Posted by
"Mind and Morals" Michael Coyne on Tuesday, July 21, 2009 11:09:00 PM
Short of the woman contracting a flesh-eating disease or
video of her defecating on a copy of the United States Constitution surfacing,
it is more than less inevitable that Sonia Sotomayor will be confirmed to the
Supreme Court. Republicans should not have been upset about this, as we are
trading a liberal (Justice Souter) for a new liberal. The ideological makeup of
the court is going to be the same.
Had I been Chairman Michael Steele, I would have issued an
official statement formally saying that the Republican Party will not oppose
Sotomayor’s appointment or confirmation. I also would have sent some sort of
statement or strategy memo to Senate Republicans asking them to simply let
Sotomayor in. This should not be a big battle; Republicans are not losing anything
here, nor are they gaining. This is a lateral move.
But instead, the Party has vocally opposed Sotomayor and
fought against her appointment with most of the weapons in their arsenal. See the link below. This
was a stupid move.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/07/21/judiciary-republicans-delay-sotomayor-vote-week/
In the relatively near future, we are facing the loss of
moderate-conservative Justice John Paul Stevens. Should he leave the court
before 2013 (which all indications are that he will), Republicans will
desperately need to fight against President Obama’s likely Far-Left nominee.
The problem is that the American people will be yawning. The public will
unanimously say, “We’ve seen this show before.”
A political party that speaks with a relatively united voice—as
the now-minority Republicans have—has very limited political capital. If
it appears that the Party fought too hard against Sotomayor, we will have no
political capital left to spend on the Stevens replacement, and the makeup of
the court will shift to the Left.
I understand the concerns of my fellow conservatives. Sonia
Sotomayor is not someone that I am fond of, either. However, letting her pass
is in our long-term best interest. Progress comes slowly. Patience is
everything. We need to remember that, if we want affirmative action upended, if
we want Roe v. Wade overturned, and
if we want an America where judicial activism goes the way of the dodo bird,
then we have to pick our battles very carefully.
The Supreme Court is unlike any other American Government
establishment in that there is no mechanism in which it can be held accountable
to the American people. As such, progress comes at the speed of continental
drift. But it is a battle that the side of right and the Right side will
eventually win. It will just take time.