What does it feel like to be a Judge, knowing that the primary reason you have been promoted twice -- first to the U.S. Court of Appeals and then, maybe, to the Supreme Court -- is because you're a Hispanic woman. Personally, I wouldn't feel real good about myself knowing this was the primary reason I got my job. I would want to be promoted on the basis of being a good, if not great, judge.
But, with Sonia Sotomayer, this is exactly what is going to happen.
For Sotomayor, the Democrats only care that she is a Hispanic -- first --- a woman -- and second -- that she has a "great life story." Her experience and her decisions about the law are apparently immaterial. Just forget about her quirky ways of reaching court decisions. Just forget about her being so out of step with the mainstream that the Supreme Court has had to override her decisions 60 percent of the time. Just forget about her judicial activism that tends to rewrite the laws of this country without any representation by the American people. Just forget about her possible racist views about being "better" than any "white judges" because she's a "Latina woman" that may cloud any future Supreme Court decisions.
You know damn well that Obama "only" picked Sotomayor to put the Republicans in a kind of political box. She is being used by Obama as a pawn; and, she has to know that. Obama knows that any kind of adverse Republican treatment of Sotomayor, including any hard questioning or any no-votes, will further alienate the Hispanic voter and hurt the Republicans. She's being used as a pawn for pure political reasons. And, again, I would think that any person who has the least amount of pride in themselves, and pride in their life's work, would feel cheapened because they aren't being picked on the basis of qualifications or what they've done over the years in their chosen profession.
Let's face it. Sotomayor has the "cred" to be a judge. But, so do a lot of judges. The real questions are: Out of the many thousands of Judges, is she the right one to be put on the Supreme Court's bench for life? Does she have the all-encompassing, legal temperament to be the next Supreme Court Justice? Is she truly a person who will make the right, legal decisions for all Americas; regardless of race or economic stature? Does she harbor too many biases to be truly a fair Supreme Court Justice?
But, sadly, I don't think we will ever know any of this because she is only going to get her job because she is a "Hispanic woman" and because she could hurt the Republicans politically. That makes her "nothing" but a great political pawn for both the Democrats and Barack Obama. Sonia, where's any real pride in that?
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That folks expect that the cultural pendulum will not, or should not, swing back and forth, and that Newtonian physics are not applicable to life, is fascinating. Elected officials come with all points of view, and represent the full spectrum of values. Why shouldn’t the people who they appoint? "You Can't Always Get What You Want."
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