Connecticut Democratic senator Richard Blumenthal, not-so-subtly hinting that Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor should retire soon, so Biden can select her replacement and a Democratic-controlled Senate can confirm that replacement:
“I’m very respectful of Justice Sotomayor. I have great admiration for her. But I think she really has to weigh the competing factors,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. “We should learn a lesson. And it’s not like there’s any mystery here about what the lesson should be. The old saying — graveyards are full of indispensable people, ourselves in this body included.”
Oh, Blumenthal thinks Sotomayor is too old to remain as a Supreme Court justice, huh?
Blumenthal turned 78 in February. Sotomayor is 69 years old. And while Sotomayor has diabetes and travels with a medic, her mother lived to be 94.
Look, I’m as appalled as anybody else at what Blumenthal is saying, but we should probably cut him some slack, as old men tend to ramble and get confused. Or maybe he’s just having a traumatic flashback from Vietnam.