How Conservatives Will Try To Sink Sotomayor
First off, it must be said that Second Circuit Judge Sonia Sotomayor appears to have a relatively easy path to confirmation on the U.S. Supreme Court, if President Obama announces her nomination later this morning, as the Associated Press has reported he will. The likelihood of a filibuster is slim. Democrats control nearly 60, if not 60, seats in the Senate.
That said, conservatives are still going to mount an all out effort to stop her, if only because Supreme Court battles can be fund-raising, list-building manna from heaven. So how will they take on Sotomayor? This morning I spoke with Curt Levey, the executive director of the Committee For Justice, a conservative legal group, which will position itself in the middle of the coming fight. He said he was shocked by the reports that Obama had selected Sotomayor. "I didn't think he would go that radical," Levey said. "There is so much to go after there. . . . But I think that's what happens when you box yourself into a corner--say it has to be a Hispanic, it has to be a woman."
He listed three areas where Sotomayor was a relatively easy target: policy making from the bench, affirmative action, and second amendment rights. For good measure he called Sotomayor the "biggest intellectual lightweight of all the top nominees." All of these problems, he said, could add up to "a Harriet Myers situation," where Sotomayor would be forced to withdraw her nomination. (As a historical parallel, Myers is a strained one; she was forced to withdraw because of outrage within the president's own party, something that is unlikely to happen with Sotomayor.)
Here is a quick breakdown of the big three targets Levey hopes to draw.
A Policy Making Judge. As a matter of political rhetoric, the worst thing that a judge can do is "make policy from the bench," thus upsetting, conservatives say, the sacrosanct separation of powers in the constitution, which gives policy making powers to the executive and the legislature. On this point, Sotomayor has been known to tell jokes, which could cause problems. Interpreting these remarks -- "court of appeals is where policy is made. And I know -- and I know this is on tape and I should never say that because we don't make law, I know" -- requires a sufficient understanding of the limits and reach of sarcasm. But this will no doubt be an oft repeated clip in the coming weeks. (The liberal hounds at Media Matters are already on the case with the counter-spin.)
Affirmative Action. Sotomayor was part of a panel that rejected the complaint of a white New Haven firefighter who scored high on an in-house test but was denied promotion. The complaint later led to a split ruling on the Circuit Court, and was appealed to the Supreme Court. Stuart Taylor, of the National Journal, has also complained that Sotomayor and two other judges dismissed the case in an unnecessarily secretive way: "a cursory, unpublished order that disclosed virtually nothing about the nature of the ideologically explosive case."
Second Amendment. On a case that concerned nunchucks--no joke--Sotomayor ruled that the recent Supreme Court Heller decision, which struck down a District of Columbia gun ban on federal grounds, should not apply to states. The National Rifle Association types did not much like this. "That should be enough to draw the gun rights people," said Levey.
Will any of it work to stop her? The odds are real long. But both liberals and conservatives have a lot to gain by making this a fight. So expect a noisy fight.
UPDATE: For more on lines of attack against Sotomayor read Tom Goldstein over at Scotusblog.
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1
It won't help if the media does stoopid things like this that Amy reported at Political Animal on May 26, 2009 at 9:28 AM:
Now, this is odd. Politico calls her a "Latina single mother."
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http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22962.html#ixzz0GcPpb5Tb&A
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Given that articles have noted that she has no children and therefore sees her clerks as her children, where did the reporters get that idea? It seems like they have internalized some stereotypes about minority women. -
2
Politico (aka Mike Allen) has become the link between Sludge and Morning Blow. So look for Scarborough to channel anti-Sotomayor sludge.
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3
a real reporter would not merely act as a stenographer for the far right, but would provide some actual perspective.
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but its hacks like you that advance the cause of racists by repeating BS claims like "But I think that's what happens when you box yourself into a corner--say it has to be a Hispanic, it has to be a woman."
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Sotomayor has more experience on the federal bench than any nominee for at least 70 years. (Alito was praised for his 15 years experience...Sotomayor has been on the bench since 1992). She is a highly qualified judge who would be an outstanding candidate regardless of her gender/ethnicity, and allowing the kind of racist accusations to go unrebutted is simply wrong.
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Indeed, its so obviously wrong that your failure to correct the record, your willingness to simply reinforce the rhetoric of bigotry and hate, tells us a lot about where you are coming from --- and the fact that its probably "subconscious" doesn't excuse the fact that you are simply spewing "white male" talking points without rebuttal. -
4
Likelihood of a filibuster is slim? 60 votes? Maybe not. Christy Hardin Smith had this thought today:
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Suddenly, the Ben Nelson fishing expedition on Fox News over the weekend comes into sharper focus: he's making a move while his vote still has cash value. And before one of the other "floaters" cuts a deal of their own. -
5
And don't forget that Reid Bucked Obama On Gitmo For Fear Of Looking “Liberal.” -- Sargent
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6
[...] #5: Michael Scherer at Swampland This morning I spoke with Curt Levey, the executive director of the Committee For [...]
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7
The panel's stunt in the New Haven firefighters case was appalling.
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http://bench.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NzI4ODU1MjIxMThiNGQzODUwYTFlYzNlNWNlOWMzOTc=
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Had Alito or Roberts pulled a stunt like that, Obama would have been leading the charge.
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Let's hope the news media spares us the BS about the GOP blocking a Hispanic. The Dems did the same thing to Estrada.
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And a filibuster is ok. Obama tried to do it to Alito. -
8
Shorter Scherer: There Will Be Politics.
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9
It wouldn't surpise me if a GOP senator or two in states with a large Hispanic bloc decides not to join in a filibuster. 2010 was already shaping up as a tough year for them. This is going to be fun.
