The Uncertainty of Supreme Court Appointments
- With the upcoming election on November 4th, the media has been centered around the two candidates, Trump and Clinton, and has been scrutinizing their every word and movement.
- Trump and Clinton have very different views for our country in regards to our highest court, but recently Clinton’s rhetoric during the third presidential debate brought up the issue of who she would appoint to be the next supreme court justice.
Clinton Rhetoric
- During the third presidential debate, Hillary Clinton said,“The Supreme Court should represent all of us. … And the kind of people that I would be looking to nominate to the court would be in the great tradition of standing up to the powerful, standing up on behalf of our rights as Americans.”
- She used this rhetoric to try to identify with voters and relate herself to be just like a normal American citizen, saying that she wants a judge who will uphold her values as well. The use of her “I” language helps build the identification between her and the audience and helps create the idea that they are not as different as they seem. She tries to establish common ground and help establish the same believes, morals, and values as the audience members who are watching the debate.
- This also goes along with the rhetorical strategy of how she tries to reinforce her voters’ belief structure by what she said during the debate. This is a political debate strategy of many politicians. She wants to show voters that she will see out their votes and lead the way that they want a candidate to lead.
- Clinton also is quoted saying “I’m going to let this president serve out his term with distinction and make the decisions that he thinks are right.” I think she uses this rhetorical strategy to build the ethos of President Obama since she has worked for his staff during his presidency and she wants to establish her own credibility as being fit for the job of being president. She wants to build her credibility with voters so she is seen as being able to choose a great candidate for Supreme Court Justice who has lots of experience.
A Battle
- So for the next two weeks until election day, Clinton will be responsible for displaying to voters how unfit Trump is to be president and try establish her own identity of being the right person for the job, the right person to choose the next Supreme Court Justice, and the right person to lead our country. Can she do this? I guess we will just have to see…
