Sonia Sontomayor's confirmation hearing continues today and Republican men on the senate judiciary committee have yet more opportunities to alienate and offend Hispanic and women voters across the nation. To date, no one has been a more offensively condescending and sexist bully than Senator Lindsey Graham.
Graham read anonymous criticisms of Sotomayor that were published in the Almanac of the Federal Judiciary, criticisms that have been publicly dismissed as blatantly sexist gripes from men who have problems with women in authority. Yet Graham talked about the criticisms as though they were factual: "She's a terror on the bench," "she abuses lawyers," "she behaves in an out of control manner," and "She's nasty to lawyers."
As Judge Guido Calabresi observed:
“Some lawyers just don’t like to be questioned by a woman.”
The the arrogant fool from South Carolina had the nerve to ask Judge Sotomayor: "Do you think you have a temperament problem?" Imagine the white male Senator asking a male nominee such a question. It would never happen.
"I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."
-- Sonia Sotomayor
Feminist Politics Race, Gender, Class SCOTUS Sotomayor Supreme Court South Carolina Lindsey Graham News
