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- Apr 3, 2009
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Lindsey Graham takes on conservatives
By: Manu Raju
July 24, 2009 04:17 AM EST
When Sen. Lindsey Graham announced his support for Sonia Sotomayor this week, right-wing radio talk show host Mark Levin said it was a sign that Graham is unreliable ... as a thinker and a leader.
Wendy Long, counsel for the conservative Judicial Confirmation Network, called it proof that Graham still lacks courage, statesmanship and an understanding of the Constitution and rule of law.
May his antics get the attention they richly deserve.
The response from Graham: Enjoy life in the minority.
In an interview with POLITICO Thursday, the South Carolina Republican defended his decision to back Sotomayor by laying out a broad critique of conservative activists who push ideological purity and refuse to cooperate with a Democratic Congress and White House.
If we chase this attitude that you have to say no to every Democratic proposal, you cant help the president ever, you cant ever reach across the aisle, then I dont want to be part of the movement because its a dead-end movement, Graham said.
I have no desire to be up here in an irrelevant status. Im smart enough to know that this country doesnt have a problem with conservatives. It has a problem with blind ideology. And those who are ideological-driven to a fault are never going to be able to take this party back into relevancy.
While a handful of other GOP senators have said theyll back Sotomayor when her nomination comes to the floor, Graham is the first Republican on the Judiciary Committee to support her.
He may be the only one. Not all of the Republicans on the committee have announced their views, but the two who would seem mostly likely to defect Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), two veterans who have voted for every Supreme Court nominee theyve faced in the Senate have both expressed reservations about Sotomayor.
Hatch said that hes troubled by her nomination, and Grassley said that people take things into consideration now that they didnt used to before. He added: So obviously, there are other things to consider than just qualifications.
Graham said that Sotomayor is not the nominee he would have chosen.
But after questioning her extensively during her confirmation hearing asking about everything from her views on abortion to the charge that shes a bully on the bench he said Sotomayor deserves his support because a review of her 17-year record proved she was well-qualified, her confirmation would not upset the ideological balance on the court, and Obama is entitled to some latitude in making his pick because he won the election.
Most of all, he said, he wanted to return to the days where ideology was not part of the equation when choosing judicial nominees citing the 98-0 confirmation of Antonin Scalia in 1986 and the 96-3 confirmation of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1993.
More:
Lindsey Graham gives as good as he gets - Manu Raju - POLITICO.com
![clap2 :clap2: :clap2:](/styles/smilies/clap2.gif)
By: Manu Raju
July 24, 2009 04:17 AM EST
When Sen. Lindsey Graham announced his support for Sonia Sotomayor this week, right-wing radio talk show host Mark Levin said it was a sign that Graham is unreliable ... as a thinker and a leader.
Wendy Long, counsel for the conservative Judicial Confirmation Network, called it proof that Graham still lacks courage, statesmanship and an understanding of the Constitution and rule of law.
May his antics get the attention they richly deserve.
The response from Graham: Enjoy life in the minority.
In an interview with POLITICO Thursday, the South Carolina Republican defended his decision to back Sotomayor by laying out a broad critique of conservative activists who push ideological purity and refuse to cooperate with a Democratic Congress and White House.
If we chase this attitude that you have to say no to every Democratic proposal, you cant help the president ever, you cant ever reach across the aisle, then I dont want to be part of the movement because its a dead-end movement, Graham said.
I have no desire to be up here in an irrelevant status. Im smart enough to know that this country doesnt have a problem with conservatives. It has a problem with blind ideology. And those who are ideological-driven to a fault are never going to be able to take this party back into relevancy.
While a handful of other GOP senators have said theyll back Sotomayor when her nomination comes to the floor, Graham is the first Republican on the Judiciary Committee to support her.
He may be the only one. Not all of the Republicans on the committee have announced their views, but the two who would seem mostly likely to defect Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), two veterans who have voted for every Supreme Court nominee theyve faced in the Senate have both expressed reservations about Sotomayor.
Hatch said that hes troubled by her nomination, and Grassley said that people take things into consideration now that they didnt used to before. He added: So obviously, there are other things to consider than just qualifications.
Graham said that Sotomayor is not the nominee he would have chosen.
But after questioning her extensively during her confirmation hearing asking about everything from her views on abortion to the charge that shes a bully on the bench he said Sotomayor deserves his support because a review of her 17-year record proved she was well-qualified, her confirmation would not upset the ideological balance on the court, and Obama is entitled to some latitude in making his pick because he won the election.
Most of all, he said, he wanted to return to the days where ideology was not part of the equation when choosing judicial nominees citing the 98-0 confirmation of Antonin Scalia in 1986 and the 96-3 confirmation of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1993.
More:
Lindsey Graham gives as good as he gets - Manu Raju - POLITICO.com
![clap2 :clap2: :clap2:](/styles/smilies/clap2.gif)