Here's the latest news on Sotomayor talking points, people!
Let's say you are prepping yourself to oppose Sonia Sotomayor. Or, at the very least, prepping yourself to oppose judicial activism (excepting the sort of judicial activism that would overturn the Kelo decision, of course). Or, alternatively, prepping yourself to oppose EMPATHY (by which we mean: empathy that does not specifically limit itself to empathizing with very brave, test-taking, Connecticut firefighters, WHO ALL MUST EMPATHIZE WITH, LEST THEY BE COMMUNISTS). What are you talking about, at this moment? Well, as one wag points out to me in an email, you are singing a specific refrain, today:
Orrin Hatch (R-Utah): "I will focus on determining whether Judge Sotomayor is committed to deciding cases based only on the law as made by the people and their elected representatives, not on personal feelings or politics."
Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.): "We will thoroughly examine her record to ensure she understands that the role of a jurist in our democracy is to apply the law even-handedly, despite their own feelings or personal or political preferences."Charles Grassley (R-Iowa): "The Judiciary Committee should take time to ensure that the nominee will be true to the Constitution and apply the law, not personal politics, feelings or preferences."
John Cornyn (R-Tx.): "She must prove her commitment to impartially deciding cases based on the law, rather than based on her own personal politics, feelings, and preferences."
Given the quartet of speakers, I'm guessing that "personal politics, feelings, and preferences" is a JUDICIAL CODE WORD for "menses." Hopefully, Kay Bailey Hutchison can clarify and/or expand on this.
Meanwhile, if you are prepping yourself to support Sotomayor, you are probably memorizing this phrase: "compelling personal story." Mind you: compelling personal story basically means "grew up in the Bronx" and achieved success despite having never been a "Fly Girl" on In Living Color.
Also! Be on the watch for reports that describe Sotomayor's parents as "immigrants!" As the aforementioned emailing "wag" points out, it's sort of like saying that Meghan McCain's father "immigrated to the United States from the Panama Canal Zone." And don't make the mistake that Mike Allen and Jonathan Martin did (originally) in this post, and call Sotomayor a "Latina single mother." Remember: to be a single mother, one must actually have children!
Anyway, as you can see, your Sonia Sotomayor Drinking Game is already taking shape! If you divine any interesting patterns in the coverage, do let us know!
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