Talk to enough conservative voters these days and you’ll hear a sentence that would’ve sounded crazy a few years ago: “I’m not sure about Barrett.”
Amy Coney Barrett, the Justice whose confirmation was treated like the conservative Super Bowl, has become a source of genuine head-scratching on the right.
Back in 2020 there were Barrett mugs. There were Barrett T-shirts. One woman at a rally in Pennsylvania told our reporter Alex Bruno she named her golden retriever “Coney.”
Bruno tracked her down again last month. The dog is fine. The enthusiasm, less so. “I still love the dog,” she said. “The Justice I’m not so sure.”
That pretty much sums it up. Barrett hasn’t turned into a liberal, not even close. But on a handful of rulings she’s taken a narrower or more cautious path than her biggest fans expected, and in today’s politics, cautious reads as betrayal to some people.
The complaints usually come down to a few things. She’s joined majorities that some on the right thought were too soft. She’s written concurrences that slow things down instead of speeding them up. And she’s said, more than once, that a judge’s job isn’t to deliver wins for any side.
That last part is the one that really stings for activists. “We didn’t spend all that energy for a referee,” one Georgia organizer told Bruno. “We wanted a teammate.”
Talk radio has had a field day. One host has a running segment called “What Did Amy Do Now?” Callers phone in, complain, and occasionally admit they didn’t actually read the opinion. It’s great radio.
Not everyone on the right is upset. Plenty of conservative lawyers think Barrett is doing exactly what a serious originalist should do, which is follow the law even when it’s inconvenient.
“People mistake restraint for weakness,” a law professor in Indiana said. “She’s playing a long game. The folks yelling about her want a short one.” Even some of her critics grudgingly admit she’s sharp. They just wish she’d use it to swing harder.
Barrett herself hasn’t engaged with any of it, and probably never will. Justices don’t call in to talk shows. When she speaks publicly, it’s in measured, careful sentences about judicial independence that could put a toddler to sleep. That only frustrates her detractors more. You can’t argue with someone who won’t argue back.
Remember those Barrett mugs? Bruno found a few on resale sites. Prices are down. One seller in Arizona listed hers with the description “Lightly used. Feelings mixed.”
That’s the kind of quiet market correction you don’t see in polling, but it tells a story. The superfan energy has cooled into something more like cautious respect from some and open irritation from others.
A conservative podcaster said on his show last week that Barrett is “the friend who shows up to your party and then argues with you about the music.” He meant it as an insult. Her fans took it as a compliment.
Here’s the thing the grumblers know deep down: Barrett’s going to be on that Court for a long, long time. Lifetime appointment means lifetime. She’ll be writing opinions when today’s talk radio hosts have retired to Florida.
So conservatives might as well get comfortable. They can keep grumbling, keep tuning into “What Did Amy Do Now?”, and keep hoping the next big ruling goes their way. And the golden retriever named Coney? He’s still a very good boy. Nobody’s disappointed in him.
