Sonia Sotomayor

Washington (AP) - Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor and senators who will vote on her confirmation are engaged in a careful conversation about where she stands on hot-button issues like abortion and gun rights. You probably won't hear any of it, though, since the exchange is taking place in code.

Sotomayor is simply following a time-honored tradition: High court nominees work mightily to reassure senators that they won't be radicals seeking to impose an agenda, without revealing how they might rule on key issues that could come before the court.

Senators, in turn, are doing their utmost to get assurances from Sotomayor that she'll protect certain precedents and eschew others, so they can defend a vote for or against her with constituents and supporters...

When it comes to the confirmation process for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, Republicans have an opportunity to do something that would benefit both themselves and the nation.   That is, they should use the process as a chance to hold forth on the meaning of the Constitution and the proper role of the judiciary in our political system and society.

Three main areas are ripe with opportunity for Republicans if they have the nerve to play hardball.

First, the notion that "empathy" should play any role in American justice.

Obama previously stated that he wanted judges that had "empathy" when it came to how they made their decisions. But empathy is merely a euphemism for justifying politically liberal results.  read more »

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) gave a harsh assessment of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor Wednesday afternoon, criticizing her ideology, questioning her temperament and saying he had little intention of voting for her.

In a critical news conference following his 30-minute closed-door meeting with Sotomayor, Graham said that he would have great difficulty supporting her — and that he let her know it.

"I was very direct," Graham told reporters gathered outside his office. "I have to decide how to play this game, quite frankly. If I use the same standard that Sen. [Barack] Obama used, then I would not vote for you, quite frankly"...

"There is a fundamental distinction between what is required of and should be sought of a circuit court judge and a district court judge and a Supreme Court judge.”

The words of a conservative like Jeff Sessions or Jim DeMint?

Nope, the statement was made by then-Judiciary Committee Chairman Joe Biden during Clarence Thomas’ nomination hearing for the Court of Appeals in 1990...

As expected, President Barack Obama went far to the left to select, as his first Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, an Hispanic left-wing extremist. As Supreme Court watcher Tim O'Brien said this morning, Judge Sotomayor will be the most liberal justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Judge Sotomayor laughingly told an audience that we make policy from the bench which should satisfy the president's desire to have judges make their decisions based on empathy and not on the law. However, the symbol of justice in America is blind-folded which means that justice is blind and decisions by judges should be based on the law and not on emotions.

Right out of the box, contrary to the president's campaign promises -- to govern from the center, to reach out to his opponents, to establish a post-partisan presidency -- Obama has broken those promises and his Supreme Court selection is the latest example of his administration governing from the extreme left.

Judge Sotomayor, who has been an appeals court judge for about ten years on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, had a high profile role in an affirmative action case involving white firefighters who were passed over for promotion in favor of minority candidates who were less-trained.  read more »