Oooh! early opposition to Sotomayor sounds just a weeee bit racist

[underpants]

Not so some conservative groups. "Judge Sotomayor is a liberal judicial activist of the first order who thinks her own personal political agenda is more important than the law as written,” Wendy E. Long, counsel to the Judicial Confirmation Network, said in a statement. “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.”

"She reads racial preferences and quotas into the Constitution, even to the point of dishonoring those who preserve our public safety," the statement added. "On September 11, America saw firsthand the vital role of America's firefighters in protecting our citizens. They put their lives on the line for her and the other citizens of New York and the nation. But Judge Sotomayor would sacrifice their claims to fair treatment in employment promotions to racial preferences and quotas. The Supreme Court is now reviewing that decision."

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2009/05/obama_picks_sot.html

Only white people can keep us safe?? :shrug:

[Stinky The Clown]

1. More than just a "weeeee bit" my friend.

[47of74]

2. Damn, that didn't take long!

The bottom of the sewer must be quite crowded these days.

[Thrill]

3. hopefully they piss Hispanics off so much that we take TX

:)

[hlthe2b]

4. that firefighter case was over a promotional exam

which preferentially excluded African Americans from successfully gaining promotion... Those defending the system would probably have argued that only one exam question was needed:
"Are you non-hispanic and white? yes/no"

[TiredOldMan]

5. Tired of Hearing About Race

Race shouldn't matter either way. Period! The facts are what should matter.

[Gormy Cuss]

7. Race shouldn't matter but it does.

Period!


Until we reach a point where it doesn't matter it will always be part of the discussion. The kneejerk reaction like that of the person quoted in the OP is clear evidence that race (or ethnicity) still matters to some.

[kestrel91316]

9. Go tell it to the Repukes. They are the ones who seem to care so damned much.

[havocmom]

6. Thinkin Huckabee calling her "Maria Sotomayor" was NOT a slip

I want American government to look like America. Color, gender and style matters.

I will also rebut homophobes who may chrip in with: So what? MOST Supreme Court Justices prefer to make love with women. ;)

[imdjh]

8. The other judges in the firefighter case aren't up for the Supreme Court

The hearings are going to be interesting. She's on record saying that the Constitution is the supreme law and pretty straight forward, and she's also on record in a case which appears to support the accusations against her. I'm not a court junkie, but I'm betting that there would be similar conflicts in any appointment. I myself have been tremendously disappointed in the positions taken by supposedly liberal Justices on the 4th Amendment. We'll see.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

10. Turley came out from under the hood.

He says she hasn't distinguished herself and she lacks intellectual depth, but he understands that she's hispanic and a woman.

[Enrique]

11. it's safer to have diversity on the fire department

I don't know if NYC has the same problems, but there were some really shocking things found out about the Chicago Fire Department, certainly that would make one think that black residents were at risk.