The Supreme Court nomination hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett are proceeding and are at times fascinating to watch as Senators make surprisingly old arguments seem even older.

My observations:

I am not sure I could sit there for hours on end, as the Judge is doing, and listen to the same things over again.

The Judge is being very polite when a Senator asks a question that is merely only a shade away from one that was asked earlier and to which she did not respond. 

The Judge seems very judge-like.

I was fascinated with one senator's detailed conspiracy theory about dark money.

It is a process and whether we believe the timing to be correct or not, she will become the next Supreme Court Justice and the vote in the Senate to confirm will likely be 52-48. She will likely be seated before November 10th. 

We can discuss the Constitutionality of the process--although there is not much to discuss and we can discuss whether there is precedent for seating a justice so far into an election process--there seems to be a very healthy discussion about Abraham Lincoln's intent--but regardless, he did not nominate a replacement justice until after the election and his speaking and writings do not definitively support either side in the argument, in my opinion.

Bottom Line is that this is our Congress at work! If we are not happy, there is an election underway and the power of change is in our hands.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD