What’s law got to do with it?

Minnesota Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken have announced their opposition to the confirmation of Senator Sessions as Attorney General of the United States. What’s happening here?

Klobuchar aspires to become a player of national importance in the Democratic Party. She has published the obligatory memoir to advance her case. She isn’t about to offend the lunatic left in her party by supporting Sessions. In search of a rationale on which to base her opposition, Klobuchar framed her opposition to Sessions essentially as a matter of differing views. For example, Sessions is guilty of failing fully to discern the higher wisdom of the Violence Against Women Act as reauthorized: “The 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act was supported by the vast majority of senators as well as every Democratic and Republican woman senator…Sen. Sessions voted against it.”

Franken’s examination of Senator Sessions in the confirmation hearing showed him to be the unfunny clown whom we have long since come to know in Minnesota. He purported to base his opposition to Sessions on…well, on this: “I do not think he is the best man for the job.” And on the views stated in this poorly constructed run-on sentence: “I cannot vote for an attorney general who is not fully committed to equal justice for the LGBT community, minorities, immigrants and women and Sen. Sessions’ answers failed to reassure me that he will be an attorney general for all Americans.”

These statements are pathetic. To vary a thought from Tina Turner: What’s law got to do with it? Apparently nothing.

Senator Cruz took the first five minutes of his time at the confirmation hearing last week to review the lawlessness of the Obama administration. It is a lawlessness that Franken has encouraged and in which Klobuchar has been complicit. Sad! Senator Cruz’s questioning (video below, about 12 minutes) has the added attraction of taking on Franken’s clown act.

In 2013, incidentally, Senator Sessions explained his opposition to the VAWA reauthorization as follows: “I favor the Violence Against Women Act and have supported it at various points over the years, but there are matters put on that bill that almost seem to invite opposition.” He added: “You think that’s possible? You think they might have put things in there we couldn’t support, [so that] maybe then they could accuse you of not being supportive of fighting violence against women?” At his confirmation hearing Senator Sessions testified with respect to enforcement of the current law: “I will defend the statute if it’s reasonably defensible.”

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