Free Republic

Here is video of New Haven, Connecticut firefighter Frank Ricci, of the Ricci Supreme Court Case, beginning his testimony today before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the confirmation hearing for Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Sotomayor ruled against Ricci in a lower court decision that was recently overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. . . . . . (Watch Video)

Joe the Plumber is not a fluke. Having perfected the politics of personal destruction Dems and their MSM army of winged monkeys are now employing a more frightening iteration: The politics of workaday citizen destruction.

No doubt the liberal Journo List of bloggers, reporters, and columnists thought this up. It's just their speed - smearing a private citizen who gets in the way of their agenda. In this case, the victim is firefighter Frank Ricci from New Haven, CT who sued after he was denied promotion when test results were thrown out because no minority fire fighter passed. This case was going to be a prime topic of testimony during the upcoming Sotomayor confirmation hearings and the liberals want to make sure that Ricci can't damage the far left judge's chances.

People for the American Way, the left-wing smear machine, is (In the words of McClatchy press service) quietly targeting Frank Ricci, the Connecticut firefighter whose successful lawsuit for racial discrimination has proven to be so inconvenient for Judge Sotomayor. Specifically, People for the American Way, along with other such drive-by hit artists, is urging reporters to scrutinize Ricci's allegedly "troubled and litigious work history." So far, the lefty blogosphere, at least, has taken up the call. Ricci is on the list of witnesses Republican Senators will call at Sotomayor's confirmation hearing. But does this make his "litigious work history" an...

President Obama is a bully, he doesn't like being questioned or crossed. Like most of the bullying kind if you disagree with him he will go after you with personal attacks full guns blaring. Just look at some examples of the people who have crossed the President and got a smack down by the`Bully-in-Chief, or his agents: * Gianna Jessen, a young woman who was born alive after a botched abortion. * Joe the Plumber * Retired Teachers and Cops who's pension funds were the primary investors in Chrysler. * The People at AIG who received contractually obligated bonuses. *...

Supporters of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor are quietly targeting the Connecticut firefighter who's at the center of Sotomayor's most controversial ruling. On the eve of Sotomayor's Senate confirmation hearing, her advocates have been urging journalists to scrutinize what one called the "troubled and litigious work history" of firefighter Frank Ricci. This is opposition research: a constant shadow on Capitol Hill. "The whole business of getting Supreme Court nominees through the process has become bloodsport," said Gary Rose, a government and politics professor at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn. On Friday, citing in an e-mail "Frank Ricci's troubled and...

Republicans plan to call a white firefighter whose reverse discrimination claim was rejected by Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor to testify against her. New Haven, Conn. firefighter Frank Ricci brought a lawsuit challenging his city's decision to scrap the results of a promotion test because too few minorities scored highly enough to qualify. He's one of 14 witnesses Republicans will call during Senate hearings on Sotomayor's confirmation that open Monday. Sotomayor was part of an appellate court panel that rejected Ricci's claim. The Supreme Court reversed the ruling last week. Democrats' witnesses include New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former FBI...

The case of Ricci v. DeStefano could provide an opportunity to move our country in the direction of the genuinely color-blind society - a goal long sought by men and women of good will. President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, sits on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, where she heard the arguments for Ricci v. DeStefano, now pending before the High Court.The case has been brought by white firefighters in New Haven who were denied promotions after an examination yielded no black firefighters eligible for advancement. The city decided to throw out the test, calling its action "racially...

NEW HAVEN — Frank Ricci has been a firefighter here for 11 years, and he would do just about anything to advance to lieutenant. The last time the city offered a promotional exam, he said in a sworn statement, he gave up a second job and studied up to 13 hours a day. Mr. Ricci, who is dyslexic, paid an acquaintance more than $1,000 to read textbooks onto audiotapes. He made flashcards, took practice tests, worked with a study group and participated in mock interviews. Mr. Ricci did well, he said, coming in sixth among the 77 candidates who took...

Frank Ricci -- a firefighter in New Haven, Conn. -- spent months listening to study tapes as he drove to work and in the evenings, preparing for a promotional test. It was a once-a-decade chance to move up to a command rank in the fire department. Ricci earned a top score but no promotion. The city had coded the test takers by race, and of the top 15 scorers, 14 were white and one was Latino. Since there were only 15 vacancies, it looked as though no blacks would be promoted. After a racially charged debate that stretched over four...