Sotomayor – An Activist’s Confused Activist

This past Tuesday, President Obama nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor for appointment to the Supreme Court of the United States.  Now, there has been lots of talk about just what type of judge Ms. Sotomayor will actually be and we merely need to look at what she’s actually said to understand.

First let’s take a look at her words during a speech at Berkeley in 2001:

“I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life”

She’s telling us here, directly, that she can make better decisions based on her ethnicity and gender than any white male – not based on following the rule of law nor the equality of law.  She does, in fact, degrade the abilities of a person with a different skin color and gender.  Pardon me but that’s one of the most blatant racist and bigoted statements available to the public.

Let’s take it a step further and see just how wrong Sotomayor is in her statement above and again with Sotomayor’s own words in the same speech:

Judge Cedarbaum has pointed out to me that seminal decisions in race and sex discrimination cases have come from Supreme Courts composed exclusively of white males.

Sotomayor will have none of that.  She attempts in the same speech to nullify the truth:

I agree that this is significant but I also choose to emphasize that the people who argued those cases before the Supreme Court which changed the legal landscape ultimately were largely people of color and women.

Excuse me Ms. Sotomayor, oh wise one, but being on SCOTUS and arguing before SCOTUS are two entirely different roles. It doesn’t stop there.  Ms. Sotomayor displays her complete lack of understanding the role of SCOTUS.  It is merely not an aspiration for SCOTUS to disregard their color, gender, religion, etc.,when cases are before them. It is the very mandate the people have granted them within the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

So from this little exchange above, and through Ms. Sotomayor’s own words, we can see how willingly she is in ignoring the rule of law, the equality of law, and the actual facts.  That yes, Ms. Sotomayor, white men can judge for all Americans.

I encourage everyone to read the entire speech by Ms. Sotomayor.  You’ll witness, first hand, just how confused she is as she flip flops back and forth on her reasoning.  She places the emphasis on her judicial roles within the murky waters of race, gender, and personal experiences rather than within the rule and equality of law for all.

Let’s watch a video of Ms. Sotomayer at a Duke University forum in 2005:

Ms. Sotomayor, perhaps the bench is where policy is made with your rich experiences as a Latina woman and your empathy; however the Judiciary branch of our government was designed to be a check and balance against the other parts of the system that actually do make policy – the Executive Branch & Congress.  Perhaps if you were less interested in your own self described wisdom and rich experiences, and more interested in the rule of law, you would understand that.

So folks now you can see that while Ms. Sotomayor may be a nice person, she is neither up to nor qualified for an appointment to SCOTUS.  You can also review her cases.   Do we necessarily have to when Ms. Sotomayor lets us know her gender, ethnicity, and misguided belief of courts making policy trumps the rule of law?  This white male doesn’t think so.