President Obama has chosen a nominee for the Supreme Court vacancy left by Justice Souter:
President Barack Obama named federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor as the nation's first Hispanic Supreme Court justice on Tuesday, praising her as "an inspiring woman" with both the intellect and compassion to interpret the Constitution wisely.
Obama said Sotomayor has more experience as a judge than any current member of the high court had when nominated, adding she has earned the "respect of colleagues on the bench," the admiration of lawyers who appear in her court and "the adoration of her clerks."
Blah, blah, blah experience, blah, blah, blah admiration, blah, blah, blah judicial temperament. The coolest thing about the new nominee is that on March 30, 1995, she put an end to the worst strike in baseball history, when she issued the preliminary injunction against the owners preventing them from unilaterally implementing a new Collective Bargaining Agreement and using replacement players. The owners gave up the ghost right after that, and by doing so, the path was cleared for the 1995 season to begin. Gravy: the Braves won the World Series that year.
So sure, we're about to go through a rough couple of months in which Sotomayor's record will be scrutinized, her politics examined and her name attacked, lauded, and then attacked again. Many doing the attacking and supporting will be adherents to a single issue with which they're obsessed like guns or abortion or civil rights or gay marriage. Well, I have a single issue with which I'm obsessed: baseball. So far Sotomayor is batting 1.000 in that department, so as far as I'm concerned, let's skip all of the ugliness that's about to begin, confirm her and get on with the pennant races.
Leave a Comment:
Saving...
She seems a decent lefty. But, so did that whack job Pelosi.
No one had to confirm Pelosi except the people in her district, though, and my sense is that she actually represents her district's political sensibilities pretty well.
As for Sotomayor, I think she skates through confirmation. Seven current Republican senators voted to confirm her when she was nominated for her current post. I realize all politics are fluid, but those guys are going to have a pretty hard time switching now.
Looks to me like she will cruise. She has a lot of experience, there's a very Democratic Senate, and barring some horrible thing from her past (e.g. smoking a joint, although sexual harassment seems to be no biggie) will carry a large portion of the votes.
Note my lack of partisanship in this post.
This should doom her: She's a Yankee fan
I have been a big time supporter of Obama, and I have great respect for Judge Sotomayor, but now I hear she's a Yankee fan?!?!?! I thought she would bring some common sense to the court!
She is pretty well qualified, let's move on. Well done Mr. President
I like President Obama's appointment of Judge Sotomayer even if she is a Yankee fan. Until the 1970's I thought A.L stood for American Legion!
Judge Sotomayer is qualified for this position. She clearly demonstrates the intelligence needed. It could be worse people, she could be just another Red Sox frontrunner! Where have they all come from????
The relative disadvantage the GOP has in the Senate right now is such that they'd be unlikely to quell a nominee named Sonia Soto-fetuskiller. The bet here is that they conserve what political capital they have for issues that are easier to market to the public (ie, taxing & spending).