Summing up Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's performance during four days of hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, ABC's Jan Crawford Greenburg on Thursday night asserted “Republicans argued her views on issues like abortion and gun rights, and her controversial speeches, proved Sotomayor was a liberal activist who would rely on empathy.”
But, Greenburg countered, “Sotomayor -- calmly, persistently, repeatedly -- described herself differently, sounding almost conservative.” To illustrate, Greenburg played this soundbite from Sotomayor: “The great beauty of this nation: that we do leave those law-making to our elected branches, and that we expect our courts to understand its limited role.” Greenburg at least noted “Republicans complained of a confirmation conversion.”
Earlier in her story, Greenburg, who admired how “she really kept her cool throughout,” touted how “Sotomayor finally showed anger” as “she was steely when asked if she ignored the claims of white and Hispanic firefighters who sued for discrimination.”
(Greenburg wasn't the first reporter this week to attach a “conservative” description to Sotomayor. A BiasAlert item recounted how NPR's Nina Totenberg, on Monday's Charlie Rose, told the PBS host that Sotomayor actually has “a pretty conservative record.” Totenberg claimed Sotomayor's record is “very much in the mainstream,” and that “you could say that she's more conservative than some members of the Supreme Court, including Justice Scalia, perhaps.”)
Greenburg's story on the Thursday, July 16 ABC's World News:
CHARLES GIBSON: Judge Sonia Sotomayor finished her confirmation hearing today. The ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee said his party will not delay a Senate vote on her Supreme Court nomination. That means it's all but certain she will be seated when the court meets in September. But it doesn't mean Republicans are satisfied with her views. Here's Jan Crawford Greenburg.
JAN CRAWFORD GREENBURG: It was her final day of testimony, and Senators were blunt.
SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): And you have said some things that just bug the hell out of me.
GREENBURG: Sotomayor finally showed anger. She was steely when asked if she ignored the claims of white and Hispanic firefighters who sued for discrimination.
SENATOR JEFF SESSIONS (R-AL): Did you fail to show the courage and discuss this issue openly with an in depth opinion?
SOTOMAYOR: Sir, no, I didn't show a lack of courage.
GREENBURG: Today, two of those firefighters testified against her.
LIEUTENANT BEN VARGAS, NEW HAVEN FIRE DEPARTMENT: I was shocked when I was not rewarded for this hard work and sacrifice, but I actually was penalized for it.
GREENBURG: Their case, and how Sotomayor and two judges dismissed their claims, dominated these hearings.
GRAHAM: You missed one of the biggest issues in the country, or you took a pass.
GREENBURG: Republicans argued her views on issues like abortion and gun rights, and her controversial speeches, proved Sotomayor was a liberal activist who would rely on empathy. But Sotomayor -- calmly, persistently, repeatedly -- described herself differently, sounding almost conservative.
SOTOMAYOR: The great beauty of this nation: that we do leave those law-making to our elected branches, and that we expect our courts to understand its limited role.
GREENBURG: Republicans complained of a confirmation conversion.
SENATOR JON CORNYN (R-TX), FROM SENATE HEARING: You appear to be a different person.
CORNYN, BEING INTERVIEWED: The real Sotomayor is just as mysterious now as when we started.
GREENBURG: But as her testimony ended, with confirmation all but assured, Senators on both sides had praise, and already were looking ahead.
SENATOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-CA): It is my belief that you are going to be a great Supreme Court justice.
GREENBURG: Now, Senator Graham started these hearings by telling Judge Sotomayor she would have to have a meltdown not to get confirmed, and we saw just the opposite. She really kept her cool throughout. Senators now say they expect to vote on her confirmation before they break for their August recess.
—Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Oh. my. Gosh.....
July 17, 2009 - 09:06 ET by motherbeltIf these liberals really think that the country is mostly liberal, except for a few fringe right-wingers, why are they always at pains to "explain" that their liberal heroes are actually kind of conservative????
I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows. -Bart Simpson
Excellent point, MB
July 17, 2009 - 09:44 ET by SickofLibsThat is the mystery for the ages, ain't it?
Maybe they should consider borrowing a page from the homosexual, oops I mean gay, playbook and come up with another, more friendly, word for 'liberal'.
'Progressive' clearly is not working, either.
It's because they are
July 17, 2009 - 09:46 ET by mattmIt's because they are aiding and abetting the deception.
Soto knows she's on tape saying the role of the judiciary is to "make policy" and she knows that is a killer for her nomination, so she has to lie by saying that lawmaking is limited to the legislative branch.
And her media pals are helping her spread that lie - which accomplishes several things: It helps get another leftist activist on the court, it helps discredit her opponents and it hoodwinks the public into believing she isn't the unqualified fanatic she is.
They are diabolically tricky and they're so good at it that you can easily miss it if you're not careful.
I should have used the
July 17, 2009 - 09:52 ET by motherbeltI should have used the \sarc tag, I guess. ;-)
I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows. -Bart Simpson
I knew you knew it, I just
July 17, 2009 - 10:07 ET by mattmI knew you knew it, I just posted my thoughts for the benefit of those few who might not have caught the trickiness of the media.
.. and the color white
July 17, 2009 - 10:52 ET by allanfis just like the color black. It takes a liberal to say the ridiculous.
A great
July 17, 2009 - 09:16 ET by UpNorthjustice? It's to laugh, if it weren't so tragic. She's not conservative, she's not mainstream, and she actually, by her rulings, encourages discrimination. And she knew it, that's why she never offered a written opinion, she just wanted the Firefighters buried and forgotten.
Soto could have confessed to being Fidel's long-lost aunt, and Hugo's girlfriend, and not a single dem would change their vote. They'd still tell us she'd be a great justice.
