Senate GOP Escalates Criticism Of Supreme Court Nominee Sotomayor In Speeches

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 25 Jun 2009 - 5:00 PDT

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Senate Republicans on Tuesday in the first in a series of floor addresses launched more strongly worded criticism of Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor's judicial record and previous speeches, Politico reports. Although the floor speeches are not likely to undermine the Democratic majority's support for Sotomayor or block her confirmation, they indicate a shift in strategy for the GOP as it tries to generate more opposition to the nomination, according to Politico. As senators approach the weeklong July 4 recess, Republicans are attempting to show that they have "no intention of lying down in the face of what appears to be an increasingly inevitable confirmation," Politico reports.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Judiciary Committee ranking Republican Jeff Sessions (Ala.) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) used their time on the Senate floor to attempt to portray Sotomayor as a "judicial activist" and to attack President Obama's previous statements that he would like to appoint a judge who displays "empathy" (Isenstadt, Politico, 6/24). Republicans also reiterated they will attempt to delay Sotomayor's confirmation hearing, scheduled to begin July 13, if they do not feel they have enough time to review her judicial record, Roll Call reports. They also questioned Sotomayor's involvement with the civil rights group LatinoJustice PRLDEF, which they labeled "far left," taking up a line of criticism that other conservatives have pushed. Sotomayor served as a board member for the group from 1980 to 1992.

Democrats and White House officials are aggressively defending Sotomayor's record, arguing that her lengthy judicial career supersedes any public statements or speeches she made in the past, according to Roll Call. Both said that their strategy is to avoid a point-counterpoint argument with Republicans. A White House official said there is "no reason to speculate on her record," which includes more than 3,000 panel decisions. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said that he has been "struck by her extraordinary career and how she's excelled at everything she's done."

Leahy said that he is not convinced that Republicans need more time, noting that the Senate is using the same confirmation timetable as it used for Chief Justice John Roberts. Although Leahy said that he might be willing to discuss a schedule change if Republicans agreed not to filibuster or delay the nomination, he added that Republicans have not suggested such a deal at this point (Stanton, Roll Call, 6/24).

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