Bench Memos, with
Ed Whelan, Matthew Franck, Roger Clegg, Robert Alt, Andy McCarthy
and others, continues to rock in terms of its Sotomayor coverage.
We at the Washington Times have not one but two editorials on her
hearings,
the first talking about her direct contradictions of her own
record,
the second talking about her stance against gun rights.
Meanwhile, even the Post's liberal Dana Milbank is struck by how
"gingerly" the Republican senators treated Sotomayor. I myself
would call it -- Jeff Sessions excepted -- "pathetically
deferential." Sessions showed that there is a perfect middle
ground between the nasty, brutal, smear tacti cs the Democrats
used against various Republican nominees and the weak-kneed,
halting treatment some of his GOP colleagues used against
Sotomayor. Sessions was very fair but very tough, without ever
being disrespectful. Sen. Grassley, on the other hand, never even
challenged Sotomayor's weak explanation about why she used a
(bogus) statute of limitations claim to let the Village of Port
Chester run roughshod over a property owner named Didden.
On her own considerable demerits, this nominee is very
vulnerable. Republican senators are incompetent if they cannot
figure that out.
