I agree with Matt Lewis that “Frank the Firefighter” is a useful tool for Republicans to fight emotionalism with emotionalism but they should also point out Sotomayor fails Obama’s empathy requirement:

“I will seek someone who understands that justice isn’t about some abstract legal theory or footnote in a casebook; it is also about how our laws affect the daily realities of people’s lives, whether they can make a living and care for their families, whether they feel safe in their homes and welcome in their own nation,” Obama said. “I view that quality of empathy, of understanding and identifying with people’s hopes and struggles, as an essential ingredient for arriving at just decisions and outcomes.”
During the campaign, the president cited Brown v. Board of Education as an example where justices used empathy to right a legal wrong.

According to Lewis, Frank studied hard for the test to be promoted but was denied promotion because of the color of his skin. She fails at the very things Obama lists as qualifications. If I were a Republican Senator, I would be looking at all of her cases to determine just how empathic she is.

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