Corker Impatiently Blows Off Meeting With Sotomayor Because She Was Slowed By Temporary Disability
Corker Impatiently Blows Off Meeting With Sotomayor Because She Was Slowed By Temporary Disability
Last Thursday, Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) was scheduled to meet with Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Yet when Sotomayor was delayed because of her recent injury, Corker decided that he had more important things to do than to wait around for a potential lifetime appointee who is temporarily disabled:
Sen. Bob Corker blew off his meeting with Sonia Sotomayor last week. Hobbling along with her leg in a cast, she was 10 minutes late and he said he didn’t feel like waiting. “I decided to proceed on to the next meeting,” he told a Tennessee Press Association breakfast in Chattanooga.
Despite the fact that Senate conservatives had repeatedly vowed to give Sotomayor a “fair and respectful process” that gives her a “fair opportunity to provide full and complete answers” to any questions about her record, Corker is now the second GOP senator to refuse to meet with Judge Sotomayor. Last week, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) also blew off his meeting with Sotomayor and announced that he made up his mind vote against her nomination in 1998 — eleven years before she was actually nominated.
Corker appears to be the first senator to refuse to deal with Sotomayor’s temporary disability. Most others have been quite accommodating. When Sotomayor met with the Louisiana delegation, for example, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) offered to sign Sotomayor’s cast. Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) offered the judge a bag of ice and a pillow to ease her broken ankle. Vitter told Sotomayor, “I hope you all note that some Republicans are empathetic, too.” Not all Republicans, apparently.
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
Good ole Corky.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:08 amJust imagine if the tables were turned and it was Patrick Leahy blowing off Alito or Roberts for something “more important.”
The wingnuttery would still be having hissy fits. Respect is respect, regardless of which side of the aisle is showing it.
PEACE
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:08 amThat’s why, folks, they’re Republi- SCUM.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:09 amIs this a guy thing or just a typical reich winged political hack’s idea of how to treat a future judge?…Hummm. His voter’s might think twice before voting him into office again…P. B. & J
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:09 amI see that “compassionate conservatism” has not died out yet.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:12 amI don’t know, Witch1, you’re implying that his voters thought once before voting him into office.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:13 amIts just creepy. I realize there are places out there with overtly cruel rulers, but sometimes you get a reminder that we’ve got cruel sociopaths in power here as well.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:16 amNoticed where he’s from? The great old TN.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:16 amredneck scum
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:17 amCorker is the clown that used the race card in his last election. Looks like it’s time for change in Tennessee.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:21 amCorker is a creepy, slimy thing. Seriously, that is really low rent.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:21 amA class act.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:22 amRemember, ‘Corked’ won a Senate seat due to buying swiftboat ads implying Harold Ford, Jr., a black man, was spending time with White women at the Playboy mansion.
Hmmm, White women, Hispanic women…do we have a pattern here?
Uncork Corker & throw the bottle away.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:22 amHow rude! He should try walking around on crutches for awhile, (I did!) and it is not fun, nor is it fast. What a jerk.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:23 amCompassionate conservativism — the ultimate oxymoron.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:23 amYeah, that Corker, he’s a gentleman and a scholar – NOT!
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:25 amYou stay classy, Senator!
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:30 amHere’s the questions I have in mind:
1. What was so important on Sen. Corker’s schedule that he couldn’t wait for Judge Sotomayor?
2. Is this a common practice in senatorial matters? Sure, we saw Sen. Inhofe do the same, but have we seen a history of such impatience in such meetings in the past?
I doubt that Sen. Corker had no idea that Sotomayor was injured, so it was pretty low of him to not offer a little leeway.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:31 amYep!, Jane….Me thinks the R after his name stands for rude….Doubt the TN voters thought at all, many still making moonshine in the wood’s…Blessings
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:33 amHow did Al Gore ever win anything in Tennessee?
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:34 amWith people like this and those we have heard of recently, we certainly know how he lost the state in 2000!!
People from rural south are unfairly stereotyped as stupid, racist and poorly educated — wonder why.
