The "big fight" that Republicans are gearing up for over the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor isn't the big headline-generator it once was. It's not that bigger stories like the unrest in Iran have knocked it off the front page, it's that the Republicans seem to be calling it off.Politico:
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.
[...]
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said the opposition to Sotomayor doesn't have the same intensity he felt in 2005, when the GOP threatened the minority’s right to filibuster judicial nominees.
"Right now, you don’t have the fever pitch you did over the filibuster," said Graham, a member of the Judiciary Committee. "It depends on how she does [at the hearings]. If she performs well, no. If she performs poorly, potentially, yes."
"I don't think she’s the kind of person that invites that kind of reaction," said Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) of the possibility of making major political gains over Sotomayor's nomination. "I don't think her judicial record warrants the ability to do that with her."
Of course, this underscores how phony all the outrage was over her nomination. Republicans were just fishing for an issue to attack Obama on and raise money with. They may still make a big show of it, but she'll already have been -- for all intents and purposes -- confirmed as soon as hearings have begun. There are a few ideologues who won't vote for anyone who's not as crazy as they are, but most of the "scrutiny" will be theater.
Way to waste our time, guys.
