Considering Sonjia

One of the key challenges to being the loyal opposition is knowing when and where to pick your battles. There is a lot of useless, manipulative and contrived tabletalk going on these days that loosely corresponds to this problem, inasmuch as it affects the Republican Party. But I do have the ugly suspicion that we are getting spun...why else would Colin Powell come out of the woodwork and do a bellyflop on Limbaugh and Cheney, if he were not in some sense providing top cover for the Obama Administration. No matter...such "fifth column" tactics will cut no ice water among the 35-40% of Americans who remain strongly affiliated with the Republican Party.

Just looking at the first returns on the Sotomayor confirmation, there would appear to be much more smoke than fire out there. One immediate impression I have is that the Democrats seem to be doing a good bit to make these process more difficult than it needs to be. Here is a basically centrist judge, who was first put on the federal bench by George Bush the elder and than elevated to appelate judge by Bill Clinton. She actually ruled in favor of the Bush 43 adminstration policy on restricting foreign aid money so as not to support abortion. She has a very limited track record on controversial social issues. She started out her legal career as a prosecutor; while she's no John Roberts or Samuel Alito, she seems tough on crime, reasonably observant of legal precedent, not particularly inclined to activism from the bench, and a good example of good old GOP values: a rags-to-riches story of hard work and individual excellence. Morever, when she gets slammed by The New Republic for insufficient intellectualism and disrespected by Jonathan Turley for a “a lack of depth" in her legal opinions, one must sit up and take notice. Might this woman be somehow infected with common sense, of the kind that repels liberals ? What is not to like about all this ? Do we Republicans imagine that we're likely to get a better deal from this White House ? Is there profit to be had, or fools gold, in selling Sonjia Sotomayor short ?

Taking stock of thee situation, one is indeed tempting to follow Fred Grandy's advice...kick up a little dust. Go through the motions. Take a little time with this nominee, see if the Administration makes a mistake here and there - not an unlikely outcome, particularly with this accident-prone White House. Just seeing Mr. Gibbs twist in the wind on a sensitive issue like this is indeed worth the entertainment value.

So, what is the problem here...if this nomination is the one-time-good-deal it is alleged to be, why wait to get onboard. Why not sign onto the Sotomayor bandwagon and get this over quickly ? Both Clinton nominees, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, sailed through the confirmation process with hardly a dissenting word from the then-majority Republicans in the Senate. One would think that this confirmation would be a slam dunk...and therein lies the problem.

For some reason, rather than giving the Senate Republicans the space to quietly consent to Sotomayor's nomination, along with the presumptively unanimous Senate Democrats, Sotomayors supporters seem bent on cramming the loyal opposition, as if their candidate was flawed or had something to hide. Why bother just winning when you can railroad this thing through ?

When it comes to demagogery and manipulation, one can always rely on Chuck Schumer, and he does not fail us here.

http://hotair.com/archives/2009/05/26/schumer-to-gop-oppose-sotomayor-at-your-peril

"I think Republicans oppose her at their peril..,in some sense this is a referendum on the future of the Republican Party...she's written some very strong tough-on-crime opinions."

Thanks for your input, Chuck. In this business. we call that leading with your chin.
If this candidate is so moderate, nay conservative, if she's as tough on crime as, say, Sam Alito - why would the "hard right" not like her more that the looney left ?

Barack Obama took a rather higher note in his nomination speech:

"Well, Sonia, what you've shown in your life is that it doesn't matter where you come from, what you look like or what challenges life throws your way, no dream is beyond reach in the United States of America."

"And when Sonia Sotomayor ascends those marble steps to assume her seat on the highest court in the land, America will have taken another important step toward realizing the ideal that is etched about its entrance: Equal justice under the law."

This is all very nice, and only a moron would not be touched by what is, after all, the very inspiring success story of an extraordinary woman. But Democrats only play these notes for their own. If they view "equal justice under the law" as "proportional representation of Hispanics in high office" - remember Michael Estrada ? Where was the equal treatment, where was the justice there ? Apparently, it is not necessary to act justly towards the "hard right".

I don't listen much to David Frum these days, but he does make an interesting point about Sonjia Sotomayor's persona:

http://www.newmajority.com/ShowScroll.aspx?ID=2f0218a8-be6c-4380-9a44-f533327c01d4

"Obnoxious, but in a good way", eh, David. Well, one expects obnoxiousness from New Yorkers, so there is no reason respond in kind. Rather than damn this woman with faint praise, feeding her already bloated ego - actually, since she is a long-time divorcee - this will be a first..she'll be the first cougar to make it onto the Supreme Court.

Ahh, be that as it may, my advice to Republicans is to ignore the Democrats. Don't take the bait, don't let them lure into the trap. Fred Grandy is right. Do like Brer Rabbit, scream and shout loudly to the Democrats, not to throw you into this briar patch. And then you just let this nomination go through, chalk up the win, and count your profits, boys.

Bill R.