Scathing Washington Post editorial slams GOP for giving Judge Jackson 'worse' treatment than Brett Kavanaugh

The Washington Post's editorial board on Wednesday slammed Senate Republicans for their treatment of Supreme Court nominee Kentanji Brown Jackson.

The editorial started out by praising Jackson for being the "model of composure" during the hearings, even as Republican senators accused her of having a soft spot for child pornographers.

The editors then took Republicans to task for claiming that they wouldn't treat Jackson the way Democrats treated Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, even though the GOP has given Jackson "worse" treatment so far.

"Republicans have smeared Judge Jackson based on obvious distortions of her record and the law," they write. "Mr. Graham and others painted her as a friend of child pornographers, despite the fact that her sentences in their cases reflect the judicial mainstream. Even conservative outlets had debunked these accusations before the hearings began. The more Judge Jackson argued for rationality in criminal sentencing — or attempted to, as Mr. Graham continually interrupted her — the more Mr. Graham ranted about the evils of child pornography."

RELATED: Ted Cruz's Senate antics backfire -- and now he's helped the 'Antiracist Baby' book become a bestseller

The editors did single out Sens. Ben Sasse (R-NE) and Chuck Grassley (R-NE) as notable exceptions to GOP senators' poor behavior, but then lamented that the antics of Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley have overshadowed their substantive questioning of Jackson.

"Neither side is blameless in the politicization of the confirmation process," the editors concluded. "But, particularly after they iced out then-Judge Merrick Garland in 2016, Republicans have done the most damage. The clownish performances by Mr. Graham and others continue them on that trajectory."