Should Principles Be Defended?

The buzz in the news is about Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama's nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. The fawning press hailed her as the "most experienced judge ever to be nominated" and elected and self-appointed hispanic leaders lined up behind any microphone they could find to sing her praises. The reports on the day she was presented would make one look skyward to see if she was riding on a chariot from the heavens to save us. Everyone told us she was a lock for confirmation.

Well, as is usually the case all that glitters is not gold and information has come out on some of her opinions that have some conservatives as well as liberals attacking her. The liberals are concerned that her Catholic faith and sparce record on abortion may make her vulnerable to the likes of Scalia and Thomas to bring her to the dark side of pro-life. The conservatives have a couple of issues with her. First, Sotomayor has made statements to the effect that it is the job of the judiciary to legislate from the bench. Most conservatives believe it is the job of the Supreme Court to interpret the consititution, not change it. That is left to the Congress and the states. The second issue has to do with a ruling on a reverse discrimination case on which she heard the appeal and which she she made some rather questionable statements about. She made the statement that she, as a Latina judge, could make a better ruling than a white male judge because she was a Latina. Such a statement made by a white male judge would doom him to career purgatory. Apparently, most people on both sides of the isle thinks its okay because they are lining up to defend her.

Enter Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich, who both called her out as a racist. Whoa! I thought only white males could be racists!!!! We have apparently reach a point in our struggle for equality when minorities can achieve that vaulted status as well. Of course, Rush and Newt are now being called racists for calling her one. They are being admonished by the "leaders" of the Republican party to "shut up". As you might guess Rush has made it the centerpoint of his show since she was nominated. He puts forth a compelling argument against her nomination. Both he and Newt will show up on the talk shows tomorrow and will be assailed for their statements.

The arguments from the Republican "leadership", which does not include Rush or Newt, is that this is not a fight they want to have. With the strong Democrat majority in the Senate and the fact that she is hispanic they see fighting her nomination as a losing proposition. Unless she has some undisclosed dirty linen that would force her to withdraw her nomination she will most likely be confirmed. She is already an icon with hispanic leaders and anything other than a coronation will alienate them from her detractors. So the Republicans have conceded her confirmation with the hopes of currying favor with the growing power of the hispanic vote.

Now you know why I turned in my Republican card. The purpose of the confirmation process is to examine the record of the nominee to determine if they can serve as a fair and impartial jurist in interpreting the constitution of the U.S. All evidence is gathered and brought forth to assure that the person is qualified to serve. This is so important because they are the final arbiter of justice in our country and much of our lives are being directed by rulings they make. Add to that the lifetime appointment, a judge can serve 20 years or more.

What really aggravates me is the attempts to silence her critics from the right. The last time I checked they have a right to express their opinions as long as they are not libelous or slanderous. I may not agree with them but defend their right to say it. Let it all be part of the discussion on her qualifications and let the chips fall where they may. My guess is that both Newt and Rush realize that they are probably not going to succeed in twarting her confirmation but the fact that they will jump in the water to defend their principles in reason for admiration.