Sonia Sotomayor may be the one in the hot seat at her confirmation hearings next week, but that's not where the real spotlight will be shining. To Senate Republicans and conservative interest groups, these confirmation hearings are less about Sotomayor as the next Supreme Court justice and more about, well, everyone else.

They're about President Obama, red-state Democrats, the GOP base, and future high court nominees. After all, barring any major slipups, Sotomayor is almost guaranteed to be confirmed. That was the consensus from the outset among Democratic senators and liberals; and in the past few weeks, GOP senators and conservatives have begun to agree. Their focus has since shifted to finding other ways to make the most of the hearings.

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