Hoping For The Best

by digby

This says it all. Here’s Broder:

I have to believe that many Republican senators will seize the opportunity Obama has provided and prove they are not as narrow-minded as their most extreme backers. And then hope that, like some mirror image of Souter, Sotomayor will surprise the world with some of her votes.

Naturally, these Republican Senators will be “proving” they aren’t as narrow minded as Rush Limbaugh, not simply reading polls and tea leaves and recognizing that insulting the first Hispanic Supreme Court nominee by calling her a racist is political suicide. And gosh, let’s hope she’s the mirror image of Souter and will be much more conservative than anyone thinks she is, because that would be the best of all possible worlds.

I’m sure Broder’s most cherished fantasy is that Sotomayor will make her mark as a great Supreme Court justice by being the deciding vote to reverse Roe vs Wade. That Villager wet-dream can only be truly fulfilled with liberal apostasy. As Andrea Mitchell noted on MSNBC this morning, Sotomayor’s chances are greatly helped by the fact that pro-choice groups are a bit concerned that her record is opaque on abortion issues and that Obama went out of his way not to probe her about it. Their hopes are obviously very high that liberals are going to be very disappointed. What could be better than that?

Update: Gibbs sent some pretty clear signals today that Sotomayor assured the president that she agreed that Roe was settled law.
(I don’t know why we have to always talk in riddles about this issue but apparently we do.) Anyway, I’m sure this greatly disappoints the Villagers, but their hope will undoubtedly remain undiminished that she is either being purposefully obtuse about her beliefs or will have an epiphany that will make her change her mind. Nothing would thrill them more than to have Sotomayor turn out to be a conservative.

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