To the editor:

Even before Senate hearings had begun, Judge Amy Coney Barrett had proved to be a disappointment, and it had nothing to do with her judicial philosophy.

A more understanding judge would have expressed gratitude at being nominated, but would have insisted that in order to preserve the integrity of the Court in this politically toxic environment, it would be best for the Senate to postpone the confirmation hearings until after the election. She didn't do that. She's put her interests ahead of the interests of the country. Judge Barrett will be as complicit as Trump, McConnell and the Senate Republicans in stoking public distrust of the Supreme Court.

Judge Barrett has shown herself to be politically correct in the world of Trump. At her introduction last month, she met with officials and VIPs in the Oval Office, the Rose Garden, and later in the Diplomatic Reception Room. Almost all of the attendees, including Judge Barrett, refused to physically distance themselves or to wear masks, presumably because no one wanted to offend the president. This White House affair has since been classified as a COVID-19 superspreader event. It laid waste to numerous politicians and most of the West Wing.

Reckless personal behavior, adherence to political correctness, and failure to understand that barefisted politics is going to further poison the credibility of the Supreme Court, Judge Barrett is already a disappointment — and Senate hearings have barely begun.

— Scott Newton
Jasper