Friday, May 29, 2009

Republican Criticism of Sotomayor is justified on the basis of her ill-judged comments and likely policy positions

There has been criticism of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor from Republicans such as Rush Limbaugh and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Quite frankly this is justified.

In a California speech in 2001 she stated that, on a court, "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."
On the basis of these statements she has been labeled a “reverse racist" by Gingrich and Limbaugh. It was Sotomayor who introduced racism into the political mix. Any opposition worthy of the name is duty bound to grill her on these comments. Failure to do so would be a dereliction of duty.

However critics must ensure that criticisms cannot be misconstrued as a ethnic attack. Democrats and their friends in the liberal media will of course seek to misrepresent the facts and paint the GOP as anti Hispanic. It is the duty of an opposition to ask the hard questions.

There are risks for conservative Democrats who fail to challenge Sotomayor on her comments. Support for an activist judge could be very costly in electoral terms.

It is highly likely that Sotomayor will adopt a liberal position on abortion. Obama would not have chosen a judge who is pro life. A pro abortion position is at odds with the views of the majority of Hispanics. Here Republicans will be operating on fertile political territory and will be at one with most Hispanics. Republicans with a modicum of common sense can outwit Obama on this issue.

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