Sessions Becomes The Subject Of Sotomayor Hearings

The confirmation hearings for Sonia Sotomayor have become, in a small but significant way, a referendum on the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Jeff Sessions, the Alabama Republican who took over the post from Pennsylvania Republican-turned-Democrat Arlen Specter, is under intense pressure to land blows on Sotomayor without offending Hispanic voters. It's a tough task, made all the more difficult by Sessions' history of racially insensitive positions and statements.

So far the results have been mixed. Over at Fox News, host Chris Wallace and his co-panelist applauded the Alabaman for his questioning of Sotomayor, in which he honed in on her past statements about race and her role in Ricci v. DeStefano (the New Haven firefighter case). While other GOPers (notably Utah Sen. Orin Hatch) got stuck in the legal weeds, Sessions tried to draw blood, the Fox panel argued.

But Democrats both in and out of government say that is exactly the type of posture they want.

"Sessions spent 30 minutes talking about lines in speeches taken out of context, instead of her 17 years on the bench," said one Democratic operative working on the Sotomayor confirmation. "When Judge Sotomayor tried to reference her work as a judge and her fidelity to the law in her more than 3000 judicial opinions, Sen. Sessions ignored her answers. In fact, in his 30 minutes of questioning, after spending weeks supposedly reviewing her judicial record, Sen. Sessions could only manage to mention one of her actual decisions as a judge."

Certainly, the image of a white southern senator pressing a Hispanic judge on topics of affirmative action carries racial implications that progressives don't mind addressing. Ian Millhiser, a Legal Research Analyst with the Democratic-leaning Center for American Progress Action Fund, told the Huffington Post that he was "flabbergasted that conservatives picked someone with a long history of race-based attacks as their point person on the Sotomayor hearing."

In some respects, Sessions' questioning has already become the defining feature of Tuesday's hearing. As CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin argued on air: "What's worth noting about what Jeff Sessions -- the line of questioning, was that being a white man, that's normal. Everybody else has biases and prejudices ... but the white man, they don't have any ethnicity, they don't have any gender, they're just like the normal folks, and I thought that was a little jarring."

Watch:

Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter!

Comments

[ReasonableBill]

He is a Conservative, he is burdened with racial difference, they should "know their place" and a voting and supportive base of the same mind. They all go to Church and hear the Pastor talk about brotherhood and loving your neighbor - of course in an all white Church - then they all go to "Fellowship", drink sweet tea.

[RIConservative]

Wow that is a lot of assumptions you are making based solely on a persons race....Yo­u even used the term THEY quite a bit...You sound like a racist.

[kesmarn]

They go to the all white church on Sunday morning after having changed out of their all white hoods and capes--the apparel of Saturday night. You'd think that level of cognitive dissonance would be enough to make anyone schizophrenic. Amazing... in the 21st century!

[DofG]

Even with the CNN panel, they were still mischaracterizing what she had said. I just happened to watch Sotomayor's explanation about the "wise Latina" comment. And it was so clear that a sixth grader should have been able to understand it; but unfortunately, biases blinds, and conflict sells!

The whole thrust of what she was saying was that (para) "I would like to think that a wise Latina woman would give a better judgement that a White male; but at the end of the day, my my predispositions must give way to the law!" And her judicial record reflects that. But of course, the media (and Jeff Sessions) would have you think (as a possibility) that her statement lends itself to being prejudicial.

[RIConservative]

I wonder how understanding you would be if the phrase had been:
"I would like to think that a wise white man would give a better judgement that a Latina female; but at the end of the day, my my predispositions must give way to the law!"

Racism is Racism.

[kesmarn]

That's pretty much what Sessions did say.

[papapj]

Racism is about the maintenance and affirmation of the White supremacist power structure, what you are describing would be more accurately called prejudice - pre judging, and if the mores and actions of the White men who held session with Judge Sotomayor are anything to go by her comments regarding Latina women are spot on.....

[mjtaylor22]

all sessions did was say who are u wise latina to think you would have better judgement than I.
in the end her statement was taken out of context, as she had a whle explaination, that statement was made in advance of her explaining what she goes thru to not pre supposed a situation. due to her ethnicity and difference experiences.

