Sotomayor's Nomination Gives GOP Headache

President Obama's nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to fill the Supreme Court seat Justice Souter is leaving has given the GOP a political headache. On the one hand, the Republicans want to prevent a non-conservative from taking the seat. On the other, resisting the appointment will cost them mightily in the hispanic community.

Whether Ms. Sotomayor is a liberal or a moderate largely depends on the viewpoint of the commentator. Rush Limbaugh and company have already dubbed an arch-liberal, while some on the left are upset that someone more progressive isn't getting the presidential nod. Her confirmation in the Senate will not change the balance of power on the court. The labeling has happened to get the two bases of the two main political parties geared up.

For the Democrats, that gearing up is largely a formality. If Al Franken finally gets seated as Minnesota's second senator, the Democrats will be able to shut down any filibuster. All they need to do is make sure everyone turns up to vote.

For the GOP, the situation is a bit more complicated. They don't have to votes to stop her, but they will be able to generate campaign donations by putting up a fight. For that reason, there will be some opposition, and there will be some rather nasty commercials targeting her record. Since they have been unable to demonize the president or the speaker of the house, a new enemy is in order.

The trouble is that Judge Sotomayor is a female and hispanic, a first for the court. While identity politics is not the ideal way to select justices, one cannot deny it will be a factor . People of latin heritage are proud of her, and to an extent they identify with her. Check today's edition of New York's Daily News to see how much coverage the South Bronx (where she grew up) gets. Having already lost ground in the hispanic community over the issue of illegal immigrants, the GOP needs to halt the bleeding. Attacking Judge Sotomayer is not going to achieve anything in that regard. This issue defines the Republicans' problem in a microcosm. They can't win without their base, and they can't win if they don't go outside their base. Yet the base is at odds with those who could be in the big tent because that would compromise ideological purity. Historically, it has been the Democrats who form a circular firing squad. Now, it seems the Republicans adopted the practice.

© Copyright 2009 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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