Anyone else thinking it has to be a woman?

[jsamuel]

The Obama appointment to the Supreme Court?

[tekisui]

1. Has to? No.

Could be or should be or will be? probably.

[hlthe2b]

2. yes.... n/t

[OmahaBlueDog]

3. Not "has to", but beinging more color and gender balance to the court would help.

[pepperbear]

10. BUT NOT HER.....

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/09/politics/09brown.html




Janice Rogers Brown

[undeterred]

4. It should be a black woman.

I mean, someone really black, not like Condi Rice.

[Lex]

8. if only Barbara Jordan could be reincarnated

and be 40 years old.

Seriously, there are plenty of highly qualified black women who would be great. We need some balance.

[Hekate]

28. Ah yes, Barbara Jordan. That voice! That intellect! Those ethics! Well, someone good will pop up...

... even so.

And yes, I definitely do think it *has* to be a woman, and that the pool of qualified candidates is now deep enough that Obama should be able to get a two-fer as well.

Go for the gold, btw. Justice Ginsberg is going to have to retire too due to health. She also should be replaced by a woman. We are over 50% of the population.

Hekate

[imdjh]

21. If we're going for a beauty pageant here, let's get that Cuban woman from daytime TV

[ForrestGump]

34. Judge Judy

is Cuban?

Huh... :shrug:

[imdjh]

47. Judge Marilyn Milian

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

51. If it's any daytime judge....make it Judge Mathis!

That guy rules!

[imdjh]

58. Can't, he's black

There are only 9 slots. as long as one black is on the court, blacks are represented. While there are many groups which don't make up 1/9th of the US population, we do have several who have been in line for a long time who have never been represented. So in our beauty pageant, we need to be looking for a justice who is qualified AND falls into the following pecking order:

Eastern American Indian Heritage (legally provable, no fakes)

Portuguese

Spanish

Western American Indian Heritage

Chinese

Japanese

Ethnic-Alaskan

Ethnic Hawaiian (non Chinese non Japanese)

and on from there.

[Dorian Gray]

37. What the hell does that mean?

Damn... I know she's a conservative and a total Bushbot, but... damn.

[cali]

41. who are you to decide who's is "really black"? That's disgusting.

it should be someone who has the right temperment and judicial philosophy.

[Posteritatis]

62. If you're going to say something that staggeringly stupid, at least define your terms

Educate us: what's it mean to be "really black?"

[undeterred]

64. You know exactly what is meant.

You just enjoy faux outrage. Its your kind of activism.

[MrSlayer]

5. No.

What it has to be is a solid liberal of any sex, race or religion.

[imdjh]

22. +1

[Muttocracy]

6. I want a healthy young constitutional scholar with good longevity genes

but woman would be a plus! If not for this one, I figure Ginsberg and others will retire during Obama's first term. I'd like multiple women, sure, but I care more about their qualifications, temperament, record, etc. But surely there are some qualified women out there.

[Warpy]

16. That's what I want, too

and I think membership in the Federalist Society should disqualify any of them from the get-go.

I want somebody to counter those right wing idiots for the rest of their lives.

Gender, race, ethnicity, religion and all other considerations are unimportant.

[tekisui]

36. And, not another Catholic!

[Dorian Gray]

38. Definitely not...

Those Catholics are always conservative and evil!!!!!!

:eyes:

[tekisui]

40. The four on the Court are.

They are devastating and over represented.

[kiva]

52. I think it's actually 5 Catholics:

Roberts, Kennedy, Scalia, Thomas, and Alito (Breyer and Ginsberg, Jewish; Souter, Episcopalian; Stevens, Protestant) http://www.adherents.com/adh_sc.html. And yes, given much of their voting record, change is overdue.

[tekisui]

59. I forgot about Kennedy.

He is a more reasonable one. The other four are like the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

[Hekate]

29. We are two-plus generations into producing highly qualified female lawyers and judges. Believe me...

... there's are any number of exceptional female candidates out there, including women of color.

Hekate

[Muttocracy]

63. I do believe you. Saw the NYTimes had a list of some strong contenders.

With women leading universities, cabinet departments, major corporations, it's time there were more than one or two on the Court.

[Hekate]

67. As it stands now, O'Connor and Ginsberg have been tokens. It's long past time for there to be more

There's no excuse at all by now, and if the next three on board are all women it will be just fine with me -- and that's mostly a reaction to what I've been reading here.

I've been rather grieved to see the species of hemming and hawing that goes on at DU. "We shouldn't talk about gender or color." "Of course, I want a FULLY qualified person." "Why of course a woman should be appointed IF she is the best qualified candidate." Etc., etc., etc, in that vein.

I don't think people here realize that this is the language that conveys the idea that a woman or person of color should only get the job if they are so qualified that they literally walk on water and then turn it to wine. This is the language that says that the default appointee is still and always will be a white male, because a "qualified" woman or minority is so rare as to be impossible to find.

Thurgood Marshall was that kind of rarity, because in his generation black men almost never got the chance to go to college and become lawyers in the first place. Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsberg were also of a generation of women where few got the chances they did.

But that was then and this is now. The Civil Rights Movement and the Women's Movement have both created major changes in the hiring pool for women and minorities. Women as a class, btw, are not a minority at all. In both categories there now exists a very good stock of FULLY qualified candidates for any job at all, including Supreme Court Justice.

Anyway, thanks for getting what I'm talking about.

Hekate

[bananas]

31. k&r

I'd like multiple women, too.

[TankLV]

7. No. It should be the "BEST" one, not based on the gender...

[Lex]

9. There are plenty of highly qualified people who could be considered "BEST"

nt

[niceypoo]

11. No

[elleng]

12. SHOULD be,

because Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg has said that she feels lonely since Justice O'Connor's retirement. for other reasons, too, but at the moment, I feel sorry for her.

