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I expected the right wing to be opposed to President Obama's nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. I'm pretty sure Obama could have nominated Jesus Christ himself to the court and Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and that crowd would find fault with the choice.
But it's fascinating -- and maybe a positive development -- to see some folks on the left concerned as well.
In Wednesday's edition, the New York Times reported that Nancy Keenan, president of Naral Pro-Choice America, wrote a latter urging supporters to press senators to demand that Judge Sotomayor reveal her views on privacy rights before any confirmation vote.
"Discussion about Roe v. Wade will — and must — be part of this nomination process," Keenan wrote. "As you know, choice hangs in the balance on the Supreme Court as the last two major choice-related cases were decided by a 5-to-4 margin."
What apparently concerns Keenan are several cases in which Sotomayor ruled, including one in which she upheld the Bush (43) administration's policy of withholding money from overseas clinics that provided abortion information and another in which she said pro-life protesters deserved their day in court.
Aside from that, she apparently has never really had to rule on any of the key issues involved in Roe v. Wade.
Those folks who consider the right to an abortion the paramount issue facing this country want to know where she stands. They're understandably scared that a pro-choice judge (David Souter) will be replaced by a pro-life judge.
In case you wonder about my terminology, I call both sides what they prefer to be called, whether I agree with them or not.
What's interesting here is that Obama apparently did not make abortion a litmus test. He just set out to find a good replacement for Souter.
Now if I were a conspiracy theorist -- which I'm not -- I might say that NARAL and others are not really worried, but they know if they attack Sotomayor, it makes her more palatable to the right.
As for me, I'm thrilled to see a nominee being attacked by the left AND the right. It tells me we might just get a good, sensible justice out of all this.
