Day 1 of Sotomayor hearings: ‘Balls and strikes.’
Day 1 of Sotomayor hearings: ‘Balls and strikes.’
During his confirmation hearings, John Roberts famously established what he viewed as the job qualifications for a Supreme Court Justice. “It’s my job to call balls and strikes and not to pitch or bat,” he said. (His record has proven contrary to that statement.) While discussing the candidacy of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, many Democratic Senators referenced — and refuted — Roberts’ “balls and strikes” analogy during today’s hearings. ThinkProgress’ Victor Zapanta compiled this entertaining video compilation. Watch it:
As David Waldman writes, the “balls and strikes” analogy is “a ridiculously restrictive comparison, of course, given that most cases that reach the Supreme Court (at their own choosing, by the way) aren’t about balls and strikes. If they are, they’re generally not granted review.”
TP’s Ian Millhiser live-blogged today’s hearings. Check out his coverage here.
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
Sessions had his “balls” in a twist this morning.
July 13th, 2009 at 5:52 pmHee hee, I love hearing Di Fi say “balls and strikes.”
July 13th, 2009 at 5:55 pmDay 1 of Sotomayor hearings: ‘Balls’
Striking Karl Rove’s CHINS ; get it right , TP………
July 13th, 2009 at 5:57 pmLove the line “It’s hard to see balls and strikes from right field”. LOL
July 13th, 2009 at 5:59 pmThanks for the link to the live-blogging, TP.
I missed the whole thing.
July 13th, 2009 at 5:59 pmevangenital says:
——————————————————————————–
Sessions had his “balls” in a twist this morning.
July 13th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Raisins are already available in breakfast cereals ………
July 13th, 2009 at 5:59 pmNo one cares if this little weasel’s are on the morning market……….
The Republican Senators were “SHARPING”, their “KNIVES”, for tomorrow morning. They will be doing everything out side of having a “SHOOT OUT”, in the Hearing room, before the end of the day. If she isn’t willing to push their “RIGHT WING AGENDA”.
July 13th, 2009 at 6:02 pmChief Justice Roberts has the balls and strikes thing down pat. He “strikes” out rules to level the field for the progressive movement and tries to take monorities off the playing field by “deballing” the umpires. He should resign and become Commissioner of Debaseball.
July 13th, 2009 at 6:04 pmBTW – Al Franken’s address to Sotamyer today was excellent! He is off to a roaring start.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/31894403#31893754
July 13th, 2009 at 6:14 pmAnd even umpires get it wrong sometimes. Durbin had it right: You can’t see home plate from the outfield.
July 13th, 2009 at 6:17 pmSCOTUS Chief inJustice John Roberts is already lining up to be one of the worst in history if in fact people count for anything…
He hates the American public. He loves the GODLESS Corporations running this country.
July 13th, 2009 at 6:19 pmDixie, I do agree that we have a problem in Justice Roberts. He is quite favorable to the corporations as you say.
So not only do we have a right-leaning SCOTUS, we have the extremes of right leaning, and the liberal side is moderately liberal, so it seems quite out of balance to me. I hope Obama gets to replace one of the rightwingers during the next 4 years.
July 13th, 2009 at 6:37 pm#11 Ape-Man,
Thanks for the link.
Al Franken was perfect today with his comments. Smooooth…
July 13th, 2009 at 6:38 pmNaturally, this is going on during the All-Star Break, when there are no games going on…
So when do we get the first “steroid allegation”?
July 13th, 2009 at 6:48 pm“It’s my job to call balls and strikes and not to pitch or bat,” he said. (His record has proven contrary to that statement.)
but, being as he’s a bushie, who all reside in opposite land, we should’ve known – and surely most guessed – that he was saying exactly the opposite of what he meant…
it’s a given any more…
July 13th, 2009 at 6:54 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
hey… just noticed the new ‘vote’ buttons… great! … but…
wouldn’t it be FAIR to have a count for each UP or DOWN vote?
not everyone’s taste is the same…
thank gawd.
July 13th, 2009 at 7:09 pmlooktothehills says:
You can have her. She is nothing but a totem pole for hispanics. Our SCOTUS is mostly consisted of conservative judges.
So…what baseball analogy would that be? An intentional walk during a 5-4 game?
