SUPREME COURT The Two Faces Of Opposition For the first time since being nominated, Judge Sonia Sotomayor will visit Capitol Hill today, where she will be meeting with both Republican and Democratic Senate leaders. Although President Obama wants to see hearings on Sotomayor's confirmation conclude before the senators depart for their August recess, the GOP leadership is resisting. Conceding that "we do need to do it by October," Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, claimed that Republicans need more time to read each of Sotomayor's opinions in order to prepare for the hearing. But Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-VT) -- explaining that Sotomayor has already suffered "some of the most vicious attacks," including allegations of "bigotry" and "racism" -- said that he "intend[s] to give her an opportunity as soon as possible to answer" them.
DIVIDING THE NATION BY RACE: Echoing similar statements by right-wing radio hosts and former congressmen, right-wing pundit Pat Buchanan called on conservatives to "stand up for the white working class" by opposing Sotomayor. Buchanan claimed that Sotomayor believes "white males...can be discriminated against if it's for the good goal of advancing people of color." He bases this claim in part on Ricci v. DeStefano, a case in which Sotomayor voted to uphold the city of New Haven's decision not to certify the results of a firefighter's promotion test after virtually all of the minorities who took the test scored too low to be eligible for promotion. But Sotomayor was simply upholding the law. Federal civil rights law "requires employers to consider the racial impact of their hiring and promotion procedures in order to prevent discrimination that's inadvertent as well as intentional." If anything, the Ricci case shows Sotomayor's willingness to adhere to the law even when the result of her decision is unpopular. Moreover, Sotomayor's court held in the 1984 case of Bushey v. New York State Civil Service Commission that employers are allowed to "voluntarily compl[y]" with civil rights law by reconsidering tests that have an adverse impact on minorities. Bushey has never been overruled, so Sotomayor was required to follow it. To do otherwise would mean ignoring the law in order to benefit a sympathetic plaintiff -- exactly the kind of "judicial activism" Buchanan likes to accuse progressive judges of engaging in. His racial attacks are further discredited by a study of Sotomayor's race discrimination cases, which found that she "rejected discrimination-related claims by a margin of roughly 8 to 1." Moreover, Sotomayor dissented from a decision holding that a police officer could be fired for engaging in racist hate speech while off duty. Sotomayor believed that even racial slurs are protected by the First Amendment.
'JUSTICE J-LO': For all their exaggerated claims that Sotomayor lacks racial sensitivity, conservatives continue to tar her with allegations that she owes her own nomination to the fact that she is a racial minority. Calling her "Sonia from the block" and "Justice J-Lo," right-wing pundit Debbie Schlussel claimed that Obama chose Sotomayor for the "sole reason" that "she shares the life story of J-Lo, Jennifer Lopez." Similarly, noting a report that Sotomayor used to bolster her English skills by reading children's books and basic grammar textbooks while she was in college, Buchanan mocked the 17-year veteran of the federal bench for doing something less than "college work." Right-wing blogger Michael Goldfarb echoed Buchanan's attempt to diminish Sotomayor's summa cum laude degree from Princeton by claiming she received "preferential treatment" when she organized one of 132 student-initiated seminars taught on Princeton's campus. Other conservatives have questioned Sotomayor's skills as a judge, claiming that she has a "high reversal rate" because the Supreme Court reversed three of the five Sotomayor decisions that they took on appeal. The truth, however, is that Sotomayor has written 380 opinions as a court of appeals judge, so her three reversals represent less than one percent of her total decisions. Moreover, because the Supreme Court is allowed to choose the cases it wishes to hear, it often hears cases that it intends to reverse -- 75 percent of cases heard by the Supreme Court result in reversals -- so Sotomayor actually performs better before the Supreme Court than most judges. Ironically, even as conservative pundits grasp at straws to question Sotomayor's intellectual fitness for the bench, University of Chicago Law Professor Eric Posner released a new study that found that Sotomayor is one of the most frequently cited judges on the federal bench. "If citations reflect quality," Posner concluded, "Sotomayor may well be one of the top appellate judges in the country."
A 'TWO SIDED STRATEGY': Despite the torrent of lies and invective spewed by right-wing pundits in the week since Sotomayor was nominated, conservative senators have steered clear of the overheated rhetoric favored by the Limbaughs and the G. Gordon Liddys of the world. Fully aware that "trashing" an outstanding Latina nominee to the Supreme Court could banish them to the political wilderness for years, Senate conservatives have, for the most part, shown a respectful face to Judge Sotomayor, repeatedly insisting that she will receive a "fair hearing" before the Judiciary Committee. Yet these same senators have also embraced a "two-sided strategy," silently encouraging right-wing activists and pundits "to do the political attacks" while allowing elected officials to "avoid potential backlash if they derail a historic nomination." Speaking to CNN on Sunday, McConnell claimed that he has "better things to do" than to denounce the racially charged attacks on Sotomayor, and Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) told CBS that he was "not going to get involved" with discussions over whether Sotomayor is a racist. It still remains to be seen whether they will continue to pursue this two-sided strategy, however, once hearings begin, or whether Senate conservatives will cave to increasingly loud right-wing demands for obstructionism. 
