trump should nominate, and the GOP-led Senate should confirm, her replacement, or if the seat should remain vacant until the outcome of his race against Democrat Joe Biden is known.Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., favor keeping the seat vacant until after the electorate selects its president for the next four years and the next Congress.Casey, in a prepared statement, accused Trump and McConnell of “rushing” to confirm a Supreme Court justice who he argued would overturn the Affordable Care Act.He also described Barrett as having an “extreme judicial philosophy.”“If confirmed, Judge Amy Coney Barrett will almost certainly vote to overturn the Affordable Care Act, which will adversely impact working families, children and seniors,” he said. “I cannot support a Supreme Court nominee who would rip health care away from tens of millions, undermine the rights of workers and do the bidding of large corporations.”U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., offered a hearty endorsement of the nominee.“Given Judge Barrett's intellect, strong legal credentials, and impeccable character, I was proud to support her confirmation to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2017,” he said in a statement. “These same attributes will serve her well on the nation's highest court. As a working mother with young children, Judge Barrett would also bring to the Supreme Court a background that will add to its diversity.“Importantly, Judge Barrett has shown an unfailing commitment to the proper role of a judge — which is to apply the law, including the U.S. Constitution, as written, and not to decide cases based on a preferred policy or outcome.”U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, lauded the Barrett selection and called on the Senate to quickly confirm the nomination.“Judge Amy Coney Barrett is a brilliant legal mind, an outstanding person, and the right choice for the Supreme Court,” he said in a statement. “President Trump has once again kept his promise to the American people by selecting an imminently qualified and conservative judge who will interpret the Constitution and the law with an originalist philosophy.”Kristy Gnibus, Kelly's Democrat opponent in the Nov. 3 election, in a statement urged delaying a vote to fill the high court vacancy.“The Senate should not vote on the successor to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg until after the November election,” she said. “Supreme Court decisions have immense impact on our daily lives, including the thousands of Pennsylvanians and millions across the country with pre-existing conditions who are covered under the Affordable Care Act.“The American people deserve to have a say on this nomination.”
