Some Senate Republicans are picking the right fight over Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s troubling Bill of Rights record, but other GOP Senators still need to hear from the grassroots.

Several legislators appear ready to make a principled stand during the confirmation process on the nature of the Constitution.  

As reported in CNN Political Ticker, Senator Jim DeMint (SC) stated that Sotomayor's recent ruling on the Second Amendment amounts to a challenge of whether the Constitution still applies in the United States.  "It's a very important question that goes much beyond the question of bearing arms, but whether or not we still are a constitutional republic," he said.
 
Although DeMint, Senator Jeff Sessions (AL), and a few others seem to be on target in making the confirmation battle about President Obama’s very liberal views on the Constitution, there are indications that other GOP Senators haven’t heard enough from their constituents and grassroots advocacy organizations.  

For example, the online publication Politico.com reports that some GOP legislators see no benefit in fighting Sotomayor’s elevation to the Supreme Court, since her nomination hasn’t been a “political lightning rod.”

Senator John Thune (SD) had previously said, “She doesn’t have the punch out there in terms of fundraising and recruiting.”

Senator Mel Martinez (FL) remarked, “I don’t think she’s the kind of person that invites that kind of reaction.”

Republicans in the Senate are badly outnumbered and, facing multiple liberal initiatives, are looking to limit their battles.  

Even with health care, the economy/budget/spending/deficit, regulation of the financial industry, takeover of the auto industry, card check, cap and trade, and hate crimes, to name just a few big legislative issues on the front burner, the Sotomayor nomination cannot be pushed back in terms of things to worry about.

If Sotomayor is confirmed to the Supreme Court, her record suggests that she is likely to do much damage on many significant matters over a very long period of time.

Americans United for Life (AUL) is conducting a campaign against Sotomayor in which she is called, “Worse Than Souter.”  Charmaine Yoest, President of AUL, said that, if confirmed, Sotomayor is likely to be much more liberal than retiring Justice David Souter.

Richard Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, urged GOP senators to fight hard against the confirmation of Sotomayor.  In an article in American Thinker , he said:

“Those who see this confirmation battle as about just Judge Sotomayor miss the larger point.  This is really about President Obama's harmful and dangerous view of government power. . .America is on a precipice.  The Sotomayor confirmation battle is the best chance for conservatives to articulate our constitutional view of governing and define Obama's attempt to alter our democracy.”