The Internet Reacts To Jeff Sessions’ Confirmation

Turning on Twitter these days is like turning on a firehose of political thought. Sometimes the hose is connected to the water mains, other times it's connected to the sewer. But every time something happens — and something is always happening — we experience a take tsunami. Jeff Sessions' confirmation as Attorney General after a bitter Senate-floor fight is the latest such event. To recap, Democrats argued that Sessions' past of support for racist and anti-LGBTQ legislation made him a bad choice for the office. Republicans argued that Democrats should stop pointing this stuff out, and that Sessions had once supervised prosecution of a KKK leader. Democrats said Sessions was too racist to be confirmed as a federal judge in the 1980s and that Coretta Scott King opposed his then-nomination. Republicans invoked a little-known rule to get Senator Warren to stop talking. Virginia Senator Tim Kaine has already condemned the confirmation in a statement. “As we contemplate some of the President’s outlandish and discriminatory claims about immigrants, and deal with the aftermath of his poor executive order, we have to separate the extreme and untrue from our legitimate security concerns. A good lawyer often needs to be a check against the bad instincts of his client, and in this area, I am not confident Senator Sessions can do that,” Kaine said. Emily's List, a nationwide resource for women in politics, also decried the confirmation. "This is a troubling day for women, families, and all Americans concerned about protecting our core values and the American principles that this country was founded on," President Stephanie Schriock said in a statement. She continued, "[As] a senator, Sessions voted numerous times to defund Planned Parenthood, has attacked voting rights, consistently adopted a hard line against legalizing undocumented immigrants, and voted against the Violence Against Women Act – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.” Dr. Willie Parker, Board Chair of Physicians for Reproductive Health, also weighed in. “As a physician from Alabama who provides abortions, I have seen firsthand how Jeff Sessions’ brand of politics endangers the health and safety of women and families," Parker said in a statement. "His extreme record of hostility towards reproductive rights stands in the way of his ability to protect the constitutional right to abortion and the safety of patients and providers. This is unacceptable for any officeholder, but especially worrisome for someone who is now the chief law enforcement official of our great country." Now, Twitter has responded to the news with a series of takes decrying the nomination. Many opposed the appointment.

Many also celebrated Sessions.

Several rights advocacy groups have pledged to oppose Sessions should he violate the law or Constitution.