This is everywhere, but I have one thing to say about it so I will

[trinityvixen]

It's official: Obama nominates Sotomayor for SCOTUS Reading the brief comments she makes about her life in that article is still plenty enough to make me choke up on sobs. She sounds like an amazing woman. I hope she can be all that she is reputed to be.

Naturally, what jumps out at me more, since I won't/can't defend her record without more research, is what those who are already opposed to her are saying. Specifically, this:

“Judge Sotomayor is a liberal activist of the first order who thinks her own personal political agenda is more important than the law as written,” said Wendy E. Long, counsel to the Judicial Confirmation Network, an activist group. “She thinks that judges should dictate policy, and that one’s sex, race and ethnicity ought to affect the decisions one renders from the bench.”

Dear Wendy E Long,

You are a dipshit.

It's not that one's sex and/or race/ethnicity ought to affect decisions, my dear. It's that they do. Period. If Judge Sotomayor believes this is so, good for her. It proves she is smarter than you. Granted, this is not hard, but still, kudos to Judge Sotomayor.

Have fun never being taken seriously, you twit.

Sincerely,

trinityvixen

Comments

[kent-allard-jr.livejournal.com]

“Judge Sotomayor is a liberal activist of the first order who thinks her own personal political agenda is more important than the law as written,” said Wendy E. Long, counsel to the Judicial Confirmation Network, an activist group. “She thinks that judges should dictate policy, and that one’s sex, race and ethnicity ought to affect the decisions one renders from the bench.”

Sounds good to me!

Really, I don't think this rises to the level of twittitude, it's just a collection of standard conservative cliches about the judiciary: activist judge ... liberal ... legislate from the bench ... zzzz. They would've said the same thing about any nominee to the left of John Roberts.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

And they will do, too. This is just the salvo from the increasingly marginalized reactionary conservative fraction that they found for this first article about the nomination. As the article points out, the White House is totally cool with conservatives going after Sotomayor because they're pretty much guaranteed to alienate a lot of Hispanic voters if they do. It's quite the political choice. :)

[saturn-shumba.livejournal.com]

I'm just happy that she's going to help break up that extreme Sausage Fest that is the Supreme Court. (Maturity, I have none.)

And yes, Wendy E Long, you are a dipshit. God forbid someone draw on their life experiences as a woman minority. What are you, a fucking robot? OMG are there robots now???

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I look forward to Ginsburg getting some help whapping Kennedy upside his fat head when he tries to decide for women how they should feel. LEGALLY.

[edgehopper.livejournal.com]

It's not that one's sex and/or race/ethnicity ought to affect decisions, my dear. It's that they do. Period. If Judge Sotomayor believes this is so, good for her.

You misunderstand. The question isn't whether or not sex/race/ethnicity affect decisions, but whether judges should try to minimize their influence or celebrate it. As a conservative lawyer, what concerns me about Sotomayor's infamous line "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion [as a judge] than a white male who hasn't lived that life," isn't her recognition that life experiences affect judgment, but that she thinks it's a good thing for life experiences to affect judgment (particularly at the appellate level, where judges aren't deciding questions of fact.)

The job of a Supreme Court justice isn't to be empathetic or to prefer minorities, but to dispassionately interpret the law and set rules for the lower courts. The place for empathy is at the trial court level, where judges have to make determinations of fact.

That being said, I also think she's fully qualified to be a Supreme Court justice; were I a senator, I would vote for her confirmation.

[kent-allard-jr.livejournal.com]

But life experiences do affect judgment, and I don't see that they shouldn't. The idea that only a Tabula Raza could render impartial judgment seems wrongheaded to me. (A good thing, too, since they don't exist.)

[hslayer.livejournal.com]

The real issue is whether one's belief that one's own experiences are somehow "more valid" than another's - especially as a result of one's race and gender - is suspect.

The REAL real issue is whether such an isolated statement is likely to represent the full spectrum of what one believes. I'd love to hear some of the things you or I have said taken out of context at a Senate confirmation hearing! :D

[edgehopper.livejournal.com]

That too, but I'm fairly sure that was just a slip of the tongue rather than a statement of broader judicial philosophy, so I won't hold it against her.

[kent-allard-jr.livejournal.com]

"Could you please tell this panel what you meant when you said 'I have a capital offense in my pants'?"

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I'd love to explain to Congress about the time-traveling Italian dolphin rapists! Call on me if you guys need a character witness!

[wellgull.livejournal.com]

They were Italian?

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

So the legend goes. Mamma mia!

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

We differ in our understanding of the court. While I agree that they are supposed to determine legality, etc., I think that to dispassionately do so is to isolate the legal from life as it is lived and runs the risk of losing sight of of the larger picture for the footnotes.

[mithras03.livejournal.com]

First of all, Mike Huckabee began his attack on her by calling her "Maria Sotomayor." Umm...stereotype much, asshole? All Hispanic women are NOT named Maria. Second, she has said, "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," which all the conservatives are jumping on. I say, RIGHT ON.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the "Maria" thing could be ugly if someone makes an issue out of it. LET'S MAKE AN ISSUE OUT OF IT. Fuckin' Huck, man.

And yeah, the general sentiment is that she seems pretty amazing, so do let's get her in there ASAP.