Sotomayor Hearing Will Not Be Postponed, July 13th To Be “Judgement Day”

Jun 9, 2009 3 Comments ›› Erik Wong

In the above image, Sonia Sotomayor was witnessed growling wildly while threatening to eat the kin of all who oppose her.

POLITICO:

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy has forged ahead with a July 13 start date for confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, pushing past Republicans who want more time to dig through her judicial and personal history.

On Tuesday, Leahy indicated that he was tired of Republican attacks on Sotomayor, arguing that it took John Roberts only 72 days to be confirmed from the time he was nominated and that Sotomayor was on a similar timeline.

“There is no reason to unduly delay consideration of this well-qualified nominee,” Leahy said. “Indeed, given the attacks on her character, there are compelling reasons to proceed even ahead of this schedule. She deserves the earliest opportunity to respond to those attacks.”

Leahy told POLITICO he had a “long talk with the president” – who, Leahy said, is supportive of the hearing schedule.

“I want to be fair to the nominee and allow her the earliest possible opportunity to respond to the attacks made about her character,” Leahy explained. “It is not fair for her critics to be calling her racist without allowing her the opportunity to respond.”

It was unclear Tuesday whether Leahy’s decision to unilaterally set a hearing date will hurt the rapport between Democrats and Republicans on the Judiciary Committee, but the GOP is upset and is keeping open the option of using delaying tactics in committee and on the floor to give themselves more time.

“I’m not sure we’ll ready,” Sen. Tom Coburn, a Judiciary Committee Republican, said of the July 13 start. “If I’m ready to attend, I will attend, if I’m not, I won’t.”

Asked if he’d skip the hearing if he felt rushed, Coburn said, “I’m certainly not going to ask questions if I’m not prepared.”

“This seems like a unilateral and political decision by Leahy and Senate Democrats,” said one Republican Senate aide, adding: “[Leahy] knows that the longer this nominations sits the public support will begin for her will begin to dwindle.”

Republicans argue that they would need to read 76 cases a day to get prepared for the hearings.

“She has 10 times as many decisions as Roberts did. It takes a long time to go through that material. We’ll simply have to wait and see how that review goes. I’ve checked and it’s not going really fast. It’s hard to do,” said Jon Kyl, the number two Republican on the Judiciary Committee

But Leahy pushed aside concerns about workload, saying that members had staffs for a good reason.

“If we can’t get that done, shame on us,” he retorted.

And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that if Sotomayor’s nomination waited until after the August recess, it would be the longest period of time a Supreme Court nominee would have to wait for their hearings to start.

“There’s no reason this can’t be done,” Reid told reporters. “If [Republicans] want to take more time than has ever been taken in the history of this country, then something is wrong.”

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, upped the Democratic offensive, saying that treating Sotomayor any different from Roberts or Samuel Alito was hardly fair.

“Unlike was the case for Justice Roberts or Justice Alito, her entire record is already publicly available and is hardly inscrutable. There is no need to insist that her confirmation process take any longer than theirs did,” Schumer said.

At the very least, Leahy’s decision irked Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), who complained that Leahy did not talk to him about the scheduling before announcing the July 13 date.

“I’m really a bit surprised,” Sessions said. “I don’t think our side has the time to do this right. … That’s a rushed time frame, and I don’t think that’s necessary. I have serious doubts about [the time frame], but we’re going to be working on it.”

Whatever the case, Leahy appears unwilling to budge on the July 13 date.

Asked if the date was set in stone, Leahy responded: “Yes.”

Meanwhile, Sotomayor continued to make the rounds in the Senate, and on Tuesday, Florida Republican Mel Martinez stopped just short of pledging his support after a closed-door meeting with her, but made little secret that he was leaning in that direction.

“I am going to withhold any judgment about her nomination until after the Judiciary Committee hearings,” Martinez told reporters today, then adding: “I am very, very impressed with her — not only her personal qualities but also her qualities as a judge.”