Epilepsy

Skimming through my NYT e-newsletter, Sotomayor is all over the place. My feeling is that she the politics surrounding her nomination is being given a ridiculous amount of vitual ink. One way of looking at it is the standard, "Conservative Spokesperson has Opinion: Is News." Whatever absurd statement a conservative spokesperson makes is reported as if it's relevant and important, with next to no analysis of its validity.

Nominee's Links With Advocates Fuel Her Critics
By RAYMOND HERNANDEZ and DAVID W. CHEN
Sonia Sotomayor's work as a board member of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund may become an issueduring her confirmation hearings.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/us/politics/29puerto.html?th&emc=th

Sotomayor's Sharp Tongue Raises Issue of Temperament
By JO BECKER and ADAM LIPTAK
Conservatives opposed to Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination see her demeanor on the bench as a potential vulnerability.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/us/politics/29judge.html?th&emc=th

Buzzwords Shape the Debate Over Confirmation
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
After Judge Sonia Sotomayor's opponents made an epithetof the word "empathy," her
supporters have begun using terms like "judicial modesty."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/us/politics/29memo.html?th&emc=th

But the hype over the last few days has really gotten on my nerves, and it occurred to me that there may be a better metaphor.

Have you ever witnessed a friend or acquaintance go through a seizure? I have. It's scary. And you want to help. And you want to look for "a message," a signal that the person is in there, trying to express what he/she needs help with.

But there is no message. Just rolling eyes, gnashing teeth, aimless, but incredibly powerful limb-swinging. Eventually, after a few seconds or a minute or two, your friend comes out of it, but is disoriented, confused, and, being human, ashamed. The shame is not really valid or earned, but it is very real.

The current convulsions in the republican party remind me a lot of that kind of situation. There is no signal, no sign of conciousness in there. Just mindless flailing and teeth gnashing. I'm afraid the best I can do is stand back and wait for it to pass. And when, like a nasty storm, it does, the republicans, being human, will feel disoriented and ashamed.

But in this case, that shame will be earned.