Going into this week, Sonia Sotomayor’s chances are dipping by the hour.

“Sonia Sotomayor will begin her confirmation hearings next week with some of the highest levels of public opposition of any Supreme Court nominee in the last two decades, according to a new poll by CNN and the Opinion Research Corporation.

In fact, only one nominee had a higher level of opposition: Harriet Miers, who was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2005. Miers later withdrew her nomination under questions about her qualifications from both the political left and right.

Forty-seven percent of respondents to the poll say they would like to see the U.S. Senate vote to confirm Sotomayor versus forty-percent who say they would not. In the final CNN poll taken before Miers withdrew her nomination, forty-three percent of respondents said the Senate should oppose her confirmation.

No other recent nominee, not even Robert Bork, whose own nomination under President Ronald Reagan was scuttled, faced public opposition this severe. In the last poll taken during the Bork confirmation fight, thirty-eight percent wanted to see him confirmed versus thirty-five percent who did not.

All other nominees polled by CNN—Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Roberts and Samuel Alito—enjoyed wide margins of public support.”

Don’t believe the media about how she is a shew-in, as beginning tomorrow Senate lines will be flooded by opposition groups aiming to derail the process. One of these lobby groups, the NRA is also planning a few surprises via the media this week, running ads in key senatorial states.

The appearance of Frank Ricci and other firefighters should also prove to be a powerful punch as well.

Above all, unlike Democrats who went after Miquel Estrada, this won’t be about Sotomayor’s race, but about her judgments, which in in the minds of many people disqualifies her.

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