Tomorrow, hearings will begin for Sonia Sotomayor to be SC justice. Scarcely a word about this is in the press. With Roberts and Alito, it was front page news for weeks. Why? Plainly because the confirmation is a foregone conclusion.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
What if we had a supreme court confirmation hearing and no one came?
Posted by The Law Talking Guy at 7:38 AM
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8 comments:
It also doesn't really seem likely to change the overall ideological make up of the court. LTG can you elaborate on whether Sotomayor joining the court would likely change rulings in important areas?
Sotomayor will be the sixth catholic on the supreme court.
Newt Gingrich is a slimy little weasel but he just turned catholic.
Now when Roe vs Wade is negated by the Pope's orders there will be singing and dancing and cheering by all of the clueless.
But when the major religions and the clueless finally catch on that the laws are decided by the Pope and a Supreme Court that has already proved they regard the constitution as a piece of paper to be ignored at will, it isn't going to be just the snake handlers and holy rollers who go ballistic.
You going to see Mormons and Baptists and Seventh Day Adventist make a recap of the
reformation look like a joke.
If I were catholic, I would move to Paraguay and change my name to Bush or Cheney.
Change the makeup of the Supreme Court? Just leave out "justice" as a title or for formal documents. A note scribbled on a napkin in a mob hangout has more "justice."
Sotomayor will be much more liberal than Souter, who was a Republican appointee and was not always on the liberal camp. His vote to uphold Roe v. Wade came with significant weakening to the law.
Mostly, Sotomayor will change the intellectual dynamic on the court. She will give voice to real liberal arguments that have, at most, Ginsburg's approval now. She will help shift the intellectual center of gravity. She will also have Kennedy's respect, I think, because of her long tenure on the 2nd circuit.
She will also drive Scalia bonkers, because she's everything he hates.
Thanks LTG. I'm feeling less apathetic about her nomination now.
I think Anonymous' comment is the best one I've ever read on this blog. It's absolutely epic.
I think my sarcasometer just overloaded.
When Bush nominated Judge John Roberts to be the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, I wrote on this blog:
"At least everyone agrees he's a brilliant lawyer and not an evangelical nutcase. And it's better for the institution to have a collegial, effective Chief Justice than an ineffective, divisive firebrand. When it comes to Bush's judicial appointments, I think mainstream Americans are going to have to accept this as the best we're going to get out of him."
I think any reasonable Republican would have to speak similarly regarding President Obama's nomination of Judge Sotomayor. You may dislike her politics, but she seems like a solid choice. Let us hope the Republican Senators can manage to get through this without too much loss of dignity for everyone concerned.
NPR did nothing but talk about the hearings yesterday, even down to a 1 hour special last night. If I hear one more time about Sotomayor's past, I'll puke. Give it up. I don't care if you were raised in a refugee camp. Can you be a judge. The rest is distraction.
As Nina Totenberg indicated, it is sort of an anticlimax. One commentator said that since her confirmation is a given, then a real debate about judicial philosophy can take place. Nina pointed out that this wasn't really the case. When it comes to these types of hearings there is only a "faux debate". It's always the same thing. The nominating party tries to paint the nominee as mainstream and moderate. The opposition tries to paint the nominee as activist. And then there is a vote. The rest is just show. And she pointed out that the focus on her background is not new either. We saw this with Thomas' nomination.
I agree. Yada yada . . .I don't think there is much interesting to report on with this nomination. She will be a competent judge who will be more moderate than either Alito or Roberts.
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