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Ante Up: The Supreme Court Poker Tournament
Bonnie compares the back and forth between Sonia Sotomayor and her Senate questioners to the airy give-and-take of a Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire dance. But it's not ballroom dance -- or musicals like those mentioned by Melinda and Mary -- that I've been thinking about; it's poker.
Observe the senators as they shuffle their cards -- some choosing easy friendliness and others taking a more aggressive line -- as they try to get Sotomayor to reveal exactly what she's holding. Can Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) raise the stakes with a mere mention of firefighter Frank Ricci, a central figure in a reverse-discrimination suit? Can Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) snare Sotomayor into throwing a repeat of the "wise Latina" quote into the Senate pot? (He couldn't, by the way; Sotomayor stoically checked and the senator backed off.)
But one of the better players has to be Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.). His last surprise hand revealed a switch from Republican to Democrat. What's he holding this time? Could it be one of those "activist judge" cards that senators keep trying to slip in the deck? Wrong again!
On Wednesday, the senator expressed concern about a case the Supreme Court didn't take. It involved President Bush obtaining wiretaps without informing either the House or Senate intelligence committees or the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
SPECTER: Wouldn't you agree that the Supreme Court should have taken that kind of a major conflict on separation of powers?
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Observe the senators as they shuffle their cards -- some choosing easy friendliness and others taking a more aggressive line -- as they try to get Sotomayor to reveal exactly what she's holding. Can Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) raise the stakes with a mere mention of firefighter Frank Ricci, a central figure in a reverse-discrimination suit? Can Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) snare Sotomayor into throwing a repeat of the "wise Latina" quote into the Senate pot? (He couldn't, by the way; Sotomayor stoically checked and the senator backed off.)
But one of the better players has to be Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.). His last surprise hand revealed a switch from Republican to Democrat. What's he holding this time? Could it be one of those "activist judge" cards that senators keep trying to slip in the deck? Wrong again!
On Wednesday, the senator expressed concern about a case the Supreme Court didn't take. It involved President Bush obtaining wiretaps without informing either the House or Senate intelligence committees or the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
SPECTER: Wouldn't you agree that the Supreme Court should have taken that kind of a major conflict on separation of powers?
SOTOMAYOR: I know it must be very frustrating to you to . . .
SPECTER: It sure is. I was the chairman who wasn't notified.
Well played, Senator.
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Comments (2)
mayabelle1107
8:40PM Jul 15th 2009
A few gems from Thomas Jefferson, all of them could help this administration get a grasp of what this country was should be.
History, in general, only informs us of what bad government is........ I own that I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive......... I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them........I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it........ It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.
History, in general, only informs us of what bad government is........ I own that I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive......... I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them........I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it........ It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.
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sitokhan1
10:08PM Jul 15th 2009
Ronald Reagan and Lee Atwater worked very hard to bring conservative Latino Americans into the Republican Party. Hispanic Heritage voters ensured his landslide reelection in 1984 and Hispanic voters helped George W. Bush defeat Anne Richards in Texas.
Now, thanks to redneck racists like Coburn and Sessions impersonating Ricky Ricardo, the GOP has thrown that advantage away. When the lists of dead come back from Iraq, many more names look like Sanchez and Martinez than Coburn. Hispanic voters will remember all this on election day.
Now, thanks to redneck racists like Coburn and Sessions impersonating Ricky Ricardo, the GOP has thrown that advantage away. When the lists of dead come back from Iraq, many more names look like Sanchez and Martinez than Coburn. Hispanic voters will remember all this on election day.
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