Sotomayor Hearings To Begin July 13 - Republicans Outraged (Again)

Senator Patrick Leahy announced that the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor will begin July 13th. This will put her on track to be confirmed before the congressional recess in August.

Although this timeline is almost exactly the same as the one for Chief Justice John Roberts when he was nominated by President Bush in 2005, this hasn't stopped Senate Republicans from crying foul. In ANOTHER case of false outrage, Mitch McConnell says that "We're not clear yet how long it's going to take to work our way through her extensive record..."

I can now tell you how long it is going to take to examine her record: From now until July 12th. Again, the Republicans think they can still dictate these decisions even they though they were voted out of power. Maybe this will snap them back to reality. I was surprised when I heard Newsweek's Howard Fineman predict that the hearings would be held in the Fall. My reaction was why in the world would they put off until then when the Democrats are in control? Looks like I got it right this time.