Senate Republicans Calling New Haven Firefighters As Witnesses For Sotomayor Hearings
The Hill reports that Senate Republicans will call two special witnesses in the Sotomayor confirmation hearings: Frank Ricci and Ben Vargas, two of the firefighters from New Haven, Connecticut, who recently won at the Supreme Court in their high-profile case.
That case, of course, involved a 5-4 Supreme Court overturning a three-judge appeals panel that included Sotomayor herself, and has become a centerpiece of Republican efforts to portray Sotomayor as biased in favor of minority groups.
After the Ricci decision was handed down, you had to know this kind of shoe would drop. Expect the firefighters to more or less testify that Sotomayor discriminated against them becuase of race, and for the GOP Senators to pitch them the kind of questions that will reinforce the point.
Josh
Matt
Eric
Brian
Ludicrous. This isn't going to go well for Republicans.
July 9, 2009 1:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
or for the firefighters.
July 9, 2009 1:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Classic Dickhead move by the repukes
July 9, 2009 1:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
How could this do anything but backfire? Sotomayor sustained precedent in this case. How exactly is this supposed to help the wingnuts' "she's an activist" meme?
July 9, 2009 1:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
The reason is because "judicial activism" is an empty and meaningless phrase. If it does have any consistent definition, it's this: A decision that a conservative didn't like.
(Note: Liberals could conceivably adopt the same usage and call any decision they don't like an "activist" decision. It just so happens that the definition above is how we all do things in the here and now.)
July 9, 2009 1:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hopefully some sharp freshman Senator (say from Minnesota maybe) will tease this fact out and lay the opposition open for merciless ridicule...
July 9, 2009 1:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
Actually, the Supreme Court reversal was the "activist" opinion if "activism" means a) ignoring precedent and b) ignored the deference an appellate court is supposed to give to the findings of fact of both the city and the District Court.
July 9, 2009 2:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Frankly, the worst thing that could happen for the GOP is if they actually ended up blocking Sotomayor. That would cement the Hispanic vote firmly in the Dem column for a generation or more.
July 9, 2009 1:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
You got it. Go for Sessions! Excellent idea!
July 9, 2009 1:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Knock yourself out. This is pure grandstanding. It's not going to change a single vote.
July 9, 2009 1:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
agreed. And as CT says above, it probably will look bad for Republicans once this starts.
July 9, 2009 1:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Grandstanding, yes. Effective ploy for changing votes, no. But....
....effective ploy for playing up righteous indignation and cultivating the already-planted seeds of racial animus in the hearts of angry white men who no longer hold ironclad sway over the power structures in the country and who fear that their country is being taken over by "the swarthy people" -- i.e., a dog whistle -- probably not a bad move.
July 9, 2009 3:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
And they know it. It's about riling the base, nothing more. And they will do that very, very well.
July 10, 2009 6:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
The electoral myopia here is stunning, but have at it guys. Locking in the aggrieved old white male vote is the golden road to political oblivion. I'm really beginning to believe that the GOP isn't going to able to survive in (what's left of) its present form through many more election cycles.
July 9, 2009 1:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
How about inviting some witnesses from the NAACP and ACLU to talk about the motivations of a certain Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, III?
July 9, 2009 2:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
it's not like the dem's witness list is much better...mike bloomberg (why i'm not sure) and david cone...cause you know, former major league pitchers know a lot about constitutional law...
July 9, 2009 2:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Even aside from whether the witnesses are substantial or good witnesses or whatever, let's just look at pure politics and ask the question of what kinds of messages they're sending here. The Democrats are saying: We are in favor of baseball, we are in favor of labor in contract disputes. The Republicans are saying: We want to make sure jobs go to white people?
July 9, 2009 2:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
"We want to make sure jobs go to white men".
July 9, 2009 2:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
They are also saying that they are drama-queens. I mean seriously what can these guys say in regards to the legal issues of this particular case? Uh, we did not like Judge Sotomayor decision because we studied hard for this test and then the city decided to throw it out? Of course this ignores all the issues the RI fire department has had with minority hiring issues from the past but I digress. In our culture and in the MSM it would appear that asking insightful questions regarding information that is complex and that you may not know is asking way too much. I only hope that many like me see this short attention span, 24-news and where is the drama now for what it does. Which is, that it does not allow people to gain an understanding of the issues nor does it produce thoughtful and meaningful dialogue in which helpful conclusions can be drawn. It ends up being just an emotional ride, which is right where the conservative right want you to be, passionate and dumb.
July 9, 2009 3:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Precisely. These firefighters are going to do nothing but (as Schmedley said above) inflame the chip on the shoulders of angry white men. They're not going to be able to add anything meaningful to the judicial discussion.
What's next? Bringing in all the plaintiffs from all the cases that a judge has presided over? This is crap. They're demeaning the process. And the Democrats bringing in David Cone is just as bad. And the sad thing about it all is that the firefighters and David Cone are going to get all the cable news attention, so the typical person isn't going to be particularly well-informed about the issues that matter: her judicial ability.
July 9, 2009 3:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe this is exactly where the judicial committee wants the American people and the MSM to be. I am not sure it is quite depressing.
Even better than bringing in all the plaintiffs might be to get all the African-Americans to write and call Rep Steve King from Iowa to find out why the fuck he decided to vote against "acknowledging the role slaves played in the construction of the United States Capitol is a slap in the face to the very sacrifices and contributions African Americans made to our nation (from the DCCC)"
Why does Steve King hate African Americans?
Let's give him a call!
July 9, 2009 3:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
It just occurred to me that the Republicans are setting a trap. For themselves. What had them all up in arms when Obama announced his pick?
EMPATHY.
Well, what's the reason for bringing in the firefighter? So we can all feel his pain at supposedly being discriminated against? In other words, so we can experience empathy with another person, so that Judge Sotomayor can see firsthand the effect her ruling supposedly had?
Next time Orrin Hatch says anything about "empathy", someone needs to ram this stunt right down his throat.
July 9, 2009 5:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
'Cuz we all know that racism is over in America....almost.
July 9, 2009 3:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
I have got another one to add, http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6518362.html
July 9, 2009 4:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why doesn't someone ask Scalia and Alito if they discriminate in favor of Italian American males?
July 9, 2009 3:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
They don't take questions, they ask them.
July 9, 2009 3:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
This should be interesting. I too think that it will backfire for the GOP is trying to make it about race when it really is not.
The GOP is aiming to lose the Latino vote for a generation.
July 9, 2009 4:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
The giant sucking sound you hear is the continual draining of support from the GOP by Hispanic voters.
Keep it up idiots!
July 9, 2009 5:23 PM | Reply | Permalink