Rob Simmons doesn’t think Sotomayor has done enough for Connecticut:
“I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt, but I am not an enthusiastic supporter,” Simmons said. “I’m from Connecticut, so I tend to judge a person on how they might have interacted with the people of my state.
That’s a pretty ridiculous standard to apply to a Supreme Court justice.
Like most Republicans who supposedly oppose activist judges, he thinks she should have been more of an activist here in overturning existing law:
Former Rep. Rob Simmons (R-Conn.) is similarly skeptical. He emphasized that Sotomayor deserves a fair hearing but said he is concerned about her ruling in the case of the New Haven, Conn., firefighters who were denied promotions because few minorities passed the promotional exam. Sotomayor affirmed the ruling in the circuit court but was recently overturned by the Supreme Court. The case has been front and center in the GOP’s early questioning.
… When I look at the New Haven firefighter case, I think her involvement was weak.”
Simmons had a centrist record in the House but faces a tough GOP primary for the nomination to face Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), so the pressure could be on him to go right.
Sam Caligiuri sounds like he might support her.
“As long as I were convinced that Judge Sotomayor respected the letter and intent of the Constitution and wouldn’t be unreasonably expansive in her reading of the Constitution, then she’s someone I’d be happy to support,” Caligiuri said.