MB, they do that so they can tell us that they didn't ruin the country, it was actually done by "conservatives".
I saw enough of the
July 17, 2009 - 09:31 ET by fenngibbonI saw enough of the testimony to say that she certainly sounded like the second coming of John Roberts. Given some of the comments by some of the senators (Cornyn, for example) I suspect that they think she's been less than truthful, and I'd like to see at least some of them say that in the speeches explaining their vote.
What just popped into my
July 17, 2009 - 09:55 ET by motherbeltWhat just popped into my head when I read that was "Scrubs" the other night...Perry Cox handed J.D. a paper and saying Here..I am writing you a prescription for a pair of testicles...please get it filled as soon as possible.
You think we can get him to visit the Republicans?
I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows. -Bart Simpson
I say just replace Souter with a SCOTUSBOT
July 17, 2009 - 09:56 ET by SickofLibsEvery friggin' reason Soto came up with to explain any of her decisions was based on 'precedent'.
We've had supercomputers now for decades that can beat Grand Masters in chess - surely one could be programmed to research and make rulings after consulting a precedent database.
The only prejudice this SCOTUSBOT may be vulnerable to might be favoring silicon-based lifeforms over carbon-based lifeforms, but some simple programming could overcome that.
Liberal is conservative. Up
July 17, 2009 - 10:05 ET by nolotrippenLiberal is conservative. Up is down. Black is white. Gay is straight. Dog is cat. Hey, this is kind of fun until the drugs wear off.
Someone
July 17, 2009 - 11:04 ET by someloudthunderSomeone tried to tell me that our Supreme Court is overwhelmingly Conservative (8 out of 9) to be exact. I nearly lost my head.
If the supreme court is so Conservative then why did the 2nd Amendment case for D.C. go 5-4. You going to tell me that 4 conservatives thought the average American doesn't have the right to a fire arm?
It's alright though. I'm pretty sure they watch the boy from the Wonder Years on MSNBC.
If she's almost
July 17, 2009 - 11:20 ET by StogieGuyIf she's almost conservative, I'll almost speak Korean in my next post!
Honestly, these people have such a skewed view of the world that it cannot just be accidental. I marvel in amazement when I see the "news" presented like this. Then the disguist hits me when I realize that the average dummy in this country buys it as Gospel. It's exactly how we got B. Hussein Obama and Pelosi's army ramming our nation into the dirt.
Just goes to prove
July 17, 2009 - 11:53 ET by KC MulvilleThe fundamentals of legal theory, the ones everyone agree on, are all conservative. When you apply the law, instead of creating it, that's the essence of the conservative theory.
Sotomayor sounds so conservative at times because she keeps repeating bland, unrevealing truisms. It's like saying that someone is patriotic because they say they are. Of course they say what sounds correct.
According to the media, are
July 17, 2009 - 12:17 ET by Chris NormanAccording to the media, are there any liberals in this country?
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
First of all, Feinstein is
July 17, 2009 - 12:30 ET by b4m4wyFirst of all, Feinstein is an idiot.
Second, of course she may try to sound conservative. She is not a member of SCOTUS yet. As a lawyer, she will give the answer that she thinks is what they want to hear, not what she believes in.
Government's first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives.
Ronald Reagan
If she were "almost conservitive"
July 17, 2009 - 12:43 ET by general companyThey would hate her with a passion
My Gov. thinks I am dangerous, so be careful
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
True GC
July 17, 2009 - 13:19 ET by IamTinmanIf Sonia was the "middle of the road" "Sounds almost conservative" judge that the media mavens have described, Barack Obama would never have nominated her and the leftists on the Judiciary committee would have ripped her to shreds like they did Bork, Thomas and Gonzales.
Either Greenburg is a willing accomplice in the coup...
July 17, 2009 - 12:57 ET by R D Helm...that is currently underway, or she is totally and completely ignorant as to what a conservative actually is.
-Dave
"...stimulus plan is 'working exactly as we had anticipated.'" - PrezBO
She is very likely both.
July 17, 2009 - 13:02 ET by NL207She is very likely both.
Truth is in the eye of the beholder
July 17, 2009 - 13:27 ET by SpokerHistory and the mass media prove the more and louder you tell a big lie the more people believe it.
almost conservative
July 17, 2009 - 13:31 ET by konoSheesh. Saying Sotomayor is almost conservative is a little like saying FDR is almost alive.
For some reason I can't shake the thought that just a couple of decades ago, everyone would be pronouncing her name like "Sottomeyer". Now it seems the various anchors are competing with each other over who can sound the most convincingly Latino/a when saying it. It's all barf-worthy pandering.
You Missed What Greenburg actually said
July 17, 2009 - 13:45 ET by jweaverI have to say, Jan Crawford Greenburg is actualy the most fair reporter from a major news outlet that covers the Supreme Court. You guys are misconstuing her words, either through knee jerk hatred of the media or by lazy reading.
She did not call Sotomayor a conservative, she is saying that Sotomayor is trying to sound like a conservative - i.e. she is trying to paint herself as les leftist than what she is, using Scalia and Alito's style during confirmation. Greenburg has said and written many times of liberals upset with Sotomayor changing her stances for confirmation:
"And the Constitutional Accountability Center's Doug Kendall noted that, despite all her speeches to the contrary, “empathy, perspective and understanding pretty much went out the window” in her testimony.
Kendall called that a “smart political strategy” that “comports well with her judicial record.” But at least one prominent liberal academic strongly disagrees."
Before we lose credibilty by blindly taking words out of context, let us think and read what these people really say. Greenburg is the best we have covering the courts, she is fair and thorough, any doubters should read her book on the Court where she was very quick to defend Thomas and showed him to be one of the thinkers on the court, hardly a leftist.
J. Weaver
scoffery.com