Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa asked Judge Sotomayor some pointed questions today and recieved some unfocused if not downright evasive answers. Surprise Surprise.

As you’ll surely remember Sotomayor called abortion “settled” because of previous decisions by courts. So Grassley used her own statement about “settled” law as a basis for questioning her on gay marriage.

Jim Geraghty wrote:

Grassley began by focusing on cases that deal with the definition of marriage, and asks whether a case, Baker vs. Nelson, would be considered established precedent, settling the issue. (And, I suspect, hindering efforts at gay marriage.)

Sotomayor won’t be pinned down, noting that the issue may be “impending or pending” in the courts and could come before her if she were confirmed, and doesn’t want to prejudge the case.

Grassley got a little frustrated, and suggested that she was picking and choosing where she saw established precedent and where she saw pending matters. Citing other cases she mentioned, he said, “You didn’t seem to compromise or hedge on those matters. Why are you hedging now?”

Sotomayor apologizes and says that it’s been a while since she examined that case, perhaps as long ago as law school.

So, according to Sotomayor, abortion has been settled but the issue of marriage is up for grabs.

Typical judicial activist claptrap in that everything she agrees with is settled precedent while things she doesn’t agree with are open to change.