A few of my thoughts on President Obama’s pick for the Supreme Court.
* Sonia Sotomayor is not a surprising pick. She’s Hispanic, she’s a woman, she’s in line with the Obama vision, and she’s got that amazing Obama-like personal success story from Puerto Rico to the housing projects of the Bronx to Washington D.C. Plus she recognized her mom at the press conference.
* No arguing against her qualifications: She’s the real deal, having worked as a trial attorney, prosecutor, district judge and an appellate judge. You don’t get from the Bronx to where she is today by not having the goods.
* So far, conservatives have come up with little to discredit her, other than citing examples where they disagree with her comments or interpret them as advocacy.
* Complaining that she’s a liberal will go nowhere. What’s Obama supposed to do? Pick another conservative? Did they expect George Bush to appoint lefties? It’s time to lick wounds and accept some losses.
* Conservatives still hold the edge on the Supreme Court, anyway. If Sotomayor goes too far to the left, she’ll just be a voice in the wilderness.
* Besides, how liberal can she be if she got her start on the federal bench from George H.W. Bush?
* Conservatives have traditionally argued that the court should support the view that government should not be involved in business. NOW, THAT’S FUNNY, considering how wide open their hands have been for bailouts.
* Sotomayor, however, will likely represent many of Obama’s sensibilities when it comes to saving the environment and regulating business, giving conservatives plenty to complain about.
* Republicans will have a hard time bashing a Hispanic nominee at time when they are on the ropes and just begging Hispanic voters to stop supporting Democrats.
* Obama’s choice of the word “empathy” raises suspicions that he might want Sotomayor to consider the little people over big corporations, rather than interpret the law. Whatever Obama’s intent, history is rife with examples of Supreme Court justices who follow their own convictions rather than those of the President who appointed them.
* Will Sotomayor be bad for business? Let me tell you something, business is bad for business. And the worst enemy of capitalism is the capitalists. Most of the litigation in this country is one business suing another. The changing regulatory landscape in this nation – which will surely raise Supreme Court challenges - is something business brought on business.
* The choice of Sotomayor, like the choice of Obama, is another reflection of our times.
(PHOTO: White House.)
