A post by Pat
Today at Sotomayor’s confirmation hearing Al Franken had an attack of nostalgia for the old Perry Mason shows. How cool, as he puts it, that he and Sotomayor, who sat watching the same show simultaneously, across the distance of time and space, should meet today under such profound circumstances. Yes, unimaginable. Sotomayor was inspired to become a lawyer and a judge. Franken became a clown and a Senator. Only in America.
Too bad Perry Mason isn’t on the Senate Judiciary Committee to get to the truth. Alas, no last minute confessions will be heard. The Constitution is about to be murdered.
More serious I think is the discussion of the “code word” concept. Using “code word”, a liberal can assign a new meaning to a statement by a conservative, thus transforming it into a straw man that is easily knocked down. It’s not a code, Mr. Franken: “judicial activism” means creating law instead of interpreting legislation, such as (for example) using empathy instead of statute to decide a hiring bias case.
Sotomayor has proven herself not merely the far-left nominee one would expect from Obama, but an intellectually and rhetorically incoherent mediocrity. She is Obama’s Harriet Miers, and in a sane world would be sent off to the same reject pile. The upside to that is that not only is she a wash in replacing Souter, she won’t even be able to sway votes–by which, I basically mean Justice Kennedy–in her direction to the limited degree Souter could. An actual left-wing legal powerhouse on the Court, someone like Cass Sunstein or Erwin Chemerinsky, might do real damage and have MORE power than Souter did. By contrast, the idea of Sotomayor holding her own going toe-to-toe in intellectual combat with Scalia, Roberts or Thomas is outright laughable.
I’d rather have Della Street on the Supreme Court instead of Sotomayor. Della knows more law, she’s honest, and she’s a helluva lot better looking. Even Al Franken would concede that. Although Della probably would lean to the side of defendants in criminal cases that come before the Court because of all her years working with Perry.
Tammy,
I hope you do a special podcasts on this farce (Franken vs Godzilla) .Soto Hearings are making me sickish. Franken on any Committee is going to make me sick but then sorting out SOTO under oath may push me over
This from the Heritage Foundation quoted by them as being “a win for the CONSTITUTION ” and it would be a win for STRICT CONSTRUCTIONISTS IF IT WERE TRUE:
Here’s Sotoooooooooooo…
Maybe you could call Hertiage Foundation and get an interview or JUST GIVE US 30 MINUTES or more of your GENIUS POLITICAL ANALYSIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As much as I know what you mean and agree with your sentiment, Scalia himself has said there’s no such thing as a “strict constructionist.” There’s only so far the text itself can actually answer all the questions that arise in close or hard cases, i.e., the kind that get appealed. Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, Alito and other judges like them are better described, and describe themselves, as originalists.
I finally figured it out. Go into the confirmation hearings with 60 rock solid votes equals civility, and cordiality form the opposing side. Just enough challenges for show, to dutifly massage the base. Sotomayor is a wing-nut. she is replacing a wing-nut. The real show is going to come when Ginsburg is still on the court in 2012. I think if her health is good (or bad) late in Urkel’s term there will be tremendous pressure on her to retire. Her ego won’t allow it. It should be a good show though. The timing will be crucial for the left. If it’s too late the retirement/ appointment could go to the other side. Has there ever been an appointment made by a President during a lame duck period that has been pushed to the next President? That would be interesting indeed!