Sotomayor-empathy carping makes Klobuchar ‘put pillow over my head’

Updated: U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar woke up today to a colleague’s voice on her clock radio, sounding off against the Supreme Court nomination of Sonia Sotomayor because of “the empathy standard.” On the floor of the Senate she told of her reaction: “I kind of put the pillow over my head.”

Whose dulcet tones stirred Minnesota’s senior senator from her sleep? It was probably Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), but it could just as well have been been Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.).

Rather than hit the snooze button or throw the clock across the room, Klobuchar reported to work, where she led an hour’s worth of speeches in support of Sotomayor from Democratic women senators: Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Kirsten Gillebrand of New York, and Patty Murray of Washington State.

Klobuchar served as emcee, introducing each speaker, providing segues and delivering her own impassioned remarks on behalf of Sotomayor. Among several letters of support she read was one from former FBI director (and judge) Louis Freeh, who cited the example of a Minnesota-born former U.S. Supreme Court justice, Edward Devitt.

Klobuchar repeated parts of her statement during the Judiciary Committee hearings on the Sotomayor nomination last week, including her tale of meeting an airport worker at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport who asserted Sotomayor “always lets her feeling get in the way of the law.”

With reference to the travails of female trailblazers of jurisprudence such as Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Klobuchar said, “We’ve come a long way.”

With reference to senators who have said they’ll oppose Sotomayor, Klobuchar added, “I hope my colleagues will also come a long way.”

Update: Here are video clips from Klobuchar’s remarks: