The Sides On Sotomayor: A GOP Dividing Line
Posted on August 3, 2009 at 12:47 amLt. Gov. Ron Ramsey is not alone in his opposition to Sen. Alexander’s pledge to vote to confirm Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court.
On Friday, Rep. Zach Wamp’s spokesman, John Crisp, asked about the action his candidate would take if confronted with a vote on Sotomayor, responded: “If he were in the U.S. Senate, Zach would vote no!”
The other two major candidates either issued no statement or responded in a way that equaled no response.
Post Politics attempted to poll the rest of the Republican Congressional delegation on the issue as well. Congressman Jimmy Duncan was traveling and could not be reached for comment and Rep. Phil Roe’s office did not get back to Post Politics on the question.
Rep. Marsha Blackburn’s office, however, did offer this comment in response to our query about Sotomayor.
“Senators, even those who don’t sit on the Judiciary Committee, benefit from a private conversation with the nominee. Traditionally, confirmation votes are largely based on those conversations. Having not ever met or spoken to Sotomayor, it is hard to say how Marsha would vote. Based only on news accounts of her judicial philosophy however, she would not be inclined to confirm,” replied spokesman Claude Chaffin.
The most interesting development in all this was not the Ramsey/Alexander divide. That divide was to be expected.
Alexander has always been an old school Howard Baker moderate Republican at root. Sure, he would use some red meat rhetoric and cast a right wing vote or two to keep the conservatives at bay but he has always been a non-confrontational, pragmatic politician.
Lamar wouldn’t want folks trying to score cheap political points on a Republican nominee to the court so he’s not gonna do when the Democrats have their turn.
Also, Alexander, as Pat Nolan notes, has a record of being open to and reaching out to minorities. For Alexander to vote against the first Hispanic woman on the court, well, he would need a really good reason — and there really isn’t one in this case.
Ramsey, while not devoid of pragmatism and possessing a sharper political mind than most in the conservative faction of the GOP, is still an ideological conservative. Ramsey’s position was only surprising in that he decided to vocalize it. The side he took, a confrontational one against Obama and in favor of gun rights, was to be expected.
The curious case here is neither Alexander nor Ramsey, but Sen. Bob Corker. Corker has always been seen as a moderate, pragmatic Republican in the mold of Alexander and Howard Baker. He stands with the ideologues on occasion but at root he is best interpreted as a moderate.
That is the big story that should come out of all this talk regarding Sotomayor from Tennessee Republicans.
Why is Corker on the Wamp, Ramsey, Blackburn side of the divide and not the Alexander side?
Is Corker more of conservative than many may have thought? Or is he being confrontational with Obama because he has thoughts of representing the Right in confrontation with Obama — either directly in 2012 or implicitly in 2016?
Comments
10 Responses to “The Sides On Sotomayor: A GOP Dividing Line”
Thanks for that Kleinheider. If there had been a straw poll, I would have won this time around. Get used to it.
Ask Mike Morrow how it went since you were a no show. Maybe you could take some tips from some of the journalists who were there.
Does Our Little Marsha blame the godless commie Media for EVERYTHING?!?!?
Sotomayor is a racist, sexist woman. She made those statements to students in the past because they are her core beliefs. She ruled against the white firemen solely based on the racial issue and the highest court in the nation threw her ruling out. They also threw out 4 of her 5 rulings. That’s some resume! She’s sort of like the flunkie who gets a pass. BUT in her defense, let’s hope the level minded judges that sit on the court can over rule her. After all, she is taking the place of another liberal judge. That sort of evens the playing field.
Sotomayor’s confirmation will make 66% of the Supreme Court (6 of the 9 Justices) Catholic, in a country where less than a quarter of the population is so.
If ethnic diversity is an asset to the Court, why is religious diversity less so? Someone’s ethnic background might affect how that person views the world, but that person’s religion absolutely does.
I was surprised that Sotomayor’s religion was not an issue during her hearings. Given the Catholic Church’s views on gay marriage, abortion, birth control, stem cell research, genetic modification, etc., why aren’t more people concerned about a Catholic supermajority on the US Supreme Court?
Billp it is not an issue because Catholics and protestants, alike, are weenies when it comes to standing up for real values. I agree. The religious preference, as well as ethnic background should be considered. But who are we? Well I for one am a person who wants balance in all things. Too bad the pendalum is swinging so far from the middle. And I have talked to people who say “we don’t believe in abortion” and voted for the biggest abortionist on the planet. One thing about dems, they can’t make an argument FOR O’man without using the words Bush, Palin or Republican. So they didn’t vote FOR something, they voted Against someone. (in spite of all that can and has gone wrong)
When Corker, Wamp, Ramsey and air-head Marsha speaks, it should make TN wake up and vote these right-wing nuts out of office. They could all be together at the Cornerstone Church in Madison.
Anyone that was overturned by the SC as much as she has been does not belong on the court.
Check out this blog regarding the “myth” of Sotomayor’s reversal rate — http://www.usnews.com/blogs/robert-schlesinger/2009/05/28/the-myth-of-sotomayors-60-percent-supreme-court-reversal-rate.html
Also, Kleinheider, I beg to differ regarding Corker being a moderate. Just look at his voting record so far, for God’s sake. Is there a right-wing issue he hasn’t spouted off about?
Bilip is someone whom I’ve seen at several sites around the country with always the same message—Catholic=Bad. What’s with you bilip? The Klan doesn’t like blacks or jews either–do you?
[...] Post Politics attempted to poll the rest of the Republican Congressional delegation on the issue as well. Congressman Jimmy Duncan was traveling and could not be reached for comment and Rep. Phil Roe’s ofRead more at http://politics.nashvillepost.com/2009/08/03/the-sides-on-sotomayor-a-gop-dividing-line/ [...]