Specter Praises Sotomayor, Asks About Deference To Congress

[usregimechange]

Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., today announced his backing for Sonia Sotomayor in a floor speech, praising her "extraordinary" judicial record and highlighting the diversity she will bring to the Supreme Court if confirmed.

As a former chairman and ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, Specter is a key voice on the nomination, though his position is complicated by his recent switch to the Democratic Party. Bucking his former GOP colleagues, Specter expressed support for the confirmation hearings timetable set by Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., which Republicans have complained is unnecessarily rushed.

"I think Chairman Leahy was correct in moving the hearing date so that the confirmation process could be concluded in time for Judge Sotomayor, if confirmed, to sit with the court during September when the court will decide what cases it will hear," Specter said. "A great deal of the important work of the Supreme Court of the United States is decided on what cases they decide not to hear."

Specter acknowledged the issues that have framed the debate surrounding Sotomayor's nomination so far, including her "wise Latina woman" comment and the New Haven firefighters' case. But, he said, "The nuances of affirmative action don't lend themselves too well to brief newspaper articles or sound bites on the talk shows. They're made for a Supreme Court hearing."

http://ninthjustice.nationaljournal.com/2009/06/specter-praises.php

[zbdent]

1. don't expect Spectre (D-come-lately) to be as useful to the Dems as Lieberman (I-but-I-say-D-

and-vote-R) is useful to the Repugniconvicts ...