Who Runs Gov

The Plum LineGreg Sargent's blog

Top Conservative Group Acknowledges Stopping Sotomayor Will Be “Uphill Battle”

One of the leading conservative groups fighting the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court is acknowledging that their chances of blocking her are dwindling, citing her “compelling personal story” and the unlikelihood that GOP Senators will remain united in opposition.

“Everyone working on this issue is really aware of the external political realities,” Charmaine Yoest, the president of Americans United for Life, said in an interview with me moments ago. On the question of whether the conservative movement could keep Republicans united against Sotomayor, Yost acknowledged: “It’s an uphill battle.”

Yost’s acknowledgment is striking. While Republican Senators have conceded that Sotomayor is likely to be confirmed, it’s another matter for one of the groups wholly dedicated to blocking her nomination to sound such realistic tones.

Asked if Sotomayor could be stopped without GOP unity, Yoest said it was unlikely, and allowed that in private discussions, other leading movement officials are being equally realistic. But she said that she is anything but pessimistic, and said she’s being candid about the challenges that lie ahead in order to galvanize opposition.

“We’re up against overwhelming odds and we’re going to give it everything we’ve got,” Yoest said. “Nobody has given up.” She added that she was heartened by the immediate media focus on Sotomayor’s judicial “activism,” which she said has given opponents “an opening.”

But Yoest was candid about the difficulties ahead. “There’s no doubt that she has a very compelling personal story,” Yoest said. “We all understand that she’s an attractive nominee.”

The homepage of this blog is here. RSS feed here. Twitter feed here. Email me here.

Posted by Greg Sargent | 05/28/2009, 11:24 AM EST | Categories: Senate Republicans, Supreme Court

23 Responses

  1. Tena | May 28th, 2009 at 11:24 am

    Again, I just want to say: No. Really?

    ROFLMAO this time.

  2. Kathleen Hussein in Maine | May 28th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    From everything I’m reading, these people ought to be pinching themselves that Sotomayor is the choice. But no, they’re the crocodile, and it’s in their nature. They gotta eat. Fortunately, Obama’s the fox, not the frog.

  3. Chris | May 28th, 2009 at 11:37 am

    Yeah a personal story that involves hating crusty old white men. I can’t believe Republicans are not going to stand up and fight against a woman who eats pork and has a funny last name. I finally agree with Dobson, conservatives have lost the culture war if they don’t fight tooth and nail against this woman. Do we really even know if she’s a woman? Have we checked her birth certificate? What is this world coming to?

  4. sgwhiteinfla | May 28th, 2009 at 11:43 am

    Chris the snark is strong in you today lol Great job!

  5. Chris | May 28th, 2009 at 11:45 am

    I know I’ve been drinking more coffee lately.

  6. gonzone | May 28th, 2009 at 11:47 am

    I hope every single fetus Charmaine Yoest saves is gay.

  7. alan | May 28th, 2009 at 12:11 pm

    Greg what’s with all the underlining?

  8. sgwhiteinfla | May 28th, 2009 at 12:20 pm

    Pat Roberts is pledging to vote against Sotomayor.
    .
    http://briefingroom.thehill.com/2009/05/28/first-gop-senator-pledges-vote-against-sotomayer/
    .
    I can’t wait to see how this plays out.

  9. AllButCertain | May 28th, 2009 at 12:30 pm

    Greg, any timeline on a fix on the underlining? If this is an experiment to see if people can read through the thicket of lines and think at the same time, the answer for me is no.

  10. Greg Sargent | May 28th, 2009 at 12:32 pm

    ABC, which underlining are you seeing? I don’t see anything. Swear to God.

  11. sgwhiteinfla | May 28th, 2009 at 12:36 pm

    Greg
    .
    All comments are underlined from how I am seeing it.

  12. sgwhiteinfla | May 28th, 2009 at 12:37 pm

    test

  13. AllButCertain | May 28th, 2009 at 12:38 pm

    Yes, all comments are underlined, and some of the blog posts are as well.

  14. AllButCertain | May 28th, 2009 at 12:40 pm

    SG, did you try transferring underlined text for your test? I did that with my comment and it didn’t work.

  15. alan | May 28th, 2009 at 12:42 pm

    Dastardly plot by Republican Group angry with Greg.

  16. sgwhiteinfla | May 28th, 2009 at 12:44 pm

    ABC I just tried to format it with an ending tag to stop the underlining but it failed.

  17. kgb999 | May 28th, 2009 at 12:50 pm

    If it helps, the underlining issue only happens in IE for me. Firefox is fine.

  18. Greg Sargent | May 28th, 2009 at 01:14 pm

    that’s really weird. I don’t see any underlining. I’ll get the tech people on this.

  19. Greg Sargent | May 28th, 2009 at 01:24 pm

    Our tech guys are looking at the problem. Apologies.

  20. Bernie Latham | May 28th, 2009 at 03:16 pm

    greg – using Chrome, no underlining visible

  21. Tena | May 28th, 2009 at 06:09 pm

    Hmmm – Greg, I’ve never had underlining – whether I was using Safari or Firefox.

    What a strange glitch!

  22. Texas Aggie | May 28th, 2009 at 06:56 pm

    “We all understand that she’s an attractive nominee.”

    Not to mention eminently qualified, better than anyone the right wing can think of at the moment.

  23. john brightman | May 31st, 2009 at 03:59 pm

    HI looks very interesting! bookmarked your blog. john brightman

Leave a Reply


Please email us at profiles@whorunsgov.com to bring to our attention any content or conduct that you believe violates our Discussion and Submission Policy.