Live stream from Sotomayor hearings
posted at 9:26 am on July 14, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
Today at 9:30 am ET, Sonia Sotomayor returns to the Senate Judiciary Committee to continue the confirmation hearings for her nomination to the Supreme Court. So far, Sotomayor has avoided any missteps — mainly because the Senators on the committee have hardly allowed Sotomayor a word in edgewise. That will change at least somewhat today, as the Republicans will press harder for answers about Sotomayor’s past statements, and Democrats spend their time asking hardball questions like, “Just how did you get so awesomely awesome?”
Andrew Malcolm and his partners at Top of the Ticket have done a great job in live-blogging the hearings. Keep up with the transcripts at ToT. Kerry Picket, meanwhile, points out the double standards at play in the hearing when compared to the ordeal of Miguel Estrada:
What sets them apart is how they were treated by Democratic senators. In 2003, Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick J. Leahy, Vermont Democrat, said: “The White House continues to obstruct any progress toward resolving this matter by its unprecedented refusal to turn over documents requested to determine whether or not Miguel Estrada should sit on the second highest court in the land, for life. Mr. Estrada’s nomination is apparently being sacrificed by the administration for its own partisan, political purposes.”
The Democrats were requesting confidential memorandums drafted by Mr. Estrada while at the Office of the Solicitor General. This request was unprecedented. All seven living former solicitors general, Republican and Democrat alike, agreed with Mr. Estrada.
Democrats were forthright in their opposition to Mr. Estrada precisely because he is Hispanic. A staff memo to Illinois Democratic Sen. Richard J. Durbin on Nov. 7, 2001, referred to liberal concern that Mr. Estrada was “especially dangerous, because he has a minimal paper trail, he is Latino, and the White House seems to be grooming him for a Supreme Court appointment.”
Then-Rep. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat who now represents the Garden State as a cigar-chomping U.S. senator, said he did not consider Mr. Estrada to be the right kind of Latino. “Being Hispanic for us means much more than having a surname,” Mr. Menendez said in February 2003. It means being a predictable liberal.
Both Kerry and Andrew will be on The Ed Morrissey Show today, starting at 3 pm ET. Don’t miss it!
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Sessions obviously sees her clearly, and is not going to allow her to disavow comments she made publicly at least 7 times. Good for him.
In the end, the number of GOP Senators who vote in favor of her confirmation will completely undermine any future argument against her qualifications.
Jaibones on July 14, 2009 at 12:41 PM
Just read somewhere, wise Latina remark – rhetorical device gone awry.
Great.
Rhetorical device gone awry…botched joke…nuance…what I/he/she really meant….
A governemnt of the cowards, by the cowards, for the cowards.
I would have a little but more respect for these jerks if they had some damn courage to own up to ANYTHING, just once.
reaganaut on July 14, 2009 at 12:46 PM
Geez Ed…do I have to? My class is going to Cirque De Soleil. Surely thats a valid swap?
imperator on July 14, 2009 at 12:52 PM
Huh. Gone awry seven different times over a period of five years? Dang. That’s awry!
Jaibones on July 14, 2009 at 1:50 PM
Grassley’s up and talking about Kelo.
BuckeyeSam on July 14, 2009 at 2:03 PM
And she’s clearly rattled.
Knucklehead on July 14, 2009 at 2:16 PM
Let’s say I was Peruvian citizen of English ancestry, named Sonia Smith, applying for Peru’s top court job in Lima In the past I had done (or said) the following:
1 “English women are more qualified to make decisions in certain areas than Hispanic men”.
2 I had allowed minority applicants to get jobs instead of Hispanic applicants who were more qualified as the results of tests. My decision was so egregious it was OVERTURNED by the very court I was applying for!!!!
3 In an off-the-cuff remark, which was videotaped I remarked that legislating from the bench is wrong but ho-ho-ho and (wink wink) we all do it.
Sonia Smith in Peru would have NO chance in but Sonia Sotomayor will, in fact, be nominated because only in America do we award prizes to those who hate us.
MaiDee on July 14, 2009 at 2:25 PM
Sotomayor should be an Olymic Dodgeball player and the gutless Republicans are just letting her dodge.
The Imminent Domain case in NY was a CLEAR case of extortion and theft of land..one entity, who owns land trying to build a drug store and a competing entity stealing the land to build..A COMPETING DRUG STORE and why did the 2nd Circuit hold up the case for a year…so the competing drug store could be built.
Why even bother asking this smarmy cow any questions, she’s just going to lie.
nelsonknows on July 14, 2009 at 2:41 PM
Correction-I said ‘Sotomayor will, in fact be nominated’ when I meant ‘Sotomayor will, in fact, have her nomination confirmed.”.
