Today was the day for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's meet and greet on Capitol Hill, where she met with Senate Democrats and Republicans ahead of her upcoming confirmation hearing. And she made the trip riding in on some nice polling numbers from the Associated Press:
... Americans have a more favorable first impression of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor than they did for any of President George W. Bush's nominees to the high court.
The public also backs her confirmation in higher numbers.
Of course it goes without saying that the Republican opposition continued to focus on Judge Sotomayor's judicial record and avoided petty, partisan attacks. Almost.
There was Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), who seemed to suggest that there was some payback coming President Obama's way for his opposition to Justices Roberts and Alito, while at the same time, conservative groups demanded a Republican filibuster of Sotomayor (we don't need no stinkin' hearing). And then there's the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Jeff Sessions (R-AL), who is now pushing for a delay in the confirmation hearing. Probably so we can enjoy a couple of more months of ...
- ... former Senator Rick Santorum, who, with fewer people willing to listen to his stories about man-on-dog sex, took to the pages of Politico to deliver the shocking news that if he didn't have his ass handed to him the '06 election, he would be voting against Sotomayor.
- Manuel Miranda, the driving force behind the call for a filibuster, and a former Republican Senate aide who left his job under a cloud of scandal, likes a little homophobia with his threats:
Just today, Miranda called Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell "limp-wristed" and "a little bit tone deaf" vis-a-vis Democratic judicial nominees, telling Manu Raju of Politico that McConnell should "consider resigning" if he doesn't join the chorus on the far right attacking Obama's first Supreme Court nominee.
- And then there was Pat Buchanan, giving his own peculiar views of Sotomayor
Like Lani Guinier, the Clinton appointee rejected for reverse racism, Sonia Sotomayor is a quota queen. She believes in, preaches and practices race-based justice. Her burying the appeal of the white New Haven firefighters, who were denied promotions they had won in competitive exams, was a no-brainer for her.
In her world, equal justice takes a back seat to tribal justice.
If you happen to see a tribe of angry, old white men, tell them they lost a Pat.
- Of course it wouldn't be a laundry list of teh crazy without a little Rush Limbaugh, who today said that he'd be willing to support Sotomayor if she is
pro anti-choice, although he is afraid that she's a "stealth radical."
And as soon as Limbaugh gets elected to the Senate, Sotomayor can start worrying about his support for her nomination.
Finally, here's the worst of the worst:
The Council of Conservative Citizens, a southern group that has been wooed by former GOP Senate leader Trent Lott and current GOP presidential hopeful Haley Barbour, has a doctored photo on its Web site of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor in KKK garb. The CCC also calls Sotomayor "whitey hating."
It's hard to believe that it's only been a week since President Obama nominated Judge Sotomayor.