Conservative Group Reiterates Call to Postpone Sotomayor Hearing
Conservative judicial activists are continuing to push Senate Republicans to delay the debate on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor until after the August recess.Third Branch Conference Chairman Manuel Miranda sent letters to Senate Republicans on Tuesday saying that they should wait until after recess to allow Senators to talk with constituents about her nomination.Miranda said Senate Republicans should use every tool possible if Senate Democrats engage the “nuclear option,— which would permit the Senate to end a filibuster on Sotomayor with just 51 votes, not the 60 otherwise needed to cut off debate.“You should not fear to enter the debate over this President’s nominee, and certainly not because she is Hispanic,— Miranda wrote. “Judge Sotomayor represents Hispanics with her name only, not with her views.—The letter comes after the Third Branch Conference sent a June letter asking Senate Republicans to prolong the debate on Sotomayor.The group has stopped short of calling for a Republican filibuster.“To be clear, we have never expected you to stop this nomination, barring temperament or other issues that may emerge,— Miranda wrote in his Tuesday letter. “Meaning no disrespect, but just to coin a paraphrase: “It is about the debate, stupid.—