Better be careful, Corker. Teh Internets is watching…
It will be hard to be a senator like this in the future — even in Tennessee…
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:36 amI guess this kinda blows to hell the talking point that Republicans are using about making too hasty a decision on Sotomayor and bringing her before the Judiciary Committee without adequate time to get to know her.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:38 amWitch1, it’s a good thing we got Wayne’s mom out of Tennessee and back up to civilization. Luckily she didn’t live there long enough to become one of them.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:38 amCork is just rude and unprofessional – typical behavior of most Rethuglicans.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:38 amThe GOP is simply not serious about the problems of the country.
Their entire reason for existence is to protect big business, enable free enterprise, appease the hard right on gays, abortion and gun rights and to hammer liberals.
That’s it. That’s all they are.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:38 amCorker blows. Period.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:39 am“How did Al Gore ever win anything in Tennessee?”
Marie, I was thinking the same thing, although it was more along the lines of ‘how did a state like Tennessee even produce someone like Al Gore’?
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:41 amThis has far more to do with Corker’s dismissal of Sotomayor as trivial and not worth any of his time than it has to do with Sotomayor’s punctuality.
In our current age of communication, and assuming both Sotomayor and Corker were within arm’s reach of a telephone, it would have been easy to determine or explain the lateness. If Corker genuinely had a schedule that couldn’t afford a 10-minute time offset, the meeting could have been rescheduled.
I suspect since Corker obviously has no questions for Sotomayor and has made up his mind how he feels about her anyway, even if she had showed up on time he would have given her a perfunctory greeting and then the bum’s rush out of his office.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:44 amI do hope the good people at TP (and other sites) will keep a track of what Sen. Corker has to say about Sotomayor during this whole process. For someone to form an opinion while evading one on one contact tells me the someone won’t have a well rounded opinion.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:44 amInstead of getting bitter at Sen. Corker, I hope we reserve judgment until he makes a decision on whether or not to meet with Sotomayor again. It is in his best interest to reschedule the meeting. If he opts not to talk to Judge Sotomayor, then he’s basically already decided.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:45 amDidn’t Al Gore actually spend a considerable part of his formative years in Washington DC, while his father was Senator?
Jane E. Schneider Says:
“How did Al Gore ever win anything in Tennessee?”
Marie, I was thinking the same thing, although it was more along the lines of ‘how did a state like Tennessee even produce someone like Al Gore’?
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:47 am“Didn’t Al Gore actually spend a considerable part of his formative years in Washington DC, while his father was Senator?”
I’m sure he probably did, Lora, which would explain a whole lot.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:51 amYea, why should an ever so important Senator wait for a gimpy Latino woman, anyway? I’m sure he had a hundred-and-one more important things to do that wait 10 minutes for her.
What a jerk. C’mon, Tennessee, give this guy his retirement.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:51 amAs a little side note…
How do so many GOOPers manage to get their pictures taken just as they’re in the midst of a gesture like the one Corky’s making in that picture?
They just CAIN’T quit bragging about their sex lives…
***cough***
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:53 amWhy, everbody knows that those wimminfolk are soft and sissyfied!! Suck it up, Sonia baby – or getcher ass back in the kitchen where you belong and make me a samwich!!!!!
/snark
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:54 amIn regard to Mr. Corker and the rest of prissy, privileged shitwhistles in the Senate of EITHER “party,” I’m with Voltaire, who believed that “the best form of government is democracy, tempered with assassination.”
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:57 amAnother “I’ll show You ” moment from the most arrogant group of homo-sapiens in the U.S. Note I didn’t use the word human. So how would he treat any of his constituents from a lower station in life. And the “Pubes” threw around the elitist word during the campaign?
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:58 amBob Corker. Following in the footsteps of such standup pols as Bill “Re-Animator” Frist, Zach “1st Amendment? We don’t need no stinkin’ 1st Amendment” Wamp, and Ray “Corruption knows no party lines” Blanton.