[DofG]

Can anybody comprehend what they are reading anymore? As I said this before, a sixth grader should be able to understand this! Her statement is not racist in anyway, shape or form. But unfortunately, one cannot convince others that having eyes alone does not mean that one can see!

In a democracy, ignorance is the primary mode by which the "few" rule over the "many"!

[suec03]

That is why I cannot stomach watching Anderson Cooper-guided panels anymore. Several of his colleagues are just as bad. I'll wait for Soledad O'Brien's Black in America series this month instead.

[Mister C]

Hey - @ Tuckerndfw go to Alabama and say to one those Country Bumpkins
"Aren't Puerto Ricans white?" And see what answer you'll get. You won't like it neither.

[RIConservative]

So it is OK for you to categorize Alabamians as "Country Bumpkins" and make assumptions on what they will do or say when confronted with a question? Oh that's right, in the Liberal world it is OK to be a racist as long as it is against certain people. Hypocrites.

[Mister C]

Bottom Line Puerto Ricans are NOT white people!

[suec03]

Or at least those who perpetuate the myth that "white people" are a distinct group want to exclude Puerto Ricans from that group. This is counting angels dancing on the head of a pin. When there were separate schools for whites and nonwhites, sometimes the white school authorities let Latinos be "white," and sometimes they did not. This was all a racial prejudice illusion. In the history of what is unfortunately called "race relations" in the US, certain persons of northern European origin, usually owners of property, made the rules for everyone else. They were the gatekeepers and got to invent who was "white" and who was not. Were Italian-Americans white or not? There was no consistency. It depended on socioeconimic status and hair color. Northern Italians might more easily "pass." The issue is not whether Puerto Ricans are white. The issue is to recognize the history of racism in the US that has divvied up human beings into categories, giving them privileges if they are "white," and denying those privileges if they are not white.

[pnc]

Race is a socially constructed, historically contingent category. In the 19th century, neither Jews nor Italians were considered "white," but over time the category expanded to include not only Europeans of Anglo-Saxon origin, but others as well. You can not assert, whether you use all capital letters or not, that "Puerto Ricans are NOT white people" because this is a subjective, fluid category. It is also entirely beside the point. The most relevant point is made in the original article--that Sessions sees white males as free of gender and race, neutral in all ways, while the rest of us are guilty of identity politics, as if being a white male living apparently as a heterosexual is the norm and a baseline against which to judge all others.

[bumphus]

I gotta admit us white guys are pretty great...

[IcedTee63]

I'm sorry isn't this the same Republican Jeff Sessions that was rightfully DENIED a seat on the Supreme Court because of his Racist past? Oh...he's reformed now and absolutely doesn't hold a grudge towards those that kept him from wearing those really nice Supreme Court Justice Robes?

...Riiiiii­ght!

[RadicalRepublican]

Same guy you're tinking of but it was a federal post not SCOTUS.

[IcedTee63]

That's it GOP, dig that 2012 Election hole deeper and deeper!

[FHTB]

They just can't help themselves­...it's in their DNA.

[maxboy2008]

It is a disgrace that Senator Sessions holds a seat in the US Senate, much less a leadership position on this Committee. For Sonia Sotomayor to be subjected to his racist, insulting comments, and so-called questions, is an insult to her and to the country. When will the citizens of Alabama wake up?

[FHTB]

Thanks, maxboy...t­hat a blatant racist like Sessions would be allowed to pursue this line of questioning is shocking to me...still­, I think Sonia behaved exceedingly well under the onslaught of stupid comments she got from Sessions or Graham.

[mcmingus]

Sessions embodies the arrogant, smug, racist attitude that is the essence of the Republican Party.

Prove it otherwise, Republican EMPATHIZERS.

Go ahead, make my day!

[FHTB]

Once again, the Repub party has become the bastion of racists like Sessions who are absolutely enraged that the era of white male dominance of voting rights and unequal pay is coming to a swift and overdue end...they first of all just cannot stand to see a mixed race President in office...j­ust the idea of a man who is not of the same skin tone as they are drives them batty. That he would nominate a woman, also, who doesn't look like them again sets them off...toug­h! They need to get over it and use to it...that'­s how it's going to be as America grows increasingly diverse and whites become the minority in America...

[Tuckerndfw]

What baffles me is why people refer to hispanics as a race.

