What happens in a Judicial Committee hearing when Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) are feeling salty and Senator Jon “I have no idea what I’m doing” Osoff (D-GA) is at the gavel? A hilarious comedy of errors that involves Ossoff banging away with the gavel and Cruz congratulating him for having one… (it’s a sweet burn). It all started during the hearing to consider U.S. District Judge Gustavo Gelpi’s nomination to the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
The New York Post reports,
“During the hearing to consider U.S. District Judge Gustavo Gelpi’s nomination to the First Circuit Court of Appeals, Cruz told the nominee that Hirono had stated “that you refused to commit to originalism because originalism would prevent [case] outcomes that she supports … she doesn’t want judges who will follow the original understanding of the Constitution.”
Senator Hirono had early said, “The way I see it, this was an effort to get Judge Gelpí to acknowledge originalism as the only way to do either constitutional or statutory interpretation,”
“If originalism were applied, I think that Obergefell [v. Hodges], for example, that protects same-sex marriage, would not have been decided in that way. … If originalism were applied, I would say that really puts into jeopardy the decision in Roe v. Wade, which protects the woman’s right to choose,” she said. “So all of this effort to try to box this nominee in is seen for what it is, as far as I’m concerned.”
“So Senator Hirono just offered a defense of you saying that that you refused to commit to originalism because originalism would prevent outcomes that she supports. It would prevent outcomes in cases like Obergefell and Roe v. Wade — and because she supports those outcomes, she doesn’t want judges who will follow the original understanding of the Constitution.”
Hirono Lined Herself Up To Be Taken Down By Cruz – And Ossoff Went With Her
Sen. Mazie Hirono, clearly upset that her own rhetoric was being turned against her by an expert wordsmith and legal scholar in Cruz decided to run back to the tried and true DNC tactic of adopting a victimhood mentality.
“I would request that my colleague Senator Cruz not misstate, misstate what I’m saying and, you know what, all this mansplaining — please stop,”
Senator Cruz then invoked a point of personal privilege and began to ask Sen. Hirono how he mischaracterized her, by restating what she had said nearly word for word, only to be cut off by five loud bangs of Osoff’s gavel. What followed was one of the sickest burns a Senator has ever received. Cruz glared at Ossoff and dressed down the 34-year-old Senator as if he were an overeager child with a new toy.
“I’m very proud you have a gavel. But a point of personal privilege — Senator Hirono just said I mischaracterized something she said, “So I am asking her what was mischaracterized. You’re welcome to explain what was mischaracterized.”
Oof. That had to sting a bit.
“Mr. Chairman, very briefly, because otherwise, you know, the thing with my colleague is he always has to get the last word. And that is a fact,” Hirono responded. “But one of the ways that he mischaracterizes is that I do not object to originalism as applied because it results in decisions that I don’t agree with. I disagree with the way that the court proceeded and in some of the members of the court and how they proceed with originalism to get to the results that they want. So, that’s it.”
“Is it not accurate that you said that you thought originalism shouldn’t be followed because it would lead to a different result?” Cruz asked. “Is that not what you said just a few minutes ago?”
Hirono said no. “Well, the record is clear,” Cruz said. And it is Sen. Hirono is a hypocrite
