Just No Do-Re-Mi In It

I noticed last week a severe pulling back by the conservative elements bashing Sonia Sotomayor, and John Thune lets slip a bit of truth about it:

Nearly a month after President Barack Obama picked her for the Supreme Court, Republican senators say Sonia Sotomayor isn’t serving as the political lightning rod some in their party had hoped she would be.

“She doesn’t have the punch out there in terms of fundraising and recruiting, I think — at least so far,” said Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), who most likely will be elected as the No. 4 Republican in Senate leadership this week.

The calculus could certainly change when Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings begin July 13. But the Republican senators’ initial review of Sotomayor’s record, together with the meetings they’ve had with her, have left them doubting that she’ll be controversial enough to help them or hurt the Democrats heading into the 2010 elections.

That's the key, right, that outrage over her doesn't raise the bug bucks. Republicans are making a business decision by pulling up stakes here. Will Wendy Long of the Judicial Confirmation Network have enough money for steak dinners now?

You know the economy is tough when even the wingnut welfare recipients are struggling.

Interpreting The Constitution Depends On Dating Preferences

Making Jeff Sessions sound like the founding member of the Center for Constitutional Rights, John Thune lays down a marker - none of them funny people in the Supreme Court, understand?

Gay-rights groups have voiced hope that Obama will select the first openly gay Supreme Court nominee, and the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund has offered two suggestions: Kathleen Sullivan, a former Stanford Law School dean, and Pam Karlan, another Stanford professor.

But conservative leaders have warned the nomination of a gay or lesbian justice could complicate Obama’s effort to confirm a replacement for Souter, and another Republican senator on Wednesday warned a gay nominee would be too polarizing.

“I know the administration is being pushed, but I think it would be a bridge too far right now,” said GOP Chief Deputy Whip John Thune. “It seems to me this first pick is going to be a kind of important one, and my hope is that he'll play it a little more down the middle. A lot of people would react very negatively.”

Of course, we're in a society where discrimination no longer exists and only the white man bears the burden of this politically correct society. Thune's just concerned about what others would think. Like "the children," I assume.

Filibustering a Supreme Court justice because of their sexual orientation would really be a brilliant coda for the Republican Party. And despite some of the quotes in that article, they'd do it. They'd have to do it.