Hispanic as used today means "Spanish speaker" and includes people from all races and nationalities.

Sotomayor is a Puerto Rican by birth which is a nationality, not a race.

Latinos are considered "white."

So, why are people referring to racism?

And, why are hispanics & latinos referred to as "minorities" within the context of race? They are not a minority race. One is not a race & the other is white.

[seriously29]

with all do respect tuckerdfw, from what i understand "white" as you call it is a minority on the world scene. i could be incorrect, no one is perfect.

i know many Puerto Rican's and they don't consider themselves "white" as you put it. they consider themselves Puerto Rican.

it doesn't seem that the definitions change the fact that the questioners consider her a double minority (seems to be a gender issue)and are projecting their own racism onto her, well are trying to.

the questioners are so busy pointing out that she is Puerto Rican as if it is a bad thing, I don't think they got the memo that she is actually "white". i may or may not be a surprise to her also.

[Tuckerndfw]

There are only 4 races (if I recall correctly) and Puerto Rican, hispanic or latino are not one of them.

Puerto Rican is a nationality, not a race.

The question is why is the media & public referring to this as "racism" when there are no racial issues involved?

Women are not a minority in the US, so there is no racial or gender minority issue involved.

Everyone wants to be a minority, it seems.

[suec03]

Scientific discoveries in world distribution of genes leads scientists to see that "race" has no scientific validity. At most, some genetic traits, such as thallassemia, are distributed more among people of the Middle East, but there is no Middle East race. There is no European race. There is no African race. There are only patterns of distribution of genes depending on the degree of isolation of a community from outsiders versus contact through trade, etc.

What that leaves us with is that "race" only exists in the sociological context. "Black" or "African-American" exists both as an historical­ly-imposed construct in the history of racial prejudice, but also as an ethnic identity of descendants of Africans who lost their specific African regional identities when they were torn away from their villages by slavery and grouped with other Africans in work crews on Western Hemisphere plantations.

Similarly, "Hispanic" is an identity to try to coalesce persons of various Latin American origins within the inter-group sociology of the United States, and history of "race prejudice" against "Mexicans," "Cubans," "Dominicans," "Puerto Ricans," etc.

"Racism" in the US is the belief by the numericall­y-politica­lly-financ­ially dominant "White" group that their culture is the neutral norm, and that those of other cultures must learn to drop THEIR "prejudices" and assimilate to white values--or at least that is what I heard from Sen. Sessions' inability to break out of his racist mindset to understand what Judge Sotomayor was saying.

[Beachchick]

Hispanics are a minority group in the U.S. I have never heard the term minority race, nor have I ever heard anyone refer to Hispanics as a race.

A minority can refer to any group that doesn't have the same economic opportunities, political power, social status, etc., as the majority group.

[FHTB]

My point exactly...­the problem is people like Sessions are angry that someone like Sotomayor can assume a position of power...th­is always sets off the racists in this country...­they do not want to give up their superior political power, or social status, as you point out, and this leads to them projecting racism charges on to people who are in no position to be labeled as such.

[boriqua]

When it comes to race, nobody gives a s*** about technicalities. Puerto Ricans, just like Mexicans, Dominicans, and many other "darker-skinned" Latin Americans are considered part of a "race." Race is a term used to categorize every major group patronized by Europeans when they came to the United States. Whether its the color of your skin, the texture of your hair, the shape of your eyes, your "intellectual capacity," or the language you speak, all of these features have been used to separate the "true Americans" from the "others." That is and always has been the only reason for the creation of this social construct. Lets stop acting like there is some type of science to this. You know a latin man when you see one. You know a black woman when you see one. People don't use a dictionary to try to figure out what you are before they treat you badly, just because you look or sound different, so lets cut the B.S. That's all I'm trying to say.

[IcedTee63]

I'm sure a lot of things baffle you Tuckerndfw. Race just happens to be the shiny object that has your attention now.

[Westof405]

Sessions is an old-fashioned Southern racist. There is a reason he is a Senator instead of a federal judge-his own party rejected his nomination in 1986 because of racist statements he had made-calling a black attorney "boy" and telling another to be "careful" about how he talked to white people. Even his own party couldn't stomach appointing him to the bench. His nomination never made it out of committee.

