Safe To Vote Against Her? Ctd

Serwer counters Green and Ponnuru:

Somehow, it doesn't occur to either of them to mention that Kagan is less controversial because she's white, because she's not the first woman on the Court, the first Jew, or even the first Jewish woman. Her nomination to the Court isn't perceived as a usurpation of a position of power meant for white people. And it's really quite odd that Green and Ponnuru conclude that Sotomayor wasn't "safe" to vote against. Only nine Republicans voted for her. How is a vote in which three-quarters of the party's caucus votes "no" not a safe "no" vote?

I find the hand-wringing over this interesting because I can't imagine a scenario in which Sotomayor could have been confirmed with Kagan's resume.
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