John Cornyn is partially responsible for the GOP regaining control of the Senate. As such, his statement was remarkably devoid of the shameless race-baiting of his colleagues--he knows that the GOP can't get back into the majority by alienating Latinos.
That doesn't mean his statement was absent distortions, suggesting that Sotomayor would use foreign law in interpreting the Constitution, based on another out of context quote. This is what she said:
I always find it strange when people ask me, "How do Americans' courts use foreign and international decisions -- law in making their decisions?" And I pause and say, "We don't use foreign or international law. We consider the ideas that are suggested by international and foreign law." That's a very different concept, and it's a concept that is misunderstood by many. And it's what creates the controversy that surround -- in America, especially -- that surrounds the question of whether American judges should listen to foreign or international law. And I always stop and say, "How can you ask a person to close their ears?"
Senator Tom Coburn also went after Sotomayor on foreign law, saying it should have no influence on American jurisprudence. He later quoted Greek philosopher Aristotle to make seperate point.
-- A. Serwer
