Is it just me, or wasn't Lindsay Graham's remark to Sotomayor yesterday sexist and inappropriate

[CTyankee]

in a Senate confirmation hearing?

I'm talking about his statement "barring a total meltdown you'll be confirmed." His voice alone is pissy and whiny, but the text of his statement was demeaning and never would have been said to a white male candidate...

[billyoc]

1. That could be just you.

He conceded defeat, pure and simple.

[CTyankee]

3. I've never heard a Dem talk like that in a SCOTUS Senate confirmation hearing.

My radar is pretty good...

[marmar]

2. It was extremely racist as well....He said, "Republicans would have chosen someone else....

....We would chosen (Estrada)"

Translation: If we HAD to pick a Latino/a, we would have chosen another one.

[alsame]

4. I thought so also. nt

[tularetom]

5. The bad news is barring a total meltdown the SC voters will continue to elect this twit

The good news is that there is a very good chance of him having a total meltdown when some facts about him become widely known.

[CTyankee]

11. hmm, wonder what those facts would be? nt

[mitchum]

16. That he is a co...

mmunist?

[mitchum]

15. The correct term for a Graham breakdown is "hissy fit"

:)

[damonm]

17. I doubt it...

this is SC we're talking about - where Mark Sanford can ignore the responsibilities of his office to run off with his SA tart and not be forced out of office (or run outta the state on a rail, which SHOULD happen).

[TreasonousBastard]

6. Nah, just incredibly stupid.

[countingbluecars]

7. It's not just you.

The "meltdown" comment irked me. He would not have said that to a man.

[rvablue]

8. No, it's not just you. It was my first reaction...."barring a total meltdown"

as if this honorable and experienced lawyer and judge, who has already sat through a Senate judiciary grilling, is someone going to erupt into a sobbing fit because of the likes of Lindsey Graham and Jeff Sessions, who she already went toe-to-toe with in '97.

Yeah, it was Lindsey's little jab, before he had to admit there is no reasonable reason not to vote "yes" on this confirmation.

((edit to add: if you haven't read the Q&A with Bader Ginsburg in this Sunday's NYT mag, you must. She discusses the importance and experience of being female on the court))

[CTyankee]

13. I read the Bazelon piece. It was excellent.

Sotomayor's response was silence but I noticed a slight smile on her face, as if she knew this would be coming in some form or fashion...she was right...

[madmom]

9. I thought it extremely sexist and it pissed me off. Would he have said that to a man?Any man?

[supernova]

10. He said it to be pissy; and she did the right thing

by not responding to it.

Sometimes, you gotta not let people get a rise out of you, which I'm sure she is very familiar with.

[CTyankee]

12. If Graham thinks his little act is "cute" he's got his head up his arse.

At a certain point, this act is gonna be his downfall...I'm hoping for some really good "stuff" on this guy and I hope it demolishes him.

[Bluenorthwest]

14. I sat there trying to envision what a total meltdown would look like

in such a hearing. Is there precedent? Are there total meltdowns past to refer to?
And then there is Sonia. I tried to imagine this woman having even a semi-melt down. I could not picture it. I could see me having a total meltdown. Easily. Not her. It just does not seem to be her nature to lose her cool.

[msanthrope]

18. He might as well have referred to PMS--it was that blatant. n/t

[Blue_In_AK]

19. I don't see it as sexist.

Men can have meltdowns, too. I've seen it on numerous occasions.

ed. As usual, I see that I'm a minority woman here. One with thick skin. :hide:

[supernova]

20. FWIW, I also thought he meant

HIS meltdown, not hers.

:D

[Blue_In_AK]

21. Good point.

:) It must be difficult for them keeping up this continuous negativity. I don't know how they do it.

[CTyankee]

22. I think he said "unless you have a total meltdown".nt

[masuki bance]

23. I thought it was totally anti-nuke. nt

[theothersnippywshrub]

24. His entire line of questioning reminded me of the children's story "Little anti-Black Rambo."

I am sure you remember that story.

Little anti-Black Rambo was deathly afraid of Wise Black Judges because he knew that they might justly rule against the long established and time honored rule of White Superiority from which he and his family had benefited for generations. Little anti-Black Rambo also was deathly afraid of Wise Latino Judges because Latino might mean "brown" which is closer to "black" than to "white" and thus a Wise Latino Judge also might justly rule against the entirely justified, in Little anti-Black Rambo's mind, rule of White Superiority.

Little anti-Black Rambo thus was terrified when he entered by accident a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room and discovered a hearing being held on the confirmation of a Wise Latina Judge nominated to the Supreme Court of the United States. At first, Little anti-Black Rambo did not know what to do. Then he realized that if he could get the Wise Latina Judge to chase herself around a tree she would turn into melted butter.

But Little anti-Black Rambo was shocked when she laughed at him. And he was totally demoralized when she farted in his general direction and he turned into slightly off white pancake batter. And Little anti-Black Rambo could never again attend a GOP caucus without wearing a white sheet to cover his shame. Or something like that.