MEDIA -- O'REILLY RESPONDS TO THE TILLER MURDER: 'NO BACKPEDALING HERE. ...EVERY SINGLE THING WE SAID ABOUT TILLER WAS TRUE': After Sunday's brutal shooting of George Tiller, a Kansas doctor who administered abortions, many anti-choice groups quickly condemned the murder and attempted to separate themselves from the actions of the killer. Even Operation Rescue, which made Tiller a special target of its harassment over the years, denounced the killing as "vigilantism" and a "cowardly act." Fox News host Bill O'Reilly had also singled out Tiller in the past. According to Salon, O'Reilly first discussed Tiller on Feb. 25, 2005, and subsequently did 28 more episodes mentioning the doctor. When Fox News announced that O'Reilly would be making his first comments on Tiller since his murder, some journalists believed that O'Reilly would "most certainly decry" the killing. But on his show last night, O'Reilly briefly said that "Americans should condemn the murder of Dr. George Tiller" before segueing into more attacks on the late doctor. He also used the opportunity to attack his critics, saying they were trying to "exploit" the incident to attack Fox News. In particular, he singled out the writings of Helen Kennedy of the New York Daily News, Mary Mapes on the Huffington Post, Mike Hendricks of the Kansas City Star, and Markos Moulitsas of DailyKos. O'Reilly blasted liberals who were "very, very sympathetic" to Tiller and said one of the first things that he thought of when he heard the news of the killing was himself. "When I heard about Tiller's murder, I knew pro-abortion zealots and Fox News haters would attempt to blame us for the crime," said O'Reilly. Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz writes today that he was "surprised that, along with his reminder that Tiller had been called a baby killer, O'Reilly didn't issue a ringing denunciation of the shooting and anyone who thought it was justified." "The occasion, in my view, called for it; he chose a different approach," wrote Kurtz. | 
President Obama hit back at Vice President Cheney's recent criticism yesterday, saying that "he...happens to be wrong." "Last time, immediately after his speech, I think there was a fact-check on his speech that didn't get a very good grade," said Obama in an interview with NPR. General Motors (GM) marked "the lowest point" in its 100-year history yesterday, filing for bankruptcy and announcing plans to close 14 plants and three warehouses. With the federal government now a majority shareholder, President Obama said that his goals are: "To get G.M. back on its feet, take a hands-off approach and get out quickly." In response, GOP leaders that they will use the government takeover of GM as "ammunition in their bid to defeat congressional Democrats next year." President Obama reversed his decision to release detainee abuse photos "after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki warned that Iraq would erupt into violence and that Iraqis would demand that U.S. troops withdraw from Iraq a year earlier than planned." Maliki told Obama, "Baghdad will burn" if the photos are released, a U.S. military official told McClatchy. Hours before he leaves for the Middle East and Europe, President Obama will meet at the White House today with the Democrats on two Senate committees that are drafting health care reform legislation. The White House is also releasing a report today that asserts that revamping America's health care system "would increase the income of a typical family of four by $2,600 in 2020, and by $10,000 in 2030." Last week, the State Department "sent a cable to its embassies and consulates around the world notifying them that 'they may invite representatives from the government of Iran' to their Independence Day celebrations," which usually "feature hot dogs, red-white-and-blue bunting and some perfunctory remarks about the founding fathers." Obama administration officials "characterized the move as another in a series of American overtures to Iran." More »
Hate radio host Michael Savage has officially sued British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith for banning Savage from the UK for "fomenting hatred." While Smith declared "herself ready for a fight," the BBC is reporting today that she "is expected to stand down as home secretary in a reshuffle." Education Secretary Arne Duncan "wants to take school turnaround efforts nationwide on a scale never tried before," aiming to close and reconstitute 250 schools next year. "Mr. Duncan controls $3 billion in the economic stimulus law that could go to school turnarounds, and the administration's 2010 budget requests $1.5 billion more." And finally: NBC's Brian Williams goes inside the White House. Watch the segments here. |
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Dick Clarke, who was the head of the counterrorism program in the run-up to 9/11. He obviously missed it."
-- Vice President Cheney, 6/01/09
VERSUS
"Bin Ladin Attacks May Be Imminent."
-- Clarke, 6/23/01, in an email to then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice | |
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