Republican Party Results
Last week we asked what the near future might hold for the Republican Party, but found that news and opinion on the GOP has focused largely on the present. Facing a filibuster-proof Democratic majority in Congress, would the Republicans rather voice opposition than exercise power?
Confirmation hearings for Judge Sonia Sotomayor began last Monday, and many took the opportunity to analyze the criticisms Republican Senators in the Judiciary Committee brought against President Obama's U.S. Supreme Court nominee. The Boston Globe (NT reviews), Time (NT reviews) and Congressional Quarterly (NT reviews) each laid out similar predictions at the beginning of the week – with Sotomayor's confirmation all but certain, they said, Republicans would use the hearings to frame her views as out of the mainstream, particularly on issues of race. This strategy, said the Boston Globe, is "intended to send a message to President Obama in deciding future nominations: Think twice before picking a liberal."
The Washington Independent reported (NT reviews) that some Republicans believe they do, in fact, have a shot at blocking Sotomayor's confirmation, or at least tipping the vote. According to the Independent, conservative activists have tried to paint Sotomayor as a threat to gun rights in an effort to convince Congressional Democrats in conservative states like Montana and Arkansas not to vote for her.
Heavy-handed questioning of Sotomayor in committee brought many to her defense, including Slate's Dahlia Lithwick, who called the hearings "empty political theater" (NT reviews). In the rare moments when Republicans stop grilling Sotomayor about her remarks in speeches and turn to her judicial record, Lithwick said, "the focus isn't on her legal approach or process but on the outcomes ... Nobody wants to hear how she got to a result. They want to know why she didn't get to their result."
Juan Cole of Informed Comment called (NT reviews) some Senate Republicans hypocritical for harping on claims of Sotomayor's racism and bad temper, when they had exhibited such behavior in the past.
The unlikelihood that the GOP will prevent Sotomayor's confirmation is symptomatic of bigger, existential problems within the party, other stories suggested. Given the party's low approval ratings and Democratic control of Congress and the White House, prospects for a quick comeback are slim, said (NT reviews) Adam Nagourney in the New York Times. Lacking strong leadership and a guiding strategy, "Many in the party appear to be biding their time, waiting for Mr. Obama to stumble in one or another of his ambitious plans." Daniel Finkelstein made a similar assessment (NT reviews) in The Times (London). Citing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's early resignation, Finkelstein said:
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