That’s the title of my new Confirmation Tales post, which begins:
Late on a Friday afternoon, the day after Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation hearing ended, I received disconcerting news—and a request—from a Senate Judiciary Committee lawyer: Senator Orrin Hatch, a leading Republican on the committee and my former boss, was wobbly and might vote for Sotomayor. If he went south, it would be more difficult for other Republicans to vote against her. Could I put some pressure on him and reinforce the concerns about her?
Sometimes the target audience for my Bench Memos blog posts is very small, but this might be the only time that I was aiming to reach just one person. And I wanted to reach him quickly. Republican leader Mitch McConnell announced that afternoon that he would be voting against Sotomayor. So who knew when Hatch might declare his position?
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