Monday, June 8, 2009

Seriousness Watch

Sen. Collins' office:

U.S. Senator Susan Collins today met privately with Judge Sonia Sotomayor for 45 minutes...

"During our meeting, I was able to ask Judge Sotomayor a broad range of questions. Much of our discussion focused on a speech that she delivered in 2001 in which she says she "would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life." I have been troubled by this remark.
You read that right: Sen. Collins had a precious 45 minutes to question Judge Sotomayor.

And yet the junior senator focused her inquiry not on any of the thousands of opinions Sotomayor has signed off on. Or the judge's apparent tendency to lean right on criminal justice issues. Or her as-yet-undisclosed approach to abortion and related issues.

No, instead Collins spent "much" of her time discussing a single, poorly-worded sentence--from a speech, not a ruling. And one that, the context shows, was used to build the simple, uncontroversial argument that we're all shaped by our backgrounds.

Collins is a likely vote to confirm Sotomayor. (I'd be stunned if she voted no.) So maybe this is just about throwing a bone to the dittoheads in the Republican base.

Still, not exactly a profile in seriousness.

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