Also, keep in mind that Al Gore (jr and sr) could hardly be called progressive. Granted, Sr. was one of the few southern senators to reject the southern manifesto, but Jr. ran as the conservative, pro-life, pro-gun, pro-prayer in public school candidate for Pres in ‘88.
Decent people can change. Corker ain’t one of them.
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:02 amMarie, I was thinking the same thing, although it was more along the lines of ‘how did a state like Tennessee even produce someone like Al Gore’?
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:47 am
Al Gore is a scion of wealth and privilege. He attended the best schools, the best universities, got a great war-time assignment, and came back to a life of MORE wealth and privilege. That he is exceptional is evident that he went into public service. He is NOT a “child” of Tennessee, but of the wider world. Almost any hill-billy/cracker, given the right up-bringing might accomplish the same things…
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:03 amSounds like the good ole Senator needs his comeuppance about the discriminating against someone with a disability regardless if it is temporary or permanent. After all, it was a repu.glican President Bush the First that created the Disability Act. I would like to hear directly from the horse’s mouth that Congress isn’t bound by the laws they pass.
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:06 amsee the photo attached to this story? See how he is holding his fingers … is that the amount of empathy in his entire body? Nah … it is the size of him man hood when fully erect.
TN sure knows how to pick ‘em!
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:16 amAnother fine moment for the Tennessee GOP.
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:18 amAnd Corker, of course, has NEVER been 10 minutes late for anything. What a jerk.
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:27 amAs bad as Corker is, Harold Ford wouldn’t have been much better.
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:33 amWell, hell, it’s not like he was going to vote for her anyway!
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:34 amI gotta go along with this one.
In retrospect, that Corker-Ford matchup was kind of like choosing between dysentery and really bad allergies. Both make you miserable; one just smells worse.
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:44 amwhat a dick.
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:49 amI am really changing my mind about wingnuts. I use to think they were scumbags. Now I think they are dispeicable, scumbag, thugs.
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:50 amHere’s the questions I have in mind:
1. What was so important on Sen. Corker’s schedule that he couldn’t wait for Judge Sotomayor?
2. Is this a common practice in senatorial matters? Sure, we saw Sen. Inhofe do the same, but have we seen a history of such impatience in such meetings in the past?
Answers:
1.His next meeting was with the Grand Wizard of the KKK, and you just don’t keep the Grand Wizard waiting for no uppity Spic on a Stick.
2. Yes, it is common practice in the Senate, but, only if your name is followed by an (R). Which stands for Repugnant, Reprenhensible, Redneck, etc., etc.
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:51 amSorry, I forgot to credit Purple State for the above questions. Mea Culpa.
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:54 amCorker’s just a symptom of the underlying illness — a state of morons willing to elect him. (He didn’t just magically appear in the Senate, folks. Nearly a million stupid people voted for him.)
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:55 amThe people of Tennessee put up with Corker’s permanent mental disability, but he can’t deal with Judge Sotomayor’s temporary disability.
Typical weak-minded Republican.
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:59 amStay classy, GOP.
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:03 pmCaption – My peepee and my brain are this big.
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:04 pmI’m from Chattanooga, Tennessee. Bob Corker is a dick. He looks like Eric from Billy Madison.
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:12 pmHere’s one for the Daily Show’s “Dick Move of the Week” segment.
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:20 pmI live in a small town outside Nashville – I work in Nashville. Why this state is Rethug is beyond me. It is a factory state and has always had low wages and high unemployment. Corker is not what I wanted – he is just another rich white guy. He plays the southern gentlemen, but he is really a Rethug pig like the rest of them. This is his first election so I am guessing he does not have much clout. RUDE, RUDE, RUDE. I just emailed his offices.
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:32 pmThese people are acting like spoiled children. It’s no wonder that only 21% of Americans still call themselves Republics and that of that 21% only 14% call themselves strong Republics. Add that to another recent poll that showed 34% of Republics are not happy with the way their party is going, they stand to lose the 7% who call themselves “weak” Republics.
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:39 pmAnyone want to bet that if she had been on time, he would have made her wait 10 minutes.
