Sotomayor Enters the D.C. Twilight Zone

[marmar]

from Truthdig:



Sotomayor Enters the D.C. Twilight Zone

Posted on Jul 15, 2009
By Ellen Goodman


I have long been a collector of sports metaphors, but I never expected such a treasure of memorabilia to come out of a Senate hearing room. At times it sounded more like the all-star game than the confirmation of a Supreme Court justice. I could have organized an office pool guessing the number of times senators would say “balls and strikes” (13) or “umpire” (16).

The members of the Judiciary Committee riffed on the idea of judge-as-umpire. Alas, no comment could trump Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions’ prehearing pitch for a “blindfolded justice calling the balls and strikes fairly and objectively.” YES! Just what we need in the big leagues! An umpire wearing a blindfold!

But this was not just jock-talk. Or a play for impartiality. It was a thinly veiled anxiety attack at the idea that Sonia Sotomayor might be a team player for Liberals v. Conservatives or, worse yet, the Girls and Latina Team v. the White Boys.

The specter haunting Sotomayor was that “Wise Latina Woman.” What seemed radical to the Republican committeemen was her hint that a WLW “with the richness of her experiences” might make wiser decisions than ... THEM! She might even, as Texas Sen. John Cornyn said darkly, want to “advance causes or groups.”

This was the lineup at the hearings. Sotomayor sat stoically while a pugnacious Sessions lectured her on the role of a judge and a patronizing Lindsey Graham told her she had a reputation as a “bit of a bully.” ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090715_sotomayor_has_entered_the_twilight_zone/