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AP Photo/Pace University
A mere two days ago, President Obama announced his pick for Supreme Court Judge David Souter's replacement. Federal Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor is an ideal candidate. She has a lot of experience in the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals and her credentials are impeccable. She graduated summa cum laude from Princeton and was an editor for the law review at Yale.
It has been hard for the radical right to criticize President Obama's choice but they have been industrious in their efforts. Newt Gingrich, Tom Tancredo, Rush Limbaugh, Karl Rove and other unelected leaders of the Republican party have worked hard to come up with reasons why she shouldn't be confirmed. Pat Robertson of MSNBC said she was an Affirmative Action pick.
The final four nominees on Obama's short list were female. But over half the citizens of this country are female. Of the nine Supreme Court judges for the United States, only one is female. One could argue that the bench is not balanced with only one female when over half of the citizens in our country are female. Had President Obama chosen a woman who was not qualified to be on the Supreme Court, the criticism would have some credibility but Sotomayor's credentials speak for themselves.
Judge Sotomayor will in all likelihood be confirmed before the fall recess of Congress. Many of those who have criticized her as a choice to replace Justice Souter have been unelected white male Republicans such as Karl Rove, Glenn Beck, Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh. We can dismiss LImbaugh because his motives are always geared towards raising ratings for his radio program. We can also dismiss Newt Gingrich by remembering that he, while leading the rally against President Clinton for his affair with an intern was having an affair of his own with his young secretary. In other words, nothing that comes from Newt Gingrich can be trusted to be based on honest concerns.
Easiest of all to dismiss is Karl Rove, a man who is a college dropout and whose complaint against Sotomayor is that she might not be smart enough. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence to show that he is wrong.
But there are voices of reason from the Republican party regarding the Sotomayor nomination. Mark McKinnon, former media advisor to President Bush told Rachel Maddow that Senator Jeff Sessions (R), Alabama, has said Sotomayor will probably be confirmed and that it's likely he will vote for her. McKinnon's interview with Rachel Maddow last night was a welcome reminder that there are some voices of reason left in the Republican party.
The complaints from the radical right that because Sotomayor is Hispanic and a woman, she is somehow less qualified for a position on the Supreme Court than someone else says much more about the people who are saying so than they do about Sotomayor.
It seems however, that criticizing a Supreme Court nomination has spawned a cottage industry for fundraising on both sides of the aisle. Politicians use Supreme Court judge nominations as fundraising fodder.
Tom Goldstein wrote on Scotusblog:
The attacks are inevitable and tremendously regrettable, just as they were for Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito. A cottage industry – literally an industry, given the sums of money raised and spent – now exists in which the far left and right either brutalize or lionize the President’s nominees. Because the absence of controversy means bankruptcy, it has to be invented by both sides, whatever the cost to the nominee personally and to the integrity of the judiciary nationally.
Comments
One problem with her is that a white man with the vast experience he would have gained, would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a Latino female who has not had the white experience.
Being a member of a racist Latino Supremacist group La Raza, should be enough to disqualify her.
Happy, you forgot, she is also a misandrist, as shown by her attack on white men.
She is scary looking!!!
Interesting - what did Karl Rove and the boys think of her when Bush 41 appointed her. Alito said that he would take into consideration his ethnicity when making decisions. no conservative outcry on that front either.
"Happy Indep says:
Being a member of a racist Latino Supremacist group La Raza, should be enough to disqualify her."
La Raza is as racist as the N.A.A.C.P.(which is not at all) it would be nice if you got your facts some place other than Foxnews and Limbaugh's show. Careful what you say next, if you care not to be considered a racist. If you don't care then go right ahead and speak badly about the N.A.A.C.P. and La Raza (they both serve the same purpose, just for different races)
HappyI: it must be scary to see women and minorities who are smart and powerful pass you by.
@Walrus, the issue is whether or not Sotomayor is a racist, and the answer is YES.
Geez, powerful, educated, articulate,smart, classy, and successful women are always a threat to lesser men. That is why Obama was comfortable nominating her.
Why wouldn't Obamao be comfortable with Sotomayor since they both have so much in common. Both are proven racist(i.e. 20-year member in a racist church, buddy to hate monger Brother Louie, denying white firefighters promotions despite higher test scores, racist comments, etc.), and both are recipients of affirmitive action. Wonder about Obamao's grades at Columbia U?
walrus, why can one not criticize the NAACP and La Raza?
Is that the new rule. ANY person of color OTHER than white is off limits just because of the color of their skin?
Read La Razas own web site.
Here are the goals of La Raza from their own site. "NCLR supports comprehensive immigration reform that includes the following principles: 1) restoring order by getting the 12 million undocumented people in our country to come forward, obtain legal status, learn English, and assume the rights and responsibilities of citizenship while creating smart enforcement policies that uphold national security and the Constitution;
3) unclogging legal channels to reunite families and allow future workers to come in with the essential rights and protections that safeguard our workforce"
Which is #1 legalize ALL 30,000,000 illegal aliens here now.
#3 OPEN BORDERS for 40,000,000 more family members of those newly legalized immigrants.
Sotomayor will work to these goals from the bench at SCOTUS as she has said because
"it is where policy is made."
My FIRST post here was a COPY of what Sotomayor herself said with only the color of the skin changed.
Who is the racist?
Penny says: "HappyI: it must be scary to see women and minorities who are smart and powerful pass you by. May 28, 10:53 PM"
Penny, you may be right. At least I will never be scared by you.
Jean Williams says: Geez, powerful, educated, articulate,smart, classy, and successful women are always a threat to lesser men."
We now know what your thoughts of men are, and they aren't many.
Happy Ind: you're right you won't ever have to be scared by me. As an unpowedul woman working as a waitress, I have to resort to spitting in your food. Oops.
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