The odds that Senate Republicans will be able to put up real, concerted opposition to Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court is slim. The odds that they could sustain a filibuster are even slimmer. But that doesn't mean conservatives don't want them to try.
Politico reports that more than 145 conservatives, including leaders like Grover Norquist, Richard Viguerie and Gary Bauer, have signed a letter that's scheduled to be delivered to the Senate GOP Tuesday. In it, they say they want to see a filibuster if that's what's needed to turn the confirmation battle into a "great debate" on judicial philosophy.
The group has an interesting leader: Manuel Miranda, once an advisor to former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. As Politico notes, Miranda resigned from his job "amid allegations that he improperly accessed thousands of memos and emails from Democratic staffers." Obviously, he's not popular with Democrats as a result. And he's not exactly popular on his own side of the aisle, either -- Republicans allied with current Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and angry that Miranda's taking their man on, aren't hesitating to bring up their opponent's troubled past.
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