Inhofe Refuses To Meet With Sotomayor

Sen. Jim Inhofe, who said Thursday he would not be supporting Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, has now announced he will not even meet with the judge before her impending nomination hearing.

Via The Hill, Inhofe's spokesperson said that the senator declined the opportunity to meet with Sotomayor because he has already decided to vote against her.

Jared Young, Inhofe's spokesman, said Inhofe's opposition stems from his belief that "her spoken and written words show a leaning toward judicial activism and a deference to international laws instead of the U.S. Constitution."

Moreover, Young said, Inhofe voted against her nomination in 1998 to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and "this is a promotion and the bar is raised, so he is compelled to vote no."

According to Think Progress, who reported yesterday that Inhofe decided to oppose Sotomayor 11 years ago, the GOP senator has a long history of opposing Democratic president's judicial appointments.

Inhofe's refusal to even consider Sotomayor's record as a circuit judge is unfortunate, but it is hardly surprising. During the Clinton Administration, Inhofe would frequently throw tantrums such as placing a hold on every single one of President Clinton's judicial nominees in retaliation for Clinton's decision to make a recess appointment, or bottling up every one of President Clinton's civilian nominees in protest of Clinton's decision to nominate a gay man to an ambassadorship.

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