Thinking Out Loud - Presidential Email About Sotomayor

President Barack Obama sent out an email to get public support for his Supreme Court nominee, Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Let me share some of the points of his email and then respond to why Judge Sotomayor should NOT be confirmed.

"Yesterday, Judge Sonia Sotomayor made her opening statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee and moved another step closer to taking a seat on the United States Supreme Court." Yes she is quite impressive, but just being an impressive speaker does not qualify one for such an important position. Jim Jones was an impressive speaker to his followers, Adolf Hitler was impressive and passionate in his speeches, and we are all too familiar with the charismatic speakers in our won politics that have done more to screw up this country than any terrorist.

"As President, there are few responsibilities more serious or consequential than the naming of a Supreme Court Justice, so I want to take this opportunity to tell you about the qualifications and character that informed my decision to nominate Judge Sotomayor." There are indeed serious consequences to nominating a Justice who essentially stays there for life and is not elected by the people. Which is why the people should inform their elected officials how they feel about such a nominee. And any objection to the people having their say is the act of a despot. Plus, having a "great story" does not a qualified person make.

"Judge Sotomayor's brilliant legal mind is complemented by the practical lessons that can only be learned by applying the law to real world situations." Yet is also does not make Constitutional decisions automatic. Consider that nearly half a dozen decisions made by her have been overturned by the body she is nominated to join.

". . . a judge who has more experience on the federal bench than any incoming Supreme Court Justice in the last 100 years." David Souter was Deputy Attorney General of New Hampshire, Attorney General of New Hampshire, Associate Justice of the New Hampshire Superior Court, Circuit Judge of the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit before becoming an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. This is just one member of the Supreme Court in the last hundred years with more experience. Go here to check them all out for yourself.

"And then there is Judge Sotomayor's incredible personal story. She grew up in a housing project in the South Bronx - her parents coming to New York from Puerto Rico during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she lost her father, and her mother worked six days a week just to put food on the table. It takes a certain resilience and determination to rise up out of such circumstances, focus, work hard and achieve the American dream." I considered abbreviating the center of this statement but decided you needed to see what the President finds so amazing. It is a great story, but it is an American story. This plays out across the country and across the generations. Millions upon millions of immigrants and Americans have done just what this woman has done. Instead of telling us this qualifies her for such a position, President Obama should recognize that this is a story that has benefited by what America has been by virtue of what America is. If nothing else, this should make him realize that the path he is embarking on will make this story non-existent.

"In Judge Sotomayor, our nation will have a Justice who will never forget her humble beginnings, will always apply the rule of law, and will be a protector of the Constitution that made her American dream and the dreams of millions of others possible. As she said so clearly yesterday, Judge Sotomayor's decisions on the bench 'have been made not to serve the interests of any one litigant, but always to serve the larger interest of impartial justice.'" The lie in this statement is so bold and so brazen as to be admired for saying it so sincerely. Her "brilliant mind" decided against applying discrimination equally to white (and a Hispanic) litigants who were discriminated against because they were white (and Hispanic) instead of black. Her "legal expertise" led her to write a lackluster one paragraph opinion in a move that most analyst agree was done to "bury" the case.

"It's important for these hearings to be about Judge Sotomayor's own record and her capacity for the job - not any political back and forth that some in Washington may use to distract you." For once, throughout this whole missive, the President has spoken to truth. It is important not to let politics or political ideology sway anyone -- Democrat or Republican -- from finding that this person is not qualified to hold such an important office that will affect so many for so long.

Past Supreme Courts have drifted from the job they have of dispensing justice based on the Constitution and Federal laws of this country, instead devolving into political and personal opinion based legislation from the bench. We can not allow an unelected person to hold so much power over our lives and the lives of generations to come without so much as voicing our concerns to those who will decide.

You can agree with me or disagree with me over Sotomayor's rulings and legislative views. You can say I am just being a divisive political hack or you can say I am a true patriot who is raising the alarms like the founders of this great nation. Either way, it makes no difference, so long as I make you think. Because this is just me, Thinking Out Loud.

Have a great day.

Sources

Supreme Court Justices List - Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Justices_of_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States

Brainy Quotes

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/ronaldreag147680.html

(author's note - I actually considered the following quote in the sub-heading but like the other better. Yet this one is also quite appropriate, so I include it here. " Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth!")