Catholics could be energized for Trump should he nominate Barrett to SCOTUS

Amy Coney Barrett, believed to be the frontrunner to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court, being sworn in as a federal judge in 2017 during a ceremony at Notre Dame Law School. Wikipedia Commons photo.

(ANALYSIS) It was back in January, eons ago when put into the context of this year’s news cycle, that Donald Trump became the first U.S. president to ever appear at the annual March for Life. At last month’s Republican National Convention, a nun named Sister Deirdre “Dede” Byrne called Trump “the most pro-life president that this nation has ever had.”

This takes us to the now and the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. That Trump will put forth a nominee — a shortlist that sees Amy Coney Barrett as the frontrunner — that has a record of being anti-abortion will certainly inflame those on the political left and exacerbate tensions in this country following the pandemic and protests surrounding racial justice.

The sudden Supreme Court vacancy has created more potential division to an already-polarized electorate. The attacks from some Democrats that Barrett will likely endure as part of the confirmation process should she be the nominee could very well help Trump. In turn, it would hurt Biden, a Catholic trying to get swing voters in Pennsylvania and Ohio who share his same faith to vote for him, if Democrats start attacking her faith. If anything, the anti-Catholic attacks against Barrett could both galvanize GOP voters and tip those undecided Catholic voters across the Rust Belt to Trump’s favor.

Read: Catholic Voters In These States Could Decide The Presidential Race

The 48-year-old Barrett, a native of New Orleans, and her husband Jesse Barrett, a former prosecutor, have seven children, including two adopted from Haiti and one with Down syndrome. Barrett learned of her son’s diagnosis during a prenatal test, but decided to have the baby. Aside from being a federal judge, Barrett teaches law at Notre Dame. She is a former law clerk to the late Justice Antonin Scalia, with The New York Times reporting that her fellow clerks saying she was his favorite. She graduated from Notre Dame Law School and joined the faculty in 2002. 

If nominated and confirmed, Barrett would be the youngest member of the Supreme Court in history that could help shape many future decisions. For now, Trump has said he will announce his nominee at the end of this week following Ginsburg’s funeral.

Barrett would become the sixth Catholic on the nine-seat Court should she attain Senate confirmation, a potentially long and contentious process given where this country now finds itself politically. “ACB” — as some have started to call her after it started trending on Twitter over the weekend — is a favorite among conservatives. In 2017, Barrett became a celebrity among Christians when some Democrats questioned her public statements and Catholicism during confirmation hearing for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago.

“You have a long history of believing that your religious beliefs should prevail,” California Sen. Dianne Feinstein told her during the hearing process. “The dogma lives loudly within you.”

As a result, the phrase “the dogma lives loudly within you” became a badge of honor for some Americans (akin to Hillary Clinton’s comments in 2016 calling Trump supporters “deplorables”) who proudly wore T-shirts with the phrase on it. Is this what we can expect from the Judiciary Committee members should Barrett be nominated and go through the confirmation process?

A prayer candle featuring Ruth Bader Ginsburg with a halo and angel wings. Photo via Etsy.

Ginsburg, who was Jewish, died on Sept. 18 at the age of 87. She is remembered most for being a pioneer of women’s rights. Nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1993, Ginsburg was, for a time, the only female justice. By 2010, she became the de facto leader of a four-justice liberal bloc after the Supreme Court split 5-4 along ideological lines and often sparring with her friend Scalia, one of the most conservative members who died in 2016.

Ginsburg became a rock star among political progressives over the last decade, earning the affectionate nickname “The Notorious RBG.” Although Jewish (she died on Rosh Hashanah, which marks the new year), Ginsburg reached almost saintly status among a segment of the American electorate both in life and now in death. So much so that candles with her likeness — adorned with a halo and clasped hands — are for sale online.

This is a country already divided politically. Barrett, while qualified for the Supreme Court, would exacerbate tensions. While it is the constitutional right of the president to nominate who he wants, when he wants, this is a nation not prepared to endure a confirmation circus similar to what was unleashed two years ago during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings.

Although Kavanaugh was ultimately confirmed by the Senate — despite allegations of past sexual misdeeds — it remains a flashpoint in how polarized politically this country has become in recent years.

That Biden opposes a vote now, saying it should wait until after Election Day, is one way of stopping Trump from appointing what would be a third Supreme Court justice. Barrett’s credentials are already coming into question. While CNN called Biden a “devout Catholic” when he is attacked by Trump, Religion News Service has already labeled Barrett a “controversial Catholic.” Are Biden and Barrett not both just Catholics?

It depends on how politically palatable you find either Biden or Barrett. It’s exactly what those swing voters in suburban and rural Ohio and Pennsylvania — ones where many Catholics live and vote — that will determine Trump’s fate.

And yes, the coronavirus, law and order and the economy are all on voters’ minds this fall. The Supreme Court — and Barrett’s potential nomination — are also now on the ballot in what has transformed the presidential election into a referendum on Trump that sees faith voters squarely in the center of it all this November.  

Clemente Lisi is a senior editor and regular contributor to Religion Unplugged. He is the former deputy head of news at the New York Daily News and teaches journalism at The King’s College in New York City. Follow him on Twitter @ClementeLisi.