Comments on: Support For Sotomayor Rises. Will GOP Opinion Shift, Too?

By: actuator

actuator — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 03:33:30 +0000

Sotomayor is going to be confirmed. Of course it’s political theater and a waste of time to watch.

Tena, I remember when El Rushbo and others were touting the end of liberalism. The pendulum doth ever swingeth from side to side. When one side arrogantly pushes to far or fails to deliver, the other comes back. It will happen again.

By: sbj

sbj — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:54:40 +0000

JennD: Since you seem to be some sort of recent convert to the Dem cause – unless I misunderstand your viewpoint – I’d like to know if you’ve ever seen these types of hearings before? Back in the past when you were supposedly regularly voting for Repubs did you think the Dems on the Judiciary Committee treated Repub nominees with deference and respect? Because if you think the Repubs are treating Sotomayor any worse than the Dems treated Roberts, Alito, Thomas, Bork, etc then we’d better have a sitdown and a little history lesson. This stuff you are watching today is tame – tame I tell you! – compared to some of the **** that’s been thrown around in the past. The questions are about as relevant as they ever are – which is never – because these hearings don’t focus on anything substantial. They are political exercises designed for future positioning. If you understand that then I don’t see how you can claim that the Repubs are any worse/better than their Dem counterparts. If you think that somehow there is even a dime’s width of difference between the two parties and the way they approach these confirmation hearings then you are simply way off the mark.

By: Jenn D

Jenn D — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:43:44 +0000

sbj- Just a quick follow up…so um, when did we reach the point where nominees are judged by the content of their character and quality of their legal mind and not by the color of their skin or their gender? I am just trying to figure out when we reached this point? Because the questions rattled off by the GOP today, certainly DOES NOT reflect that point…some of them didn’t even ask her ANYTHING related to her lengthy judicial resume, ONLY her remarks made about her Latina heritage. So I respect the fact that you personally seem to be beyond judging a nominee by the content of their character…but the good ol’ GOP is not there and unfortunately, they don’t have anyone like you on their judicial commitee. So until they do, many of us will continue to make our own points about their seemingly simplistic “white male” view on everything.

By: Greg Sargent

Greg Sargent — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:38:40 +0000

Tena — thanks — yeah, I survived the move. Sorta. Still recovering.

By: sbj

sbj — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:25:47 +0000

errr, JennD: My point is that conservatives don’t care about demographics if it means pandering. If they become a minor party lost in the forbidden zone then so be it. I don’t care. There will always be conservatives who will always gravitate to the more ‘libertarian’ party.

The LAST post was about Alito and hypocrisy, not this one. I’ll not comment on supposed hypocrisy except to say (1) the Repubs certainly don’t hold a monopoly and (2) “a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”

I agree that it would be great to get more women and minorities on the Supreme Court – but not BECAUSE they are women or minoritites, but because we have reached the point where nominees are judged by the content of their character and quality of their legal mind and not by the color of their skin or their gender.

The question(s) about temperament – while easily deflected – is certainly legitimate.

By: Jenn D

Jenn D — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:12:24 +0000

Um, sbj…I won’t get into anything escalated on this issue…but the point here is the hypocrisy. Alito stated that his heritage influenced his legal “world view” so to speak, and I didn’t hear any GOPers taking issue with that comment by Alito. And since when (at least in modern times) is the male, white viewpoint the “normal” viewpoint!!! Since when is that viewpoint what all others, who are not white or male, are judged against? It is ridiculous…we have had 110 USSCJ’s and 106 of them have been white men…I think we have covered our “white male” box don’t you? In addition, if you could do a little of your digging to locate in the previous USSCJ nominee hearings where a GOPer has asked a male nominee about his “temperament”…I would definately like for you to show me those types of questions (heck, throw the race issue in there too) from past nominee hearings so that your point will no longer drip of the utter hypocrisy and self-absorbed “I am the norm and others are to be held up against that” notion that is quite obvious…Good luck with the demographics in future elections.

By: sbj

sbj — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:54:08 +0000

@tena: ? I don’t quite understand your comments.

But anywho . . .

I’m not a Republican, I’m conservative. Like a lot of people. We wouldn’t consider it modernization or evolutionary to support someone merely based on their ethnicity. Nor would we oppose someone for that reason. It seems a shame to me that questions can’t be asked of a PR jurist without being called a backwards racist. It seems clear to me that Sotomayor herself admits that her words were poorly chosen and could lead a reasonable person to misinterpret her intended meaning. I don’t give a damn if the GOP shrinks because they do their job and ask reasonable questions. However, it would be a pity if they lose members because unfair charges of racism are carelessly (and dangerously) thrown about, but that seems to be a key play in the modern progressive playbook – just ask Bill Clinton.

By: alan

alan — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:48:57 +0000

Greg: Overtime, following the elections I have reservations about Rasmussen polls. Do you have anything by Nate Silver. I should get over there myself. The “Cederbaum is here” moment made my day. Graham is an enigma: he tries hard to be a “serious” senator.

Most egregious ***xxxx: Alex Castellanos on CNN. He has spouted rubbish all day, but the Blitz thinks that is ok. This guy has no compass.

By: Tena

Tena — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:40:29 +0000

“Do you mean to say that the GOP should “modernize” by pandering to minority voters?”:

Maybe that made my week.

sbj – by all means, change NOTHING. Continue down this evolutionary dead end. You’re almost there – the GOP is almost extinct.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!1

By: Tena

Tena — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:39:18 +0000

“bill | July 14th, 2009 at 04:48 pm

the highlight was when judge sotomayor jammed Sessions
with Judge Cedarbaum. it was a thing of beauty. ”

That totally made my week! I fell out of my chair laughing.

By: sbj

sbj — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:24:24 +0000

Greg: Hope you had fun moving.

“whether “the base” will continue to prevent the party from modernizing.”

Modernizing?

Do you mean to say that the GOP should “modernize” by pandering to minority voters?

From Contentions: “The former editor of the Saturday Evening Post who once famously said that ‘when a politician changes his position, it’s sometimes hard to tell whether he has seen the light or felt the heat.’

By: Kathleen Hussein in Maine

Kathleen Hussein in Maine — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:15:59 +0000

I’m wondering if the GOP is going to lose people from its rank and file based on the questions today. How many scales will fall from eyes, like Jenn D’s?

By the way, Greg, an ironic touch–a Nissan Versa banner ad at the top of the page was running en espanol earlier today.

By: Tena

Tena — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:14:09 +0000

Speaking of the GOP burlesque show, y’all heard Michael Steele’s latest? He’s going to serve fried chicken and potato salad to attract more minorities to the GOP.

By: Tena

Tena — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:02:03 +0000

What’s interesting – faintly – about the Sotomayor hearings and the Repugs’ behavior is how freely it’s being referred to as “merely political theater.”

Underscoring again that the GOP is not a serious political party anymore with serious people running it. It’s just political theater – that’s all the modern GOP is.

By: Tena

Tena — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:00:16 +0000

Hey Greg, you’re back, you survived!

Moving is like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer – it feels so good when you stop.