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:44 pmThe Republican Party fringe is just a bunch of old southern men, who dislike anyone who is not their color or thinks differently than they do. They are scary men. Thankfully they are led by the likes of Rush, Corker, and Graham.
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:58 pmsmall appendage – big ambition
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:59 pmI just called his office and they tell me it’s now been rescheduled for tomorrow.
Guess the bad press he got forced his hand. Bwahahaha!
June 22nd, 2009 at 1:14 pmneoconsrscum Says:
————————————————————
That’s why, folks, they’re Republi- SCUM.
D-I-T-T-O, they’re SCUM!!
June 22nd, 2009 at 1:15 pmLora and Jane
June 22nd, 2009 at 1:37 pmThanks for the replies — and the likely explanation.
When did Vitter gain his empathy?
June 22nd, 2009 at 2:06 pmCorker, just like so many of these repubs now is proudly wearing his racism on his sleeve.
June 22nd, 2009 at 2:33 pmSo the GOP is out of ideas, out of policy, and now, out of any semblence of “class.” The Senator from Tennesee reminds me of why I’ll never live in the south again. They are just a bunch of hillbillies with no class, no teeth, no education, and no soul. May god have mercy upon them, they know not what they do.
June 22nd, 2009 at 2:48 pmIt just shows what a complete lack of respect they have for women.
June 22nd, 2009 at 2:50 pmHe probably had a prayer breakfast to get to.
June 22nd, 2009 at 3:29 pmWhy did you not post my comment?
June 22nd, 2009 at 3:38 pmWho was he meeting with when he could not wait? His barber? Masseuse? Escort? Golf buddy? Drinking buddy? Fundraiser? Right-wing radio host?
Hearing that he is in office because he was willing to sleaze his opponent with racist trash-talk says enough. Come on Tennessee, come to your senses and dump this embarrassing pimple.
June 22nd, 2009 at 4:12 pmCorker is courting the racists, a sizable portion of his electorate, by being as racistly rude as he thinks he can get away with. Rude on purpose because Sotomayor is a non-white woman. Well aren’t you just precious, Senator Corker.
He very narrowly defeated his black Democratic opponent by running TV ads claiming he was sleeping with white women. “Call me, Harry!” pleads an inebriated, slightly disheveled blond white woman as she steps out of a limo dressed in eveningwear and waving goodbye in the morning sunshine.
This is a disgusting man. Don’t let him manipulate you.
June 22nd, 2009 at 5:46 pmfleetw1978 Says:
So the GOP is out of ideas, out of policy, and now, out of any semblence of “class.” The Senator from Tennesee reminds me of why I’ll never live in the south again. They are just a bunch of hillbillies with no class, no teeth, no education, and no soul. May god have mercy upon them, they know not what they do.
As someone who does live in the south I have to correct this statement…
I have ALL of my teeth.
June 22nd, 2009 at 5:59 pmI just love the Republican party, because they’re all a bunch of whiney-ass cry babies. What fascinates me is that they think this type of behavior is going to pay off for them.
June 22nd, 2009 at 6:12 pmHave read no comments yet, so apologize if repeating:
photo caption:
“It’s not nonexistent, it’s THIS big!”
June 22nd, 2009 at 6:38 pmThe GOP is quickly becoming a regional racist party. It is onthe way to no influence in the country at large, but it can control the south. So who cares?
June 22nd, 2009 at 6:58 pmOh please…
I am so tired of hearing this kind of crapola coming from people who do not live here. There are MANY Tennesseans who do not agree with this idiot that somehow managed to convince enough money men to buy his way into office.
We are well-educated, have all of our teeth, are quite well-versed in the arts and literature, and have more “soul” in our pinkie fingers than some do in their entire states.
We fought hard to defeat this man, but lacked in funds and national Democrat Party support. Maybe if folks like you wouldn’t be so quick to write us and our state off as UN-WINNABLE before you even come here and try to help us and the progressive candidates we put forward, we might have a ghost of a chance to put some real Tennessean values into our governmental representatives.
June 23rd, 2009 at 11:44 am