Supreme Court Debate?

Well, we finally have a nominee for Supreme Court Justice to replace David Souter. With the President's choice of Sonya Sotomayor for Supreme Court Justice, there have been many different reactions and comments made. One aspect of the whole circus/dog and pony show (whatever you want to call it), has caught my attention is what people have said about whether or not we can even question the nominee. These comments range from 'you really can't object to her, because she's a woman and she's hispanic and if you do your a racist sexist pig' to 'she's an activist judge who uses race so we need to question her judicial qualities'. My own personal view on the nomination is: from what I've seen, heard and read, I'm not impressed. While many people praise her personal qualities and the fact she was previously confirmed to serve on the circuit court, to me those are only secondary to the discussion. What little I've seen and read of her legal mind and opinions leaves me with the impression she's not suited to serve on our nation's highest court. She may well be confirmed, and end up on the bench. If that's the case, I don't think the court will be better for it.

People who use the argument that objecting to her is the equivalent of racism are basically shutting down discussion and dissent. It used to be people could discuss the merits of a person without accusations of racism, bigotry, and partisanship being brought up. These days, we apparently don't have the mental acumen to be able to perform this task. In this case, the charges were brought up before the discussion even began. One local talk radio host jokingly referred to her at least once as 'the appointed one of the anointed one'. I wonder how many people seriously think that way?

This is a serious issue. If she is to take a seat on the Supreme Court, her gender and ethnicity have no bearing. How she approaches things judicially, her legal opinions, and indeed her opinions on being a judge do have bearing. I think everyone needs to keep this in mind. Resorting to accusations shows shallowness of intellect and could even indicate an attempt to cover something up. To paraphrase Shakespeare: 'I think they doth protest too much'.

Some people seem to believe this will be the court fight that is the reverse of the Robert Bork nomination in 1987, when how people are chosen for the Supreme Court will change again. If that's the case, then in my opinion, it will quickly come to the point when no one will want to be nominated for any federal court because the process isn't worth the trouble.