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10
MS, you are correct in assuming there will be a conservative / libertarian "backlash" to this appointment, IF, she can make it through the process.
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Just look at the woman's body language in this video footage when she attempts to explain away the "policy making" statemtn about judicial branch's role is to define the law, not make the law.
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The Mont Blanc pen twirlling and the hand to the neck is a clear indication of what she is saying does not match the body language she is attempting to hide in the truth of how she really feels.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXBAgh7qtdc
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The pen twirlling is indicative of being very uncomfortable with this questions or her answer. Also the hand to the neck/chin indicates in body language that she is saying something that she totally does not believe in, that she is lying. A hand to the neck like that is a non-verbal way of attempting to shut herself up.
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Hopefully this arrogant, "policy making" judge will be kept as far away from the Supreme Court as possible. She is not what we need in a Supreme Court Justice. -
11
I think the White House is praying the Right fights this pick. She's not only an immensely qualified jurist but she has been a prosecutor, private litigator, trial judge, and appellate judge. No one else on the court has done as much; she's also got the big ivy degree. She's a woman. She's a Hispanic. Basically, the right would be shooting themselves in the foot to hit an inevitable nominee that will not change the balance of the court.
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This is the Gimme Pick for Obama; the next SCOTUS is the fight they HAVE to have on the right. But if they go nuclear on Sotomayor they're going to have a lot to live down in 2010 in the west and southwest.
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I'm glad the administration didn't let those hit pieces affect the choice; this is brilliant politically and substantively if you're a liberal IMO.
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12
greenlyfe:
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That's what I was just hearing from my BIL.
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The truth is, I know how the GOP is going to "sink" her nomination:
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They simply cannot do it! -
13
spob:
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I hope they do. I sincerely do. Say goombye to the Hispanic vote, too.
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I am posilutely certain that you, rusty, and the Great White Whale will be fine with that.
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Full speed ahead and damn the torpedoes!
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Oooof!
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Damn, that hurt... -
14
Get ready for one sassy confirmation process to include questions like “Puerto Rico, that's pretty damn close to Cuba, isn't it Ms. Sotomayor?”
Add to the list at http://adjix.com/dthr
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"immensely qualified"--come on guys, that's Roberts. Not her. Her actions in the Ricci case were appalling.
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16
Of course they are going to go nuclear. All that is left of the GOP is the extreme right wing and as all extremist inevitably do, they will go one step too far and this is it. They are already teetering on the edge of the abyss, they have no chance with African Americans or gays after decades of race baiting and homophobic antics. Now after a racist campaign against illegal immigration if they attack this Hispanic woman justice they will close the door on Hispanic voters as well. Young people have turned their backs and women are increasingly turning a deaf ear. So go for it GOP, you are your own worse enemy so please let me get out of your way while you take yourself out of contention.
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And for the record, Obama's speech writers, members of the press, and anyone else reluctant to do due diligence, including Sotomayor who now ascribes to her own press clippings, in order to make her life story sound even more hard pressed -- The Bronxdale housing projects is no where near Yankee stadium nor is it in the South Bronx! -
17
Speaking of nucular, Dee, check this bit o' stupidity from Nevada's own:
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/05/26/nevada-governor-turns-down-obama-airport-meeting-2/
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I sincerely hope they do go nuclear. They will fizzle like NK's first test... -
18
spob:
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I sincerely hope you can find a nice island somewhere that isn't being gobbled up by subductive process where you can establish your white homeland.
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That way, there's at least some place on this planet for all those disenfrachised whites.
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Think of it as an extenstion of the Endangered Species Act.
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Or something... -
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"So go for it GOP, you are your own worse enemy so please let me get out of your way while you take yourself out of contention."
Dee:
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I think it's a grassroots movement.
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It seems that everyone in the GOP, from the lowly spob and rusty to the very top of the ticket routinely kick their own arses and call it a victory!
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I'll be bringing some popcorn to this one... -
20
The liberal hounds at Media Matters are already on the case with the counter-spin
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Michael, do you think it is part of your job as a reporter to determine whether the arguments of the conservative attackers or those of the "liberal hounds" make more sense? Or do you think it's your job merely to relate both sides?
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This is just a blog post, not an article or anything, so I'm just wondering where you come down on that. -
21
Micheal is in "bipartisan" mode.
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22
"The likelihood of a filibuster is slim. Democrats control nearly 60, if not 60, seats in the Senate."
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Come on. Really? There could be one republican in the senate and Hary Reid would allow him or her to secretly hold and filibuster any damn thing they wanted to while explaining to everyone else there is nothing he can do about it. 99 votes aren't enough Reid.
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But the reality is that, the only way we know how to cover something is to pretend its a high school football game media and afraid to appear liberal enabling democrats give the republicans all the support they need to sink any damn thing they want. Do the republicans have legit concerns over this nominee whom was first picked by HW Bush? We will never find out. -
23
I was initially favoring her nomination, based upon her academic and legal accomplishments and honors. But then it was pointed out that she twirls her Mont Blanc pen...
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24
53--Sometimes I think that if it wasn't for stupidity, Republicans would have no brain activity at all. It was the GOP that started the finger pointing at companies using bailout money for luxury junkets and that rhetoric is what forced the president to call for a halt to the junkets. So if the governor of Nevada wants to complain he ought to first take this up with his own asinine party that started this fight in the first place.
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25
Guys, defend the panel's actions in the Ricci case. Come on, even Cabranes thought it was garbage.
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But you can't, so you play the spob is a racist angle. F**k off.
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