Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearings opened Monday against the backdrop of demographic changes that continue to alter the nation's politics. What drama exists this week is less the question of whether she will be confirmed than what the first Latina Supreme Court justice may contribute to those changing politics. Though the adage that the justices follow the election returns may still apply, grubby politics are not supposed to intrude on the dignified proceedings of the Supreme Court. But any barrier-shattering nomination brings with it broader political implications of which Democrats and Republicans are keenly aware. President Barack Obama's advisers said months ago that he hoped to find a replacement for Justice David Souter who could both make history and lower the temperature of what have become judicial confirmations filled with partisan fireworks. Based on opening day, he appeared to have accomplished both goals. Every expectation is that the hearings will be civil. As Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., put it, unless she melts down starting Tuesday, she will be confirmed. That hardly diminishes what is at stake as members of the Senate Judiciary Committee turn to questioning Sotomayor. Republicans have the greater burden this week. They must tread carefully, balancing their desire to use the hearings to frame a debate over legal philosophies that their constituents want to see with their concern that they do nothing to show insensitivity or disrespect toward the fastest-growing minority group in the country. Judicial conflicts of the past have been used to energize political bases in both parties. Conservative Republicans around the country are itching for a robust show of strength and an articulation of principles by their leaders in Washington, and they got that Monday, beginning with Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., the top-ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee. Sessions used his opening statement to pointedly express his reservations about Sotomayor's fitness for the high court. His doubts, shared by others in his party, include his concern over her assertion that a 'wise Latina woman' would reach a better legal judgment than a white male, and disagreements over her views on affirmative action as shown in the New Haven, Conn., firefighters' case in which she and her peers on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit were recently overturned by the high court. Sessions framed the conservative case against Sotomayor, and his GOP colleagues filled out the bill of particulars they will pursue this week. They object not only to some things Sotomayor has said, but to Obama's assertion that one of the attributes he wants in a Supreme Court justice is empathy. Does that, they asked, inevitably lead to a biased rendering of the law that unfairly favors one group over another? Republican Sens. Orrin G. Hatch of Utah and Jon Kyl of Arizona raised that issue Monday morning. How can a justice make sure he or she sets aside personal experiences and sympathies when interpreting the Constitution? Kyl wondered what will happen when Sotomayor ascends to the high court and is free from the restraints on any appeals court judge. He was blunt in questioning whether she would be an even-handed interpreter of the law. All of these are legitimate areas of inquiry for the Republicans. Sotomayor has been well prepped for these questions. In her opening statement, she offered a partial answer. 'In the past month, many senators have asked me about my judicial philosophy,' she said. 'Simple: fidelity to the law. The task of a judge is not to make law. It is to apply the law.' Even before she spoke, her Democratic advocates on the Judiciary Committee began to make the case that, as Sen. Charles Schumer of New York put it, by any fair reading of her record she is a mainstream jurist who takes an even-handed approach to the law. Still, the size of Sotomayor's expected margin in the Senate depends on how well she performs when she comes under more detailed questioning. With the outcome almost a foregone conclusion, there may be more for Republicans to lose than for Democrats to gain this week. Facing a demographic shift of significant proportions that threatens to keep them in minority status well into the future, their challenge will be to remain true to their principles while demonstrating that they are mindful that their party must adapt to a changing country. 