Confirmation: What It’s Become.
I watched a bit of the speechifying by the Senators during the initial stage of the confirmation hearings of Judge Sotomayor. I couldn’t take more than a few minutes of it.
The Supreme Court is not and was never intended to be a representative body. The confirmation of a Supreme Court justice was never intended to bear the hallmarks of an election where various interest groups loudly and angrily campaign for their candidate – the one who will “deliver the goods.â€
The confirmation process has become a partisan blood sport, due in no small part to the intense television coverage devoted to the hearings and politicians’ insatiable appetite for public bloviation.
Color me an idealist, but wouldn’t it be nice if the every President chose Supreme Court justices solely on the basis of the nominee’s being: (a) learned in the law and (b) scrupulously fair; and wouldn’t it be nice if the purpose of the confirmation process would be for the Senators to satisfy themselves, in a non-partisan, collegial fashion, that the nominee satisfies those two criteria? Yeah, I know. When pigs fly.
The process has become little more than unpleasant and unbecoming noise.
As Henry Krajewski said
“All politicians are Jokers”
Jim you are a natural resource of the Garden State
Jersey City Steve, from Monterey Bay
Comment by steve balbo — July 13, 2009 @ 8:11 pm
Sotomayor has about much business being on the supreme court as Al Franken does being a US Senator…
Comment by hammer — July 13, 2009 @ 8:20 pm
Not for a long long time has politics been about justice, fairness, or abilities.
Comment by LeeAnn — July 13, 2009 @ 8:45 pm
The voters of Minnesota elected Al Franken as their United States Senator. Anyone who does not like that should go to Minnesota and attempt to defeat him. As for Judge Sotomayer, the Senate will decide her fate. She does seem to have a lot of judicial experience.
Comment by Kevin — July 13, 2009 @ 10:13 pm
What a mess.
Comment by Sam — July 14, 2009 @ 7:25 am
…. read an interesting tidbit yesterday about the Supreme Court….
…. the president to appoint the most SCJ’s?…. George Washington (not surprising) with 11…..
…. in the 20th century?…. Franklin Roosevelt with 9…. I wonder how stacking the deck like that helped Roosevelt?…..
Comment by Eric — July 14, 2009 @ 9:10 am
Compare and contrast with the confirmation hearings of Ginsberg and Breyer when the Republicans were in charge.
Comment by dick — July 14, 2009 @ 2:39 pm
The Supreme Court should take a page from the Corzine playbook and gather justices from a reality show. How much further can this state and country sink?
Comment by gregor — July 14, 2009 @ 6:29 pm