Sonia Sotomayor: A Woman, A Hispanic, A Supreme Court Justice?

Monday, July 13, 2009
Op-Ed by Blake James.

Sonia Sotomayor, a woman, a Hispanic, a Supreme Court Justice?

There is no doubt that in 2009 far right Americans have been forced to bite their tongues. The most recent bloodshed was the selection of Sonia Sotomayor as a nominee to replace Justice David Souter. Sotomayor, deeply rooted in her Hispanic heritage was born in arguably the most American part of the nation, New York, New York. Sotomayor started her climb to the top of the Judicial branch in 1979 as Assistant District Attorney for the New York district.

The Critics

Conservatives brought their A-game recently in efforts to push the confirmation date back into September. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., when asked about Sotomayor after her controversial ruling in the Ricci vs. DeStefano discrimination case is quoted saying "It is a troubling philosophy for any judge — let alone one nominated to our highest court — to convert empathy into favoritism for particular group,” strong words there McConnell. Needless to say I have a feeling many people are jumping to conclusions about Sotomayor, and the dozen NRA board members that have written in to their senators to oppose her confirmation are a punch line by themselves. Not to mention Karl Rove and his uneasy feelings on Sotomayor’s “Intellectual strength,” sorry Rovie but when you say things like Palin retiring will “hurt” her chances for 2012 it makes me think you should be getting out of the game any time soon.

The Truth

An overtly conservative blog Hot Air has been recorded saying that Sotomayor’s confirmation is “a done deal”. “The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey found that 47 percent of Americans want the Senate to confirm Sotomayor, while 40 percent do not and the remaining 13 percent have no opinion.” Monday will be interesting to say the least, but I have a feeling Sotomayor will come out on top. She wants to do “good” for the United States, and I think she has the ability to do so. Vice President Joe Biden sent an email on the 10^th that many of us may have received. The email may have swayed some Americans opinions, after all, who could say no to such moving rhetoric like “Judge Sotomayor's brilliance and unique legal qualifications have stood strong against fierce scrutiny. Law enforcement officials have praised her tough-mindedness and experience as a prosecutor and trial judge, and just this week she earned the highest possible rating from the American Bar Association.” Kudos to Biden whose foot stayed planted firm to the ground this time.

Thanks to Eli Yokley, Zach Sewell, and The Fuse Joplin. Hopefully I can write for you all again.

(Blake recently competed at the National Forensic League's national tournament in Birmingham, Alabama. Prior to that, Blake competed in several debate competitions, as well as the district FBLA event.)