Smiling GOPers Ought to be Frowning
Watching Lindsey Graham's gotcha grin as he needled Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor with disingenuous and rhetorical questions you had to wonder what was so funny.
Does the Republican senator think it is amusing that he and his party's condescending tone toward the Hispanic woman was costing them ethnic votes with each passing hour of Tuesday's Judiciary Committee hearing?
It is not that the Republican inquiries were out of bounds in legal terms. But a confirmation hearing like this is a political forum.
Even if they vote for her, the fallout for Republicans could reach well beyond Hispanic voters. They are coming across as a bunch of snarky and bitter old white men who cannot bear the thought of their kind losing power.
(More here.)
Powered by Blogger
1 Comments:
Last night’s the Daily Show had a clip of Graham apologizing to Sam Alito for the other Senators that implied that Alito was a racist.
The clip followed Graham’s questioning of Sotomayor’s temperament since a number of “anonymous” critics had described her as a bully in the courtroom.
Two thoughts –
#1. Is this a backhanded way to imply that she is an “emotional woman” or that women must exert authority that a man would not have to?
#2. Criticism of John Bolton for his temperament seemed appropriate since he was nominated for a diplomatic position, but isn’t it expected that a judge would dominate how the courtroom functions ? Funny, but I wonder how Graham would respond if Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX) was ever nominated for a federal judgeship. From Poe’s website :
Before serving the 2nd Congressional District, Congressman Poe was a prosecutor and judge for 30 years in Houston, Texas. Judge Poe was known for his creative sentencing of criminals and hard-nosed approach to enforcing the law. Judge Poe garnered national media attention for his “Poetic Justice” punishments – he ordered thieves to carry signs in front of stores from which they stole; commanded sex offenders to place warning signs on their home after serving jail time; and directed murderers to securely place a photo of their victims on the wall of their prison cells reminding them of their crime.
Today, Congressman Poe brings that same no-nonsense style to Congress. As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, Congressman Poe is able to offer his unique perspective and professional experience to the committee membership.
For the record, Poe does not support Sotomayor, but said “To her credit, she does have courtroom experience as a trial judge in dealing with real people.”
So Senator Graham, it would appear that if Poe can be considered her peer, he must like her courtroom demeanor.
Post a Comment
<< Home