Leahy's Opening Statement
Senator Patrick Leahy’s opening statement is typically long and not focused. Leahy said that he will be conducting the “most transparent confirmation hearing ever held.” In the next sentence, Senator Leahy ripped President Bush and said that the Sotomayor process will be more transparent than the hearing for the confirmation of Supreme Court Justices Roberts and Alito. Sen. Leahy not missing an opportunity to attack former President Bush. Senator Leahy ends with a pre-emptive strike against the argument that Sotomayor is not a strict constructionist. Leahy stated “we are a country bound together by the constitution –- the rule of law –- not one law for one color and not another.” The Leahy statement that Sotomayor is “committed to the law not ideology,” is an attempt to fight the perception that Sotomayor is a nominee with selective empathy for litigants she agrees with.