Sotomayor Is Newest Obama Rush Job

In yet another example of the urgency Obama sees in everything he wants, his nomination of Sonia Sotomayor is getting the fast track. Declaring that he wants her confirmed by August, the democrats in congress are inclined to oblige the president. How the republicans respond will prove crucial in stopping her from becoming a Supreme Court justice.

Some of the things she has said while a justice on the Second District Court of Appeals should give pause to anyone who views the constitution as sacred. Revealing the sort of ideology that Obama has actively sought out for a Justice, Sotomayor would prove an important ally and tool of the administrations desires to further erode our liberties and create an unattainable equality in society.

While it is true that she would replace a liberal Justice in David Souter, Sotomayor could prove more dangerous in her decisions. In the video below, pay particular attention not only to what she says, but also to her cavalier and dismissive tone when she utters her belief that the court "makes policy":

Legislating from the bench is completely wrong-headed and precisely what must be resisted. For one thing, it is in direct violation of the principles the Founders laid out. It should also be met with indignation by all political ideologies for the simple reason that Supreme Court Justices enjoy a lifetime tenure and therefore are not held accountable for their decisions. It is the legislative branches responsibility to make laws while the judicial branch decides whether those laws are constitutional. Every member of congress should rail against any usurpation of their duties by an ideological justice.

Sotomayor is more than a political ideologue, however, she's also driven by race and gender. Speaking at Berkeley in 2001, Sotomayor had this to say:

“Whether born from experience or inherent physiological or cultural differences, our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging.”

She also had this to say:

“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.”

Her apparent disdain for anyone white or male aside, her belief that decisions should be anything but based on the constitution should preclude her from even consideration.

Perhaps the most telling exposure of her racial views, however, stems from the case in New Haven involving white firefighters who were denied promotions after passing a test for that very purpose. According to the New York Times, Sotomayor was part of a panel that "voted to uphold New Haven’s decision to throw out a set of fire department promotion tests because no minority candidates made the top of the list. White firefighters who scored high but were denied promotion are appealing that ruling."

Obama - who recently indicated that he would prefer a Justice "with empathy" - apparently has good reason to ram his nomination through the expected republican gauntlet since he said that a justice must also know “how the world works, and how ordinary people live.” Republican lawmakers will no doubt want to know how this will help one decide the constitutionality of a law.

Since Souter has not officially retired yet, what's the rush?

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