Attacking Nominees Demeans Court

Obama too timid on federal nominees, with big issues coming

(NEWSER) - With big issues working their way toward the Supreme Court on such vital issues as health care reform, same-sex marriage, affirmative action, and police stops of undocumented immigrants, liberals need to be on guard, writes longtime court-watcher Emily Bazelon for the New York Times . Sure, there are solid progressives, such as Obama appointees Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. But frequent swing vote Anthony Kennedy, while he may side with liberals on occasion, has a voting record on par with Ronald Reagan. More»

(NEWSER) - Senate Republicans locked arms against Sonia Sotomayor yesterday … or would have, if they’d bothered to stay for the Judiciary Committee’s vote. Instead, half ducked out, leaving Jeff Sessions to repeat “No by proxy,” over and over, writes Dana Milbank in the Washington Post. It was an ugly display of partisanship—though, as Orrin Hatch pointed out, Democrats started it by opposing justices Roberts and Alito. More»

Critics call nominee racially insensitive, lacking intellect

(NEWSER) - Sonia Sotomayor’s opponents are already polishing their script, Politico reports. They’ll call her radical, racist, and stupid—albeit via softer buzzwords. She’s a “judicial activist” fond of “identity politics,” with a questionable “intellect.” Here are the charges against her:

• She lacks “intellect”: In a New Republic article, former clerks said Sotomayor is “not that smart.” Supporters say that’s ludicrous; Sotomayor graduated summa cum laude from Princeton, and was a Yale Law Review editor.

Gallup finds numbers similar to Alito, Miers

(NEWSER) - Forty percent of Americans think Elena Kagan was an "excellent" or "good" choice for the Supreme Court, while 14% rate President Obama's choice of nominee "poor," according to a new Gallup poll. That puts Kagan's initial approval numbers in line with those for Bush nominees Samuel Alito and Harriet Miers, but lower than Sonia Sotomayor and John Roberts. More»

Moderate justice sees legacy 'dismantled' by conservative turn

(NEWSER) - Sandra Day O’Connor is none too pleased with the conservative turn the Supreme Court has taken since she retired. Asked at a conference how she felt about the court overturning or undermining rulings she’d helped make on issues like abortion rights, campaign finance and race, she replied, “What would you feel? If you think you’ve been helpful, and then it’s dismantled, you think, ‘Oh, dear.’ But life goes on. It’s not always positive.” More»