[WI_DEM]

13. Whoever it is will probably be latino.

[me b zola]

14. No, it has to be someone who understands the Constitution

...and will rule on the side of the people. I would love for it to be a woman. I really would love for it to be a woman of color. But I'll take the Constitution in whatever form it comes in, and I trust President Obama.

[cali]

42. It'll be a woman. It would be a political disaster for him if it's not

and there are plenty of qualified women.

[me b zola]

60. I think so too

:)

[OmahaBlueDog]

15. Shooting from the hip: Kim McLane Wardlaw

Kim McLane Wardlaw

Kim McLane Wardlaw (born July 2, 1954) is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, with chambers in Pasadena, California. Wardlaw, born to a Scottish-Irish father and a Mexican-American mother, is the first Hispanic American woman appointed to a United States Court of Appeals.

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

[jsamuel]

17. well that was fast

"It is widely accepted that Wardlaw is a front-running candidate for a nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States by President Barack Obama."

[OmahaBlueDog]

18. I swear it wasn't me

Honest

[pkdu]

19. What about a 2-fer?

Judge Vanessa Ruiz

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

..and maybe should do a lot more of this....

[Captain Hilts]

20. No. nt

[OmahaBlueDog]

23. Another shot from the hip: Diane Pamela Wood

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

Diane Pamela Wood (born July 4, 1950) is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and a Senior Lecturer at the University of Chicago School of Law.

[poverlay]

24. One can only hope... n/t

[OmahaBlueDog]

25. Sonia Sotomayor

Sonia Sotomayor (born June 25, 1954 in The Bronx, New York) is a federal judge on the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

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

[DonCoquixote]

26. It would be nice

But considering that Roe Vs. Wade is still on Life Support, and the fact that Alito and Thomas are still loaded for bear, I say we NEED a liberal, or at the very least, someone who will be willing and able to butt heads with Scalia.

I do have a pick, and it will surprise many.

Why not Bill Clinton?

He is a lawyer, a scholar, but most importantly, he is not above drawing blood.

[Toucano]

27. Would be nice, I think.

Can we clone RBG?

She is a brilliant jurist.

[Hekate]

30. Yes. And Justice Ginsberg's eventual replacement too. nt

[Egnever]

32. No

Why in the world would it have to be anything other than competant?

[cali]

43. political exigencies. It will be a woman.

there are plenty of qualified women.

[TexasObserver]

33. Yes.

It's overdue.

[old mark]

35. It has to be someone GOOD, what ever gender/ethnicity - we may not

get to change the liberal/conservative balance yet, but we must make sure the people Obama appoints are top quality. We have enough buffoons already.

mark

[Vinca]

39. It has to be someone young, healthy and liberal.

[cherish44]

44. I'm more interested in the philosophy and intellect of the person

Gender and race don't necessarily mean squat. Sandra Day O'Conner and Clarence Thomas are blaring examples of that. I'd like to see a liberal who is smart and fair; the person can be a purple hermaphrodite for all I care.

[Romulox]

45. Either Sarah Palin or Condi Rice!

:sarcasm:

[woo me with science]

46. Definitely Sarah Palin.

She could not think of a single Supreme Court case, so it means she's not pre-biased!

[AngryAmish]

48. Silly, women can't be judges.

(ducks, runs, hides under his rock)

[HooptieWagon]

49. It would be good if the nominee were a woman or minority,

but not essential this time. Better that the nominee be truly competent and scholarly, and as far left as can be gotten out of committee since approval by the full Senate is pretty much a given. If that person is a woman - great! Later appointments (there will be one or two more during Obama's first term, IMO) can address gender and racial representation on the court, and may have to be a bit more moderate (if the reps regain a few seats).

[BurtWorm]

50. It doesn't have to but I hope it is.

And a radical one if possible. A closet radical, anyway.

[calico1]

53. As a woman and a Hispanic I think it

would be nice if it were a Hispanic or other minority woman. But the most important thing to me is that they will have similar views as Stevens, Ginsberg and Souter. And if that means another White guy, then I'll take another White guy over a woman who might be more Conservative.

Oh, and with regard to Catholic or non Catholic, I am a Catholic too, but like many others I am lapsed and only go to church for weddings and funerals. There are a lot like me. And a lot of us also believe in gay marriage, choice, etc.

So Catholic isn't necessarily bad, as long as they aren't nutcases like Scalia and Alito.

Remember Ted Kennedy is Catholic. So is Biden. We aren't all evil

[NC_Nurse]

54. yes.

[yellowwood]

55. Oh, please, not on the basis of category!

I do not want to see post filled by someone on the basis of gender, ethnicity, color, etc. This post is so important and so permanent. Let President Obama pick the replacement on the basis of Obama's judgment regarding his/her intellect. I'd really like see somebody who is not too religious, not sexist, as neutral as humanly possible, but who reflects scientific and humanitarian perspectives.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

56. Maybe, But Not Me. That Would Be A Highly Ignorant And Narrow Minded Point Of View.

I generally try to avoid holding such thoughts.

[DevonRex]

57. Good lord. It has to be the best qualified non-RWer available.

[slackmaster]

61. It has to be the best-qualified individual Obama can find

I don't care what race, gender, etc. the person turns out to be.

[cali]

66. there are many, many qualified individuals. the dems have a deep bench

so all things be equal, I do think gender should be considered. Do we really want an institution as important as the SC, to have only one woman on it?

[slackmaster]

68. I want to see the day when things like race and gender are not used in any way to judge people

I don't buy the line that there is a pool of people who are absolutely equally qualified for such an important position.

[Quantess]

65. She had better be. n/t