Sotomayor Gets a Hearing
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy just announced on the Senate floor that Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court Sonia Sotomayor will receive her confirmation hearing before his committee on July 13."It's in line with past experience," Leahy said. "There's no reason to delay this well qualified nominee. She deserves an oppertunity to go before the public and speak of her record especially given those who would mischaracterize her record."
The date is much earlier than what the G.O.P. had hoped for. Senator Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the committee, had pushed to confirm her after the August recess in September given her long judicial record. There's sure to be some outrage, though the schedule is inline with the confimation of Chief Justice John Roberts -- as Leahy pointed out on the Senate floor. Republicans had originally called for a Roberts-like schedule before they realized that he was confirmed in just 74 days. They then revised their call for an Alito-like time frame -- Justice Samuel Alito took more than 90 days from nomination to confirmation. Oops.
Update:
Leahy lays out the schedule in his statement, which they just passed out to reporters on the Hill. Looks like he anticipates two weeks of hearings followed by a vote the first week of August before they recess for they summer: "My initial proposal to Senator Sessions was that we begin the hearing on July 7, following the Senate's return from July 4 recess. I have deferred the start date to July 13 in an effort to accomodate our Republican members. With bipartisan cooperation, we should still be able to complete Judiciary Committee consideration of the nomination during the last week of July, and allow the Senate to consider the nomination during the first week in August, before the Senate recesses on August 7."
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1
Of course, JNS, Leahy's citation of "precedent" is always an interesting thing. Remember his comment about a well-qualified rating from ABA being the "gold standard", something which Leahy abandoned with GOP nominees and for which the MSM gave him cover. Perhaps, just perhaps, that personal history of Leahy could make its way into your coverage of the Sotomayor nomination. You can snark at Sessions with your "oops". But there are lots of opportunities to snark at Dems, which you've avoided. I guess you missed Reid's comment about not having read any of Sotomayor's opinions before deeming her "qualified". Funny how that didn't make its way onto your radar screen.
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2
I just hope that good ol' Newt doesn't come up with something else, I mean short of accusing Ms. Sotomayor of faking her broken ankle.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-borowitz/gingrich-accuses-sotomayo_b_212749.html
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3
Always amazing how people start with the results they want and then assemble a bunch of enduring principles to back up their rather temporary preferences.
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Man likes to think of himself as a rational animal. However, it is more true that man is a rationalizing animal, ... -
4
This will give the judge time to meet senators and the timing seems reasonable. Next: playing to the tv camera at the hearings; and delivering portentous talking points. On the sidelines: hypocrisy in full flow.
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5
"There's sure to be some outrage..."
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Must be Tuesday. -
6
I just checked intrade, and shares in "Jay Newton Small will reveal that SS was a member of a group that gave an award to someone who'd proposed genocide" are currently trading at 0.00001 Zimbabwe dollars.
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7
Is Joe in Pakistan?
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LARGE BLAST REPORTED AT PAKISTAN HOTEL USED BY FOREIGN MEDIA, TOURISTS -
8
Count on Republican senators, their enablers and others similarly disposed to try to shift the argument again. Having given virtually no attention to the merits, and having made insufficient headway on their cartoonish character assassination, they'll now try to make this a subjective and selective brouhaha about the process. One more opportunity for the MSM to swallow the new phony meme, and I'm betting they'll take it. Who needs light when there's heat?
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9
I second Gunny's question at #7.
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10
@kcory: That's satire, if you were being serious.
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11
" .. given her long judicial record.
An admirable long record is bad.
The mediocre shall thrive and inherit the USA.
Are we selectively breeding a nation of the mediocre?
[Yes. That is OK, right? Now and then when the need arises, we shall ship in a few of the good ones from India on HB1 visa.][You have to admire this American's tenacity. Too bad that she thereby competes with men on equal terms. That makes Newt mad. Insecure. And that goes for Hannitty. And Limbaugh.]
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12
gysgt213: Is Joe in Pakistan?
He might have gone to NKorea, masquerading as an undercover female journalist.
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13
This timeline is nearly identical to those of the GOP's beloved kooks Roberts and Alito. Nothing to whine about, but I'm sure they'll cook something up...
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14
off topic..but a gem. and is why people have no faith in the media being objective.
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15
And of course, FO was outraged about the character assassination of Alito . . . .
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16
" .. short of accusing Ms. Sotomayor of faking her broken ankle. .."
Sonia should no expect sympathy from Republicans. Maybe they will congratulate her instead: Remember that among the GOP members there are many who seem to love and promote "torture" [but only when it is inflicted on others - as amply demonstrated by brave Hanitty's dread of torture by 'waterboarding'. -
17
yeah, cfukara, GOP sens should be in love with a judge who thinks that states cannot disenfranchise prison inmates, for Pete's sake.
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18
The word "oppertunity" is misspelled in the Leahy quotation above. It's been driving me nuts all day!
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19
http://planetgore.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MjY4NjJhNTFlNmE1NDI1OGM5Yzg5ODA2NDFiZTM3ZTk=
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Gotta love the heavy hand of government. I wonder who Sotomayor would back . . . . -
20
trustronan: " .. It's been driving me nuts all day!"
Pipe Down, kid.
Count your blessings.
At least you didn't spend your day in Northern Pakistan dodging democracy drones and scanning the horizon for assorted killer squads determined to snuff out your dear life and that of your loved ones - remotely - like it is a video game.
- jnsmall Apparently Glenn Beck isn't a fan of mine: http://www.mediaite.com/online/joe-klein-smackdown-pt-2-glenn-beck-in-the-library-with-a-pipe/ - 14 minutes ago
- jnsmall @katieinDC medicine sans frontieres (doctors w/o borders in English). if not w/ them then they can refer you. - 3 hours ago
- jnsmall @katieinDC You should go-it's def an area where help is needed. maybe talk to MSF or the Adventist hospital (Adra). - 3 hours ago
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