Obama Nominates Empathetic and Possibly Racist Judge

The long awaited moment has arrived – President Obama has decided on a nominee for the opening on the Supreme Court. Nominee number one for President Obama is Sonia Sotomayor. She is a judge on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. Notably, she embodies two minority constituencies; she is a woman and a Hispanic. Diversity is fine, a true statesman and a true conservative should not see color and should only judge people as Dr. M.L. King would, by the content of their character.

So, let’s examine the content of Judge Sotomayors character. From the New York Times (a very reputable and objective news outlet…), I have obtained a list of quotations from Judge Sotomayor. In one, she claims that the Court of Appeals is where policy is made. Clearly, she does not take issue with legislating from the bench. Unfortunately, the role of a judge is to apply the law as it reads, not make new law. Legislation should originate in the legislature.

Perhaps President Obama nominated Judge Sotomayor because her legislation from the bench will be “empathetic.” Remember, of course, he is quoted as saying that he thought his nominee should have empathy when making decisions. I wonder where the term “empathy” is mentioned in the Constitution?

There is evidence that Judge Sotomayor may be empathetic. She has said that “gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging.” She goes on to claim that diversity in the Supreme Court “will have an effect on the development of the law and on judging.” This is troubling because it seems as though Judge Sotomayor does not view the law as though it ought to be applied equally to everyone. This in and of itself is an issue because the law is not something that applies differently to one minority group than another minority group – or a majority group. This is exactly what the Civil Rights Movement used to be about, equality before the law.

The above quotes do no imply, necessarily, the Judge Sotomayor is racist but this quote does: “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.” In other words, the life and experiences of a Latina woman allows that minority group to reach a better conclusion that a typical white male. If I were to claim that, say, I could reach better conclusions than Clarence Thomas simply because he is black; I would be instantly labeled as a racist white supremacist. It appears as though there is a double standard.

Needless to say, I hope that cooler heads prevail and the Senate votes to not approve President Obama’s appointee to the Supreme Court. An objective look at the statements I have provided sheds light on Judge Sotomayor and what they reveal is quite disturbing. It is likely that the nomination will be politicized, Democrats versus Republicans (if the Republicans will stand up for their principles). I hope that Democrats will not make this a political issue and look at the record. For example, I understand that 80% of Judge Sotomayors decisions have been overturned by the Supreme Court. Does that qualify her to be on the highest court in the land? Also, I hope that Republicans are not afraid to be tough on the nominee because this is a great opportunity to draw a stark contrast between the GOP and President Obama. Some have said that perhaps Republicans will not be tough on Sotomayor because she is Hispanic and Republicans will look to capture the Hispanic vote in the future.

To me, it is simple, this is a test. Will Republicans choose politics or principle? Will the Democrats cave in and fall in line behind Obama or examine the record and vote against Sotomayor? Perhaps they will not have to cave in. Perhaps legislation from the bench and a distortion of equality before the law is what they want. Either way, this could get very interesting.

Link to New York Times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/us/15judge.html