MaiDee on July 14, 2009 at 2:45 PM
I knew she wasn’t going to answer the ‘Heller’ question…
Gutless.
RedbonePro on July 14, 2009 at 2:52 PM
Juan Williams on Fox is bashing Sotomayor’s answers on Kelo.
Knucklehead on July 14, 2009 at 2:54 PM
Wait a minute, I fix my last post.
RedbonePro on July 14, 2009 at 2:55 PM
She’s lived and vacationed on mountaintops and farms.
Ok, she’s good to go know.
This is total BS.
RedbonePro on July 14, 2009 at 2:59 PM
Good to go now.
RedbonePro on July 14, 2009 at 3:00 PM
Kyl is making some really good points on the “wise Latina” comments…and showing it wasn’t just some crummy, inartful “play on words.”
marybel on July 14, 2009 at 3:22 PM
Whoa, Kyl took her to the woodshed with his “wise latina” question.
Theworldisnotenough on July 14, 2009 at 3:26 PM
Ahhh, but those remarks were just meant to be ‘inspirational’ talk.
She’s said the same thing over and over again. She’s quite the inspiration.
RedbonePro on July 14, 2009 at 3:27 PM
Kyl’s is turning the screws. Good for him.
BuckeyeSam on July 14, 2009 at 3:30 PM
Now we’re getting somewhere…
RedbonePro on July 14, 2009 at 3:31 PM
Kyl is stopping her and making her backtrack on her double-speak. Sotomayor can’t seem to get herself out of the woodshed. Whoo-hoo.
marybel on July 14, 2009 at 3:31 PM
Here’s she goes, playing dodge-ball, play on words again.
We intended to say this, meant to be inspirational.
She’s so full of crap.
RedbonePro on July 14, 2009 at 3:33 PM
leahy is such a tool
gatorboy on July 14, 2009 at 3:36 PM
Leahy gave her a break. Sotomayor looks pretty shaken and had to rely on her boilerplate response from this morning.
marybel on July 14, 2009 at 3:36 PM
Her bringing out the comment by Alito was staged.
Enoxo on July 14, 2009 at 3:36 PM
Leahy had the full comment primed and ready for when she threw it out. I’ve a feeling that as her ‘mercy word’, which is why he slammed the gavel for a break immediately.
Enoxo on July 14, 2009 at 3:37 PM
What’s up with Leahy? Did he just throw her a lifeline? Did they run to a conference room for some tears and a pep-talk call to Obama?
BuckeyeSam on July 14, 2009 at 3:40 PM
this dog and pony show is actually showing the vapid transparency we were promised, only not in a good way – this wise latina woman is a total maroon – could she recite this memorized drivel any more pathetically???
Ris4victory on July 14, 2009 at 3:45 PM
Schumer is a piece of work.
Why don’t you bring up the Firefighter case?
No prejudice there, no…
RedbonePro on July 14, 2009 at 4:00 PM
Damn Schumer can you be any more orchestrated?
Theworldisnotenough on July 14, 2009 at 4:00 PM
Methinks Schumer and Sotomayor were having a little get together during the break to compare notes.
RedbonePro on July 14, 2009 at 4:05 PM
For the Obama Kool-Aid drinkers, she’s scoring huge points. I tend to think that any middle of the roaders look at her and ask, “Ain’t they got anyone more impressive than this woman?”
Beyond that, are New Yorkers so different that they could actually be of a voting mind to send Schumer to the Senate. Man, I can’t stand him.
BuckeyeSam on July 14, 2009 at 4:16 PM
Graham seemed to walk her into a trap.
BuckeyeSam on July 14, 2009 at 4:31 PM
GHEEEEESH – I wish she would just go ape shit & start screeching and pulling her hair out. Now THAT would be entertainment. I think she is on some type of calming drug, too.
Ris4victory on July 14, 2009 at 4:34 PM
Damn, Graham!
Didn’t think he had it in him. At least he brought up the wise latina remark and how if he would have said that there would be calls for his head.
Now, lets bring up the firefighter discrimination case…
RedbonePro on July 14, 2009 at 4:43 PM
Yeah Graham!
Now bring up La Raza!
RedbonePro on July 14, 2009 at 4:50 PM
who told her to speak that way? so slowly it is almost painful and in the end she says what could have been said in a fraction of the time with a fraction of the words. I did not notice that speech pattern in her speeches or seminars.
Willie on July 14, 2009 at 5:25 PM
Why so slow? Means she’s rattled and looking for traps in every question.
tigerinexile on July 14, 2009 at 5:36 PM
Plus she’s trying to eat up time.
RedbonePro on July 14, 2009 at 5:45 PM
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