I started to hear some clips from Senator Diane Feinstein during the confirmation hearings for Neil Gorsuch for his appointment to the US Supreme Court over the last few days. My initial thought was that, Senator Feinstein doesn’t really understand the role of he Supreme Court, or the US Constitution. It’s actually even worse. I don’t think she even understands the ramifications of what she and her party claim to believe.
Senator Feinstein claimed that the job of the Senate hearing is to determine whether Mr. Gorsuch is a “mainstream” conservative or not. That’s patently false. The job of the Senate confirmation hearings is to determine whether he is a qualified candidate for the position, not what his politics are, or whether they are in line with some “acceptable standard”.
Later, Senator Feinstein says that because “the Supreme Court has the final say in whether women will have the freedom to make decisions about their body, or whether politicians and the government will have a say in their healthcare”. What she doesn’t realize, is that the Affordable Healthcare Act passed by her and the rest of the progressives is exactly that; the Federal Government making mandates to women about what kind of health insurance they must buy.
Senator Feinstein also states that the Constitution must be considered a living document. That it must be interpreted in accordance with the current political climate and will of the people. She says that if we don’t do this, that if we interpret the Constitution as the framers intended, that slavery would still be in effect, and women still wouldn’t have the right to vote. What she forgets, is that the original Constitution didn’t actually mention these issues. They were allowed/perpetuated by government overreach outside the bounds of the Constitution. Not to mention that there already is a formal process by which we can correct the “deficiencies” of the document. We can amend it, as was done to make explicit that slavery is illegal, and to explicitly grant women the right to vote.
Senator Feinstein’s use of the Congressional hearings as a venue for political grandstanding and spouting of partisan rhetoric is not what they are supposed to be for. While Senator Feinstein is certainly not the only one to engage these types of activities, she did manage to demonstrate how little she understands about the Constitution, its history, or even the ramifications of her own political positions.