The Case Against Sotomayor

[Purple State]

This does not appear to actually be, although it is framed as such by the author, a scathing review of Sotomayor. I do believe there is some things here not to like, but I have already made clear I am not completely concerned with the quality of this first SCOTUS nominee.

I will try to restate in one cohesive post what all my other posts have meant. Essentially, it all matters on timing. Historically, a president's first appointment to the SC is a symbolic one, meant to break a barrier or two. Sotomayor would fit this profile perfectly. It is also especially important that Obama's first pick not force him to spend an excessive amount of political capital. If the pick is not made until October and Franken has been seated and his agenda (healthcare, cap-and-trade,...) has passed, I would argue Obama should definitely choose an exemplary justice. However, if his legislative pushes are deadlocked and floundering it would be harmful to nominate a controversial justice. He would be better off sticking with the female Hispanic.

Either way this needs to be a female pick, whether it is Sotomayor or someone else. And down the road there must be another female (probably to replace Ginsburg) and a Hispanic on the court.

[Purple State]

While there was a lot of criticism of his legal views, I don't recall a flood of questions about Alito's intellectual ability when he was nominated, yet he seems no more qualified than Sotomayor.  One must ask if she is being held to a different standard.

Alito was editor of the Yale Law Journal, clerked for Judge Leonard I. Garth of the Third Circuit, was United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey for 3 years, and spent 16 years on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.  He was extremely qualified, perhaps even more so than Sotomayor.

Wait...it's not okay to ignore all of that because Bush picked him? F**CK!

It seems the White House wants to get this through earlier than I expected, meaning it will cost him political capital. Now it is clearly important that he not choose someone who will result in a backlog or derailing of his entire agenda.

[Purple State]

that means squeaky clean > tokenism?

I don't know why they can't be one in the same. But clean tokenism > robust liberal at this point.

[Purple State]

I bet that Obama will pick someone no one is talking about.

Probably, but it's still fun to speculate.

[Purple State]

That article seems to state that she is just as aggressive as any other strong justice. The final update on that article is very interesting:

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[Purple State]

Pending any grave misgivings that come up during the vetting process, I think it is likely she will make it at least as far as the personal meet with Obama. Let him be the judge of how savvy and powerful a mind she has. But it is clear from the articles I've read that this is completely up in the air.

[Purple State]

Fair enough.  Rosen's piece is legitimately unqualified after reading some of the far more qualified and on-the-record criticism of her.

She may not be a legal heavyweight and she may be hard to get along with, limiting her ability to influence the court, but Rosen's gossipy sources are not indicative of that and his question proposed to Holder shows an innate bias.  Let's see if this is indeed a recurring segment.

Alito was considered an outstanding judge, including by liberals, with an excellent judicial temperament. Is that also true of Sotomayor?

Hmm... Appointed to benches and passed by the Senate twice, once by a Republican and once by a Democrat. She seems to be known as a pragmatic, moderate justice well-liked by both sides.

I would think yeah. It's also true of Sotomayor.

[Purple State]

How about Judge Reinhardt?

Of the 9th circus?

I assume this is a joke. He is considered on of the most liberal justice on the court of appeals. Not to mention he has one of the worst records in terms of reversals by the SC.

[Purple State]

How about Judge Reinhardt?

Of the 9th circus?

I assume this is a joke. He is considered on of the most liberal justice on the court of appeals. Not to mention he has one of the worst records in terms of reversals by the SC.

Isn't he an old anyway?

Yes, 9 years older than Souter. To give you an idea how old he is, he has been in the Ninth Circuit seat since it was created.

[Purple State]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfC99LrrM2Q

This woman is obviously not for this job.

That is surely the end of her run. If all it takes is a quick YouTube check the media and Republicans will be all over this.