GOP Senators Make Fools Of Themselves When The Question Is Turned On Them: ‘What’s A Woman?’

During the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson last month in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Republicans wanted Judge Jackson to define what a “woman” is.

The question came first from Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who sits on the committee even though she has never been an attorney and holds a degree in home economics. She inquired:

 “Can you define the word ‘woman’?”

Jackson replied:

“Can I provide a definition? No, I can’t. I’m not a biologist.”

That led Blackburn to snidely remark:

“The fact that you can’t give me a straight answer about something as fundamental as what a woman is underscores the dangers of the kind of progressive education that we are hearing about.”

The darker, more insidious purpose of the query, HuffPost notes, was to get Judge Jackson to wade into the issue of transgender rights:

The real aim of Blackburn’s question was almost certainly to try to corner Jackson on the issue of transgender women participating in women’s sports ― part of a broader, ugly GOP attack on LGBTQ people heading into the 2022 elections. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is pushing for child abuse investigations of parents whose children seek gender-affirming medical care. Florida’s new “Don’t Say Gay” law prevents teachers from talking about sexual orientation or gender identity to students younger than fourth graders. The Human Rights Campaign, meanwhile, is tracking more than 300 anti-LGBTQ bills across the country.

But when the same question is turned on Republicans in the Senate, it turns out they’re not equal to the test, as proven by some of their responses:

“I don’t have anything for you on that.” Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA)

“I’m not going to indulge you.” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)

A spokesperson for Blackburn offered this, “Two X chromosomes.”

If that’s not pathetic enough for you, listen to what Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said:

“The birds and the bees stuff ― it’s been a while, but I think I remember the general gist of the differences. To have a hard time answering that question is kind of odd to me.”

And then there’s insurrection apologist Josh Hawley (R-MO), who replied thusly:

“Someone who can give birth to a child, a mother, is a woman. Someone who has a uterus is a woman. It doesn’t seem that complicated to me.”

So if a woman has a hysterectomy and her uterus is removed, is she still a woman, Sen. Hawley?

“Yeah. Well, I don’t know, would they?”

Hey, if you can’t answer the question more definitively than that, should you be attacking Judge Jackson? Or should you even be allowed on the judiciary committee?

Hypocrites. Every damn one of them.