Alternet Staff: The 10 Dumbest Things Republicans Have Said About Sotomayor Hearings

[Hissyspit]

http://www.alternet.org/rights/141321/the_10_dumbest_things_republicans_have_said_about_the_sotomayor_hearings

The 10 Dumbest Things Republicans Have Said About the Sotomayor Hearings
By AlterNet Staff, AlterNet. Posted July 15, 2009.

A list of the most ridiculous questions, jabs and rants by GOP lawmakers and other conservatives.

At her Senate confirmation hearing yesterday, judicial nominee Sonia Sotomayor had to keep a straight face while Republicans heaped shame upon their party with a flood of ridiculous questions, unjustified jabs and tangential, pointless rants.

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AlterNet has compiled the 10 dumbest, most ridiculous statements about Sotomayor to issue from the lips of GOP lawmakers and other conservatives in the past few weeks.

1. Early this morning, Jeff Sessions seemed surprised that Sotomayor's legal decisions sometimes diverge from those of other judges of Puerto Rican descent. During a series of questions about Ricci v. DeStefano, Sessions scolded:

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3. After solemnly reminding Sotomayor that the New Haven, Conn., firefighters case is just one of many "cases where people are discriminated against," Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch took the opportunity to indulge in a little guilt by association -- while denying he was indulging in guilt by association.

"Let me just make one last point here," Hatch said. "You have nothing to do with this, I know. But there's a rumor that People for the American Way has -- that this organization has been smearing Frank Ricci, who is only one of 20 plaintiffs in this case, because he may be willing to be a witness ... in these proceedings. "I hope that's not true. And I know you have nothing to do with it, so don't -- don't think I'm trying to make a point against you. I'm not. I'm making a point that that's the type of stuff that doesn't belong in Supreme Court nomination hearings. And I know you would agree with me on that."

Right. I mean, no offense, Sonia, Sen. Hatch is totally not trying to hold that against you. Who brought up that nasty business about People for the American Way, anyhow? Offensive! I'm glad you agree.

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10. Then there is Glenn Beck's contribution to the confirmation process. Last night, Beck decried the questioning from Senate Democrats during the first day of Sotomayor's confirmation hearings.

"America, I want you to watch this," he ordered. "As as our country burns to the ground ... this is the questioning -- and get ready, because it's a hard line of questioning -- here's what happened; this is what our senators were doing today." Beck then showed a short montage of the senators praising Sotomayor, calling her "supremely well-qualified," "the most experienced nominee to the Supreme Court in 100 years" and "very special woman."

There was only one problem: As Media Matters pointed out last night, "Unfortunately for Beck, there were no questions today. The first day of the hearings is when senators and the nominee make opening statements."

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[ezgoingrl]

1. The sad thing is that they don't even have the

decency to be embarrassed or ashamed of their own stupidity and double standards.

[zbdent]

2. and that was only the first day of questioning ...

one commenter on the AlterNet site made a statement which reminded me of the old Superman films ...

when the bad guys ran out of bullets, they threw their guns at Superman, as if the guns would do damage where the bullets didn't ...

The Republicans have thrown the guns, now they're going to fling their own poo ...

[Hissyspit]

3. Kick nt