Sessions also called the NAACP and ACLU un-American and Communist inspired because they supported civil rights. Sessions accusing Sotomayor of racism and bias is rich considering his life-long history of racist comments. Sessions couldn't attack Sotomayor's record for bias, because there isn't any, so he attacks her for a few remarks she has made.

I'm suprised Sessions doesn't fly the Confederate flag because that is who he represents-the remnants of the Antebellum South that still believes in segregation and white supremacy.

[joceeco]

Yeah, sessions is clearly a racist and he's jealous that Sotomayor achieved a position that he, a "white man" never could, and he is trying to use the same thing that disqualified him as a reason to disqualifiy this wonderful woman. One thing I've learned over the years about people with negative qualities is that, they often try to project their shortcomings as civil human beings, onto others, to take the heat off of themselves. Sessions as well as most of these old republican white guys, are trying to keep their racist past from entering this debate over judge Sotomayor's confirmation, by trying to make her the racist in the room. They have clearly used race as a means to keep certain White guys in their positions and they think she will do the same for people of color. Republicans are like the man who cheats on his wife, then accuses her of cheating on him, so that he can justify his actions once he gets caught.

[Ramirez]

This isn't even a story. Anyone who criticizes Sotomayer is going to be accused of racism. Everyone knew that going in.

[Leper]

>>Anyone who criticizes Sotomayer is going to be accused of racism.

This is true insofaras there is nothing to criticize her about except race. If you go on and on and on and on about a couple of lines in a couple of speechs instead of confronting her on her record then your going to get accused of racism... especially if you're a white senator from Alabama who used to call black men "boy".

[Tuckerndfw]

She said (implied) she made better decisions than white males.

I'd say that is grounds for examining her opinions & decisions very closely, same as if a male had said he makes better decisions than females.

Why Sotomayor included latina in her comment is a mystery. Latinas are women from Italy to South America and everywhere in between, so how that is relevant, you'll have to ask her.

Latin is a language that originated in Italy and anyone who speaks a Latin based language is latino (male) or latina (female). Also called hispanic. Neither is a race or nationality.

[BlueFloyd]

used to?

[Tommygun264]

The fact that Sessions was previously denied a Federal Judgeship in the 1980's by the very committee he now chairs because they deemed him a racist (repeatedly calling an African-American lawyer who worked under him "boy", telling his staff that he had thought the KKK were a decent bunch of fellas until he discovered some of them smoked pot, and even referring to the NAACP as an "anti-American Commie organization" during his failed confirmation hearing) has a little more to do with the racism charge than his criticism of Judge Sotomayor.

[suec03]

Sen. Sessions does not chair the committee (thank God!), as the Democrats control the chairmanships of all Senate committees at this time. Sen. Leahy is the Chairman. Sen. Sessions is the Ranking Member (designated by his minority party as their leader on the committee). This also makes him the vice-chairman.

[afgail]

It won't be long until white males will the the minority in the country. then they will be confronted with questions of "Can they be impartial to the majority - people of color?' Can't wait.

[amoment]

How does Sotomayor basing decisions on race any different than what's been happening in this country for over 400 years.

[Tommygun264]

If you bothered to actually read the statements in their entirety, or even listen to her testimony before the Committee today, when she repeatedly explained her earlier statements to Senator Sessions over and over, you would know that Judge Sotomayor was in fact arguing against basing rulings on race. Furthermore, out of the over 3,000 rulings in her entire career, none of them have been based on race.

[suec03]

Her life experiences only allow her to catch nuances and inferences from the evidence that a person without those life experiences may miss or think unimportant. See the importance to Miss Redding, the strip-searched high-school student of having Justice Ginsberg bring up with her colleagues the trauma a strip-search imposes on a teenaged girl. Justice Ginsberg's ability to persuade her colleagues of the importance of that issue led to an 8-1 decision that the school's strip search without specific reason to look there violated the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures by government authority (a public school administrator), rather than deferring to the in loco parentis role of the school officials. Life experiences of judges do matter!

[Dustee]

Is the whole of the GOP r.a.c.i.s.­t. and i.g.n.o.r.­a.n.t. ?

They should be put out of their misery along with the whigs. There should be a new party to replace them.