This latest development may be breaking new boundaries in guilt-by-association political attacks.
The conservative judicial activist group Committee for Justice released an ad on Tuesday connecting Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the '60s radical and Obama campaign scourge Bill Ayers. The ad begins with a shot of Ayers, but it quickly traverses to the current Supreme Court confirmation process.
"Remember Barack Obama's buddy Bill Ayers? The unrepentant terrorist who bombed American buildings in the 70s? Turns out President Obama has done it again, picking someone for the Supreme Court, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who led a group supporting violent Puerto Rican terrorists. Is this radical judge the type of person America needs sitting on our highest court? What is he thinking? What was she thinking."
It's hard to imagine that this type of argument is one that will derail Sotomayor's nomination. Raising the possibility of a connection between Ayers and Obama, after all, did not hamper Obama's election. And Ayers has no tie, whatsoever, to the president's Supreme Court nominee. If anything, this may end up being the type of ad that Republican senators hope won't make much of a ripple, lest they be asked if they support the message.