Meet the next Supreme Court justice

[GarbagemanLB]

If Obama becomes president, his first nominee to the Supreme Court will likely be Sonia Sotomayor. As a Hispanic woman with 16 years of court experience, Sotomayor would slay two of the court's lack-of-diversity birds with one swift stone. "These are criteria that matter these days. Even Laura Bush was disappointed that her husband didn't name a woman to replace Sandra Day O'Connor," says Mark Tushnet, the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Harvard. And because Sotomayor has a reputation for staying behind the scenes and sits on a federal bench known for its centrism, it's likely that she would be able to garner a two-thirds majority in the Senate, even if the Democrats only control an estimated 55 or so seats. Plus there's an insurance measure if the nomination gets too politicized publicly: Sotomayor was appointed to the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in 1992 by President George H. W. Bush. Says Tushnet, "If you're a Democratic strategist, you can gin up ads that say, 'She was good enough for George H. W. Bush. Why isn't she good enough for Mitch McConnell?' "

In her rulings, Sotomayor has often shown suspicion of bloated government and corporate power. She's offered a reinterpretation of copyright law, ruled in favor of public access to private information, and in her most famous decision, sided with labor in the Major League Baseball strike of 1995. More than anything else, she is seen as a realist. With a likely 20 years ahead on the bench, she'll have plenty of time to impart her realist philosophy.

http://www.esquire.com/features/75-most-influential/obama-supreme-court-pick-1008

[Political Heretic]

1. Having no knoweldge if Sontomayor part from this article, at first glance it looks okay

Obviously if she is on the short list, then I need to do a lot more research.

[Drunken Irishman]

2. She's not a liberal and not a conservative.

Essentially, a centrist. Which means she would probably be the easiest to get through, though she would bring more questions for liberal activists than other left-of-center possible justices.

[DrToast]

7. She'd definitely make Greenwald's head explode

*

[nxylas]

3. Unless Pres. Obama picks someone else

I haven't forgotten all the articles about how his VP pick was definitely going to be Hillary Clinton...no, Bill Richardson...no, Tim Kaine...no....

[BlooInBloo]

4. Yup.

[depakid]

5. "She's offered a reinterpretation of copyright law, ruled in favor of public access to private i

information."

That looks to be a deal killer.

[Zen Democrat]

6. I hope she's a LIBERAL.

And why does Obama have to pick a centrist to get through Senate confirmation? Everybody knew Roberts and Alito weren't centrists. Obama is left of center -- and a notion that he has to mollycoddle the Pukes and DIPs (Dems in Puke) makes me want to hurl. The Court used to be very liberal -- now it's not and it changed because Pukes turned liberal seats into conservative seats. How about the replacing of Thurgood Marshall with Clarence Thomas??? Give me a freaking BREAK!

[Thrill]

8. Shes not a liberal. She has the potential to be Souter the other way.

She was mentioned as a possible pick for the Roberts and Alito seats. Remember when Dubya was considering her. Thats all I need to know