Obama’s Brilliant Bench Pick

Just a week ago, President Barack Obama’s U.S. Supreme Court pick to replace Justice David Souter didn’t even have a page on Wikipedia. In fact, even on the day of his announcement, she still didn’t rate a entry on the site. Today, she does. In a time where everyone who is anyone can be found on the Internet’s free dictionary, just how did Sonia Sotomayor go from no-name to household name? Simple. By becoming the first Hispanic woman ever to be appointed to the highest Court in the land.

By now, everyone who owns a television, radio, or computer has been beaten over the head with Judge Sotomayor’s hard-luck life by the 24/7 news media, so I will spare you from another force-fed biography.

Admittedly, I admire Sotomayor’s story- but that is where it ends.

First, I would like to address why Obama is a genius in his selection. Justice Souter couldn’t have picked a more politically perfect time to retire from the bench. The Democrats hold a majority in both Houses, the most liberal President ever (or since Jimmy Carter) is in the White House, and the country is swept up in a liberal love fest. So why Sotomayor?

According to Sen. Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, filibustering Sotomayor would be the only solution to stop her from acquiring the seat. With the GOP demographic shrinking, Republican lawmakers feel trying to filibuster the first Latina justice would alienate the population that helped George W. Bush in both 2000 and 2004 elections- Hispanic male voters. With that said, Sotomayor’s confirmation is a give-in. It also reaffirms Obama’s own political ideology and campaign promise to bring more diversity to government. For Obama’s part, his choice was brilliant.

Sotomayor, the judge, does not at all embody equal justice under the law. In fact, many view her as a racist. This stems from her federal appeals court ruling against white and Hispanic New Haven, Connecticut firefighters who scored higher on promotion examinations than their African-American counterparts. The test results were thrown out after the black firefighters claimed the examination was unfair and biased against them. Ironically, the case is now before the Supreme Court, although Sotomayor, if confirmed, would not be allowed to participate in the proceedings.

Personally, as a side note, I believe affirmative action is disparaging to minorities. Imagine knowing you were selected for a position, school, or promotion based not on your qualifications, but the color of your skin? I would be embarrassed and ashamed, just as they should be. It is time to base all decisions truly on the contents of character, and not color of skin.

Sotomayor has also claimed in the past that female Hispanic judges are better decision makers than old, white male judges who haven’t experienced the same upbringing. What were to happen if a white male judge selected for nomination had made the same reverse claim? His nomination would not stand a chance.

Thankfully, Sotomayor’s seat will not change the balance of power on the Court…for now.