July 13th, 2009 at 7:09 pm#20 katy,
I flamed out on this earlier on another thread here and I still would like to see just what you just suggested happen. Then we would have a total vote count available too.
This is the thread and it’s quite lively:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/13/reed-starting-hipper-christian-coalition/comment-page-4/#comment-5723309
I confess to my misunderstandings in my posts there. I still think this new and fun feature can be improved.
July 13th, 2009 at 7:14 pmthanks dixie… i’ve been away most day…
will take some time through the evening to figure it out…
July 13th, 2009 at 7:16 pm“Balls and strikes” is the perfect metaphor for the Reichwhiners. It matches their “white and black” worldview while it supports the authority figure even when the video shows the pitch, called a strike, is in the dirt.
GOP politics, just like the major leagues, doesn’t allow replay to overturn the decision no matter how wrong it is.
July 13th, 2009 at 7:42 pmIt has nothing to do with the topic but, Cenk had a great line:
“That’s what happens when your party is down to a bunch of dumbasses“.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6gV8Cx7cSw&feature=channel_page
July 13th, 2009 at 7:51 pmRepubs would find something to criticize anyone that Obama had nominated. It is part of their “party of no” creed. In this case it is the empathy, with the next one it will be something else. Additionally Senator Sessions has a personal axe to grind, getting even for his rejection as a federal judge for being a racist, and he is apparantly more than willing to embrace his racism.
July 13th, 2009 at 8:01 pmThe reason why cases end up in the SCOTUS is because a law is ambiguous and needs to be interpreted; the law may violate the US Constitution on its face or in its application; or there is a point of procedure under the rules of the federal courts. The real battle for the SCOTUS is disguised under the “strict construction” argument. In reality, the Republicans want strict construction on certain matters but not on others. They are hypocrites. The Democrats adhere to the idea that the Constitution is not mired in concrete that was poured in 1789 so the Court cannot just look back to the document and how it might have been interpreted in 1789 but our current ideas of what is justice. The Dems believe that the law should adapt to modern times so the past is merely a departure point in interpreting the law. Sometimes the liberal justices go too far in their holdings such as the abortion case. The question is always interpreting the law without trying to make law. Some cases do not lend themselves to a matter of interpreting a law because the facts are unusual or make new claims under rights already specified in the Constitution.
July 13th, 2009 at 8:14 pmYou got that right, Wiz. The GOoPers have even forgotten, or never learned, that empathy is one of the chief defining characteristics of a human being. It take a twisted freak to demean it.
July 13th, 2009 at 8:16 pmThe Republicans credibility on “judical activism”, was eliminated when the Supreme Court picked George Bush as President. The Consititution says nothing about the court picking the President. Republicans should piss their pants in pure guilt if they even say the words “judical activism”.
July 13th, 2009 at 8:21 pmWonder how many of Repubs Senators got a warm,wet feeling between their loins in hearing the word “Balls” used frequently today?
July 13th, 2009 at 8:30 pmGreat to see SENATOR FRANKEN on the Judiciary Committee, and I hope he’s a good a Senator as Sheldon Whitehouse has turned out to be.
July 13th, 2009 at 8:36 pmI’m just pleased to see Senator Franken, ralph. As a Minnesotan I was pretty pissed about being short one Senator.
July 13th, 2009 at 8:52 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
As a troll, GOPtroll, you’re not even human.
July 13th, 2009 at 9:22 pmNor does his know his movies.
July 13th, 2009 at 9:28 pmWow. How did the troll get voted down so quickly, so close to the end of the thread?
Nice work, TPers.
July 13th, 2009 at 10:27 pmA lot of Balls, Bats, Diamond Shapes, mounds, and Catcher’s Mitts between all of the Demublicans and Republicrats.
July 13th, 2009 at 10:55 pmlooktothehills
You ignorant racist piece of garbage. You embarass all decent people.
July 13th, 2009 at 11:17 pmevangenital says:
Sessions had his “balls” in a twist this morning.
It is rather ironic that the most racist person in Congress, someone who was actually turned down as a judge because of his racism, has the nerve to call Sonia Sotomayor a racist.
Sessions is a mean spirited, evil, petty little man.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:42 am