The Elephant Left the Room

(Note. This post was originally published soon after Sonia Sotomayor was nominated by President Obama for the Supreme Court. It is even more relevant today on the eve of her nomination hearings in the U.S. Senate. It has also been updated with new information.)

Breaking news! Nothing happened! The Republicans rolled over on Sotomayor even though they took their obligatory shots. I am disgusted with the effort put forth to question this nominee. I stand with my usual refrain: Throw all the bums out! Their only saving grace is if the Republicans unanimously vote against her.

There is mounting evidence that Senate Republicans may be ready to push back against Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation to the Supreme Court. Although there's hope for that happening, it's unlikely to be enough to derail her nomination, despite the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn her ruling on Ricci. There is, however, a fantastic opportunity to highlight Obama's radicalism during Sotomayor's confirmation hearings, which start next week.

I sense a growing theme out there in the "right-wing conspiracy" that, even though Republicans can't block the nomination, they can use it as a vehicle to call to question Obama's positions. I could direct you to numerous blogs, online news articles and commentary on talk radio to bolster this point. Although the Republicans plan on bringing in firefighter Frank Ricci to testify, the Democratic attack machine is already mobilizing to counter his testimony. You can plan to see the politics of personal destruction on full display.

If the Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee do not seize this opportunity to hammer away at both Sotomayor AND Obama, they do not deserve our time of day come election time. They need to drag this out as long as possible to capture every possible opportunity to get a sound-bite out on the evening news. It will take an extended period of debate and questioning for this to happen and the mainstream media will NOT be a willing accomplice in this effort. They will do everything in their power to cover up ANY dissent.

The hearings are not about getting her nomination thrown out, although public opinion of her is waning. The hearings are an opportunity to highlight the socialistic and sophomoric agenda of the Obama administration. After all, think about all the other left-wing justices that were nominated to the Supreme Court by Republican Presidents. Anthony Kennedy and Sandra Day O'Connor were nominated by Reagan and David Souter was nominated by Bush 41. Both Reagan and Bush never dreamed they'd end up with what they got.

Now we pretty much know what we're getting and there's not a damned thing Republicans can do about it. What they can do is use their fleeting moment in the spotlight to call attention to the elephant in the room!