Senator Orrin Hatch just tipped us off as to how Republicans intend to fight the Sotomayor nomination: As a Supreme Court justice, he warned, she’d be in a very different position than on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
Rather than simply follow precedent, as is the role of an appellate court judge, he said, “Judge Sotomayor will help overturn the very precedents that today bind her” on the court of appeals. “The judicial position she will take on the Supreme Court will be very different than the position she has on the Second Circuit.” Therefore, he argued, ALL of her statements — including her statements made years ago about being a “wise Latina” who would make better decisions than would a white man and noting that courts of appeals “are where the law is made” — statements he and conservative Republicans have been emphasizing for months now — must be considered.
Although “we are urged to ignore her statements and focus only on her judicial decisions,” Hatch added, “We show respect to her by taking her entire record seriously.”
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