On Wednesday, Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) who has made outrageous statements during other interviews of prospective judicial nominees from President Trump, outdid herself once again, attacking nominee Lawrence VanDyke, a judicial originalist, for his assertion that he would “look to the Constitution” to decide which laws were constitutional. Hirono surmised such a perspective meant VanDyke might not let women and blacks to vote.
As The Washington Free Beacon reported, despite the clarity of VanDyke’s logic, Hirono snapped, “You testified that you would look to the Constitution and what was meant in the Constitution at the time that it took effect, with enactment, ratification, whatever. This was back in 1789, when blacks couldn’t vote and women couldn’t vote. So if the Constitution had not been amended to let women and blacks vote, you would interpret the Constitution as not allowing these groups to vote?”
VanDyke responded rationally, “Senator, the Constitution has been amended, and I’m thankful it has been amended.”
Hirono pressed, “If the Constitution had not been amended and you’re applying the Constitution as it was enacted, 1789, the Constitution had not been amended to allow women and blacks to vote. By originalism, you would have to interpret the Constitution as not allowing these groups to vote. Isn’t that right?”
VanDyke responded patiently, “Senator, I believe that we have a system of separation of powers. I believe that my job as a judge is to apply the law, not to make policy decisions. And I’m very thankful that the Constitution was amended, I think that was the right process to do it.”
Hirono, once again displaying her ignorance of history, posited, “Yes, but you know what, the point I’m making, of course, which you’re trying to get around, is that originalism means that you would interpret Constitution at the time of its enactment, and you would not allow women and blacks to vote because that was not in the Constitution when it was ratified in 1789.”
As The Free Beacon noted, “Hirono was incorrect to claim the Constitution as originally enacted did ‘not allow’ women and blacks to vote; it was silent on the matter. Several states allowed free blacks and women to vote before the passage of the 15th and 19th Amendments mandated such policies in every state.”
Hirono’s history of outrageous comments includes:
August 2019: Speaking to MSNBC’s Chris Hayes: “I think that the Trump Administration people sit around every single day thinking of new ways to be cruel to these migrants. That’s what they do and tomorrow they will probably come up with something else.”
January 2019: Hirono called Senator Ben Sasse (R-NB) “alt-right” for defending the Catholic group Knights of Columbus, saying he was “embracing the alt-right position” for criticizing her lack of concern for religious freedom.
December 2018: Hirono attacked the judicial nominee Brian C. Buescher, a member of the Knights of Columbus, snapping, “the Knights of Columbus has taken a number of extreme positions. For example, it was reportedly one of the top contributors to California’s Proposition 8 campaign to ban same-sex marriage.”
September 2018: During the hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh — “Guess who’s perpetuating all of these kinds of actions? It’s the men in this country. I just want to say to the men in this country, just shut up! And step up. Do the right thing for a change.”