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?
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