Sotomayor Values Identity Politics, Not Individual Rights
President Barack Obama’s nomination of Second Circuit federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by retiring Justice David Souter was a clear signal he values identity politics and personal agendas over sound jurisprudence and equal justice under the law.
While much of Sotomayor’s record show she is unfit for the Court, most troubling is her involvement in the Ricci v. DeStafano case, in which the New Haven, Conn. fire department decided it didn’t like the results of an officers promotion exam in which white and Hispanic firefighters outperformed black firefighters.
The department threw out the results of the exam, denying several firefighters promotions solely because of their race. The firefighters sued, claiming racial discrimination under Title VVI of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Cato Institute, Reason Foundation and the Individual Rights Foundation filed briefs on behalf of the firefighters, citing the absurdity of allowing public employers to throw out the results of valid, race-neutral exams that produce politically incorrect racial disparity. The firefighters and the libertarian foundations filing briefs argued that public employment practices should be color-blind.
Sotomayor disagreed, ruling the city has a right to discriminate against white and Hispanic public employees to construct a politically correct racial mix in hiring, even if it goes against the results of a racially-neutral competency exam.
The other side of the coin is scary, instead of sighting just her qualifications they list her personal hardships as well. Those should never make a difference in if someone is right for the job
The Supreme Test for the Republican Party — To Fight or Not?
And, just in case my Republican friends don’t have it, here are some highlights, as the various news reports note, of a nominee who has faced real challenges and excelled in spite of them. * Sotomayor dealt with diabetes as a child and lost her father at age 9.
* Sotomayor grew up in a modest household under the care of a hardworking mother who is — as she said today — her inspiration.
* She is a graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School.
* She was an assistant DA in Manhattan, where she tried numerous criminal cases.
* Sotomayor became a federal judge for the Southern District of New York in 1992, and an appeals judge in 1998 for the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
* First appointed by a Republican, President George H.W. Bush.
* Named an appeals judge by President Bill Clinton in 1997.
* She has worked at almost every level of our judicial system.
* She has a wealth of federal judicial experience that exceeds nearly every justice who has preceded her.
All in all, a pretty impressive record by anyone’s standard (except for those out-of-touch Limbaugh Republicans who will be grasping at straws of criticism wherever they can find them).
So my word of advice to Republicans, whether they be talking heads or senators, is think twice before you stand in the way of this historic freight train. Judge Sotomayor will be confirmed.
But the decision Republicans make to fight this confirmation will not be about Sotomayor, I fear. In fact, if they stand in the way of history and excellence, it will be because the Republican Party and the right-wing talk radio circuit are scrambling to energize their disillusioned and disheartened base. The only problem with this political logic is that it’s wrong and stupid. If Republicans choose a fight — a needless fight — over this confirmation, they will look so out of touch, petty and ridiculous that Democrats like myself are going to start running out of adjectives to describe how out of touch, petty and ridiculous they are.
