Roy Exum
Sometimes forgiveness is a mighty hard thing for me. This is to say of all the politicians who have ever made it to the top of the heap, I have a bitter taste in particular for Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn. Some years ago I learned about the filthiest bunch of slime ever known in Tennessee – the despicable louts who intentionally maim our great Walking Horse breed for a cheap blue ribbon -- and Blackburn and her Republican colleagues in Congress were right in the middle of it.
They assured the sickening vulgarity would continue unfettered … yes … to this very day.
Hundreds of our country’s Congress men and women co-sponsored bill after bill to eliminate “soring,” where sadistic trainers drive nails and far-worse into the pasterns of a Walker’s front hooves. (The pastern is the space inside of a horse’s hoof.) These louts find it clever, and manly, by swathing the forelegs of an accursed and innocent horse in acid-like wraps, and stopping at literally nothing until the agonized animal will dance in a heinous and unnatural gait that the depraved call “The Big Lick.”
Blackburn, as is easily proven, accepted countless thousands in “dirty money” to perpetuate the sickest practice against all horses in the entire world, advancing herself into our U.S. Senate.
Believe me when I tell you if I saw her walking down a sidewalk towards me I would hurriedly cross the street. She will wear her shame and the raw side of the truth as long as she lives. So, yes, it’s awfully difficult for me to picture fluffy clouds, angel’s harps, and golden staircases in her afterlife. Whoa! I must remind myself it’s the Lord who will do the judging and it will best serve me to keep my head down, my hands in my pockets, and my mouth shut … please understand, I fear my file in “The Big Book” is pretty thick, too.
Still, it is far from me to compliment her in any manner but, several days ago, Blackburn wrote an opinion piece that explained why Amy Coney Barrett “has my vote to join the Supreme Court.” I believe the appointment of Barrett is one of the Top Five best things that will happen in this most wacky year and, my gracious, this woman jurist, who grew up in New Orleans and got her undergrad from Rhodes College in Memphis, is the best bet for America’s future since Secretariat.
Not one article I’ve read can reveal the slightest flaw in Amy Barrett. From the two Haitian kids she and her husband have adopted to her neighbors’ glowing description of her legendary Crawfish Etouffee on Sunday night gatherings at her home in South Bend, Ind., she has ever more earned the chair of the late Ruth Bader Ginsberg and I believe will glorify the Court itself to wonderous heights.
Even better, a Democrat boycott of Barrett this week by the pouting leftists in the Senate has revealed their party to be a sick joke. The boycott is void of all reason. Not one Democrat can give a plausible answer for such asinine behavior, other that the floundering party’s last resort is to not do what is best for the entire country, but to stand in solidarity for the biggest collection of kooks and misfits America has ever properly identified. They blame Trump for the nation’s discord when Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are the real instigators of such repute the two are today Communism’s dream team.
Here's an excerpt of Senator Blackburn’s view – and for the record – I appreciate it very much:
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SENATOR BLACKBURN: SHE HAS MY VOTE – AND WHY
(NOTE: This excerpt was taken from a by-lined op-ed that Marsha Blackburn wrote and that appeared on the Fox.com website on Thursday, Oct. 21, 2020)
Over the course of four days, the liberal wing of the Judiciary Committee threw all the mud they had against the hearing room walls, taking full advantage of the chaotic news cycle in a last-ditch effort to portray Judge Barrett as a corrupt tool of the Trump administration.
At every turn, they conflated the issue at hand — which was, believe it or not, the examination of Barrett’s prodigious record — with a panicked defense of their own disastrous policies.
Throughout the whole disgusting performance — the fake emotion, the condescending displays of disapproval, the blatant suggestions that Judge Barrett was far too simpleminded to deserve her appointment — Barrett sat quietly, composed.
Democrats did not ruffle or anger her. She kept control of the debate, and quickly made it clear that underestimating her abilities was a terrible mistake. What the left obviously does not appreciate is that women on the political right are on to them. We live with the bias and prejudice thrown at us every day by the left and the liberal media.
If you want to meet someone who is rock-solid in her conservative principles, take some initiative and meet a conservative woman. We have come to expect that our pro-life, family, religion, business, and military views have painted a target on our backs, welcoming accusations from the left that we are somehow not fully female.
For years, liberals in Washington have relied on the courts to massage constitutionally suspect legislation into something resembling respectable policy. So it’s no surprise that Judiciary Committee Democrats squandered the vast majority of their time trying to trick and manipulate Judge Barrett into guaranteeing she would use her vote to rubber stamp a party platform — a tactic that failed them miserably.
Undeterred, they threw down their pens and ridiculous charts and declared that if Judge Barrett couldn’t guarantee progressive outcomes, she had no choice but to recuse herself from any number of a vaguely defined set of cases. Of course, Judge Barrett could no more guarantee the safety and prosperity of blue state constituents than she could a world free from abortion and socialized health care. Everyone in the room knew this.
Sensing their own unraveling, the Judiciary Committee’s left wing turned the dais into a stump and launched a mind-numbing volley of accusations of rank corruption, backroom deals, and outright conspiracy.
Here’s the important distinction between the two sides of that dais: while one Democratic senator stated that he feared Barrett would usher in an era of conservative activism, he accidentally revealed that what Democrats want is an era of liberal activism.
The Democrats, in their zeal to “pack the court,” or at least “balance” it — as they kept insisting was key to delivering justice — are looking for activists who will do the party’s bidding. That’s what they expect.
Conservatives, on the other hand want constitutionalists who will call balls and strikes. If a law needs changing, that’s our job in Congress, not the business of the judiciary.
This is our commitment to the American people: that no election, high-stakes appointment, or policy battle will cut the mooring lines that keep us grounded in the Constitution and the founding freedoms that make America so special.
I understand how important that connection is, as do millions of conservative women and, most crucially, as does Judge Amy Coney Barrett — and that’s why this conservative woman will be more than happy to stand on her behalf and support her confirmation on the Senate floor when the time comes.
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Senator Blackburn, I doubt anyone could put the truth of what will lead to this afternoon’s appointment of our newest Supreme Court Justice as well as you have. Strong conservative women have never been as important or as needed in today’s society. Every Son of the South has readily recognized this for centuries.
So – surprise, surprise – as one of Senator Blackburn’s biggest detractors, allow me to join those who thank her for such a valiant stand and for her devout want for what is truly best for our nation.
royexum@aol.com