Judging Sotomayor ...

It's Test Time!

The Confirmation Hearing for Judge Sotomayor has begun in the United States Senate. This is a real test. But the test is not for Ms. Sotomayor. The test is for Republicans.

In the 1990’s, President Clinton had two opportunities during his tenure to replace Supreme Court Justices and his picks were the obviously liberal and activist judges, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer. These two Justices received precisely 3 and 9 Republican “no” votes, respectively. That was pathetic, given the extent to which Republicans then knew full well that each of these Justices would often times ignore their role to interpret the law in order to seek an outcome based on some other rationale… say, “empathy,” or what is “in their hearts.”

Today and in the coming days, Republicans can choose how to approach the confirmation question of Judge Sotomayor and their decision will say a lot about whether the Republican Party, as a whole, has any fight left in it…
< Read More >