Labels: confirmation , GOP , Pyrrhic victory , Sonia Sotomayor
Courtesy of everyone's friends at MSNBC.com this morning:
Here's an idea: don't fight it. President Obama obviously made this pick with the concept in mind that she'd breeze through the confirmation process for about a hundred different reasons. She's the "middle of the road liberal" nominee for want of a better term; strange as it may sound coming from me, there's no upside to fighting this battle. She's going to get confirmed.
Instead, save it. Bank it. There's likely to be at least one more nomination in the next four years, when Justice Ginsburg steps down (not trying to be the Angel of Death here, but it is likely that given her illness and her age that she won't serve for President Obama's entire term). It's also likely that the nominee for Justice Ginsburg's spot is going to be a hell of a lot less of a Souter clone that Sotomayor. That fight is also likely to come after the 2010 midterm elections.
There are a lot of real reasons to hate this nomination, but given the atmosphere at the present time, is it a winnable fight? And would a victory against these long odds turn out to be a Pyrrhic one?
An all-out assault on Sotomayor by Republicans could alienate both Latino and women voters, deepening the GOP's problems after consecutive electoral setbacks.But sidestepping a court battle could be deflating to the party's base and hurt efforts to rally conservatives going forward.
Here's an idea: don't fight it. President Obama obviously made this pick with the concept in mind that she'd breeze through the confirmation process for about a hundred different reasons. She's the "middle of the road liberal" nominee for want of a better term; strange as it may sound coming from me, there's no upside to fighting this battle. She's going to get confirmed.
Instead, save it. Bank it. There's likely to be at least one more nomination in the next four years, when Justice Ginsburg steps down (not trying to be the Angel of Death here, but it is likely that given her illness and her age that she won't serve for President Obama's entire term). It's also likely that the nominee for Justice Ginsburg's spot is going to be a hell of a lot less of a Souter clone that Sotomayor. That fight is also likely to come after the 2010 midterm elections.
There are a lot of real reasons to hate this nomination, but given the atmosphere at the present time, is it a winnable fight? And would a victory against these long odds turn out to be a Pyrrhic one?
Posts
Not sure which of you is LibTired on HotAir, but that puppy comment came from outta nowhere and cracked me up.
I disagree, Muley. You don't fight based on whether it's winnable in terms of confirming or not confirming.
You fight by taking on the people around Obama the same way the libs took on the people around Bush when he was reasonably untouchable after 9/11.
You fight because Sotomayor actually is a racist and it needs to be brought into the light. Letting things go, taking the high road, saving your energy, it's all garbage in this climate. The libs fight every little thing like terriers and we need to be the same way. Raise questions. Smack hard. Fight.
Nobody likes a good dirty fight as much as I do (literally and figuratively) but I just don't see this one having any upside in an "energize the base" or any beneficial way to the GOP, really.
Don't get me wrong, I hate a lot of things about this nomination, her views on affirmative action, the acceptance of legislating from the bench, etc...I think she's a horrible choice at this point. If those are the points that are fought on, I'm all for it, but they will lose. At that point we have to hope for a 2010 turnaround of some type to fight the next, certainly more liberal appointment down the road.
What if you fight and it turns out you're right? You can sink Obama's "judgment" as well as show the nation you're looking out for them.
More to the point, what if you don't fight and some scurrilous detail surfaces when it's too late? Then the Repubs will look particularly incompetent. Every passing day on this shows me that there is meat here to be eaten.