19 Umpires
Sports analogies are always popular in the halls of Congress and on the campaign trail, and ever since SCOTUS CJ John Roberts famously compared himself to a baseball umpire during his confirmation hearings, they have a new place in the review of judicial nominees.
The Roberts metaphor was mentioned several times today, and generally speaking, the sports talk was frequent. Perhaps it marked a tribute to SCOTUS appointee Sonia Sotomayor's role in ending the baseball strike of '95. But all the chatter about balls and strikes also reinforced the decidedly male nature of the Senate Judiciary Cmte., which includes two women among 19 members.
Here's a taste:
Ranking Member Jeff Sessions (R-AL): "Such an approach to judging means that the umpire calling the game is not neutral, but instead feels empowered to favor one team over the other."
Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), citing some landmark cases that expanded individual rights: "These momentous decisions were not simply the result of an umpire calling balls and strikes."
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX): "To borrow a football analogy, a lower court judge is like the quarterback who executes the plays -- not the coach who calls the plays."
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA): "... I do not believe that Supreme Court justices are merely umpires calling balls and strikes. Rather I believe that they make the decisions of individuals who bring to the court their own experiences and philosophies."
(STEVEN SHEPARD)