Refusal to acknowledge climate change shows Barrett unfit for Supreme Court

The confirmation process of Amy Coney Barrett is a sham in many ways. Since the outcome is a foregone conclusion, it has ceased to be an educational process on her judicial philosophy (though she will hold so much of our fate in her hands).

The questioners make political speeches, and the candidate herself finds clever ways to say nothing, so as not to incur the wrath of her mentor, President Donald Trump.

When asked a non-political, non-controversial question, Barrett should have jumped at the chance to finally give an actual answer — but she didn’t. She gave a mealy-mouthed non-answer about whether climate change is happening. Science says that it is, and visible proof abounds. But yet, she replied that “it is a very contentious matter of public debate.”

In any other realm, this would disqualify her for nomination to any court, much less the Supreme Court. It was heartening to hear the she believes that the coronavirus is infectious and smoking causes cancer.

Does she think that antibiotics cure infections or is that a matter of “public debate” as well?

Some Republicans deny climate science because their backers are in the fossil fuel industry. Trump makes light of COVID-19 because it hurts his reelection chances, but that doesn’t change the facts.

I would expect a candidate for the Supreme Court to be a person with the intelligence and reasoning ability to base decisions on facts. Barrett is not such a person. She should not be on the court.

Carol Kraines, Deerfield