It's interesting to contrast the reactions by various Republicans to President Obama's nomination of Justice Sonia Sotomayor to fill retiring Justice David Souter's spot on the Supreme Court. Republicans who actually have some accountability to voters basically say she appears to be qualified, but they definitely want to look at her closer (which is why God invented confirmation hearings).
On the other hand, those conservatives who currently hold no elected positions - and therefore no actual responsibility for anything - have called Sotomayor a racist, compared to her to a former KKK Grand Dragon or just insulted her name (or forgotten it).
Which is why it's refreshing to see Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele - the guy whose job it is for the party to stay relevant - caution against "slammin' and rammin'" Sotomayor. As the leader of a party facing some serious demographic challenges in the near future, Steele's absolutely right to remind the GOP that reflexively opposing Sotomayor before we really know anything about her could backfire. It could look like Republicans still have some racism/sexism problems, which is not what they need right now.
My unsolicited advice to Republicans: listen to your chairman. It's totally appropriate to question Sotomayor on her worldview and positions, and to parse exactly what role she played in decisions handed down by a panel of judges. On the other hand, it's BS to hold her to a different standard than other Supreme Court nominees have been.
No comments:
Post a Comment