Supreme Court pick Sotomayor faces nomination politics

WASHINGTON -- The Coalition for Constitutional Values began television ads nationwide on Wednesday in support of Supreme Court nomineeSonia Sotomayor. On the other side, the Judicial Confirmation Network sent an online ad opposing her to 2.5 million people on its mailing list.

That's how the public relations campaign began over President Obama's historic nomination of the Hispanic appellate judge — with liberals able to spend freely on network and cable TV and conservatives limited to the less expensive Internet.

A day's campaigning may not define what's to come in the four months before Sotomayor hopes to be seated. For now, though, it shows Obama has united liberals behind his pick and left conservatives scouring her record for ammunition.

"How aggressive the effort is depends on whether more comes to light," said Tony Perkins of the conservative Family Research Council. "This is still kind of in the discovery process."

Many of Sotomayor's potential opponents, ranging from groups opposing abortion rights to those backing gun rights, have not committed to an aggressive campaign against her for several reasons:

• Her record as a judge is thin on issues such as abortion. "I think everyone's tired of having a fight over that issue," said Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor.

• Conservatives have other concerns, such as Obama's planned health care overhaul. "We're deciding whether now is the time to spend money on a national buy. We don't think it is," said Wendy Long of the Judicial Confirmation Network.

• Groups that could spend a lot on media advertising have taken a wait-and-see approach. "What we have now are concerns and questions" about Sotomayor's stance on the Second Amendment, said Andrew Arulanandam of the National Rifle Association. A U.S. Chamber of Commerce statement said it is "important that the next associate justice applies the law without bias."

The Committee for Justice and other groups that criticize what they call Sotomayor's judicial activism are focusing on fomenting opposition on the Web and organizing in key states — particularly those with Senate elections in 2010.