Sometimes the ignorance of seemingly intelligent people astounds me. For centuries justices have been picked with one overriding criteria, that they be white males. Out of a population of half a billion people, there are bound to be more than one qualified person for a supreme court appointment. So what criteria is used? A chance to diversify the nation's highest court in a diverse nation is beyond long in coming. Additionally, this woman has the most judicial experience of any nominee. Minorities have been defined by their ethnicity since this country's beginning, and will continue be so defined for a very long time. It's not a faucet that can be turned off because white men are now nervous. This is the country that 'they' made.
jwest
· 5 months ago
Thank you for the first intellectually honest article I’ve seen on the Sotomayor appointment.
Although we disagree politically and on whether or not Pat Buchanan is racist, we agree that Obama made a mistake by overtly picking a Hispanic woman instead of the best liberal mind he could find.
What will the future hold if Sotomayor’s opinions, even if they are in the majority, are not intellectually on par with Scalia or Roberts? It was more important to find someone who can effectively argue the constitutional merits of a point of law from the left than to fill an ethnic quota.
On this, we can agree.
PJBFan
· 5 months ago
This reminds me of why the picks of Justices Thurgood Marshall, Clarence Thomas, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg were actually quite brilliant, because each of them has been a bright and powerful voice for their views. This pick reminds me more of the pick of Sandra Day O'Connor, or Harold Carswell. We have a competent, but not stellar, jurist who is expected to be a solid vote for a specific side of the political spectrum, with a pick that as obviously political and far too obvious.
As to what you said, Ernest, I disagree. White privilege once existed, but no longer does it any more, and rightfully, it should not. However, the pendulum has swung to the other end of the spectrum, and white men are disfavoured. I frankly don't care if the Supreme Court, or Congress, or the Presidency or anything looks like the country. I would rather have the best and the brightest, and say "who cares" when it comes to race, ethnicity, sex, gender, national origin, sexual orientation or any other characteristic. It does not matter what one looks like, it matters what the brain contains. Hence the pick of Justice Alito over more PC potential choices, such as Priscilla Owen, Janice Rogers-Brown, or even Sonia Sotomayor, who was rumoured to be on the list to replace Justice O'Connor, was a wise one.
Father_Time
· 5 months ago
Pat Buchanan is not intelligent. He is a talking head gone political and failed. He says what he says because he knows that a clown with notoriety will always make money on the boob tube political shows. I suspect that it is worse than you expect. As long as you are focused on the benign and nearly likable antics of Pat Buchanan, you may feel comfortable and overlook the real hatred that sits below the surface within the republican party.
Pat Buchanan is the redneck version of an uncle tom.
All Comments
Although we disagree politically and on whether or not Pat Buchanan is racist, we agree that Obama made a mistake by overtly picking a Hispanic woman instead of the best liberal mind he could find.
What will the future hold if Sotomayor’s opinions, even if they are in the majority, are not intellectually on par with Scalia or Roberts? It was more important to find someone who can effectively argue the constitutional merits of a point of law from the left than to fill an ethnic quota.
On this, we can agree.
As to what you said, Ernest, I disagree. White privilege once existed, but no longer does it any more, and rightfully, it should not. However, the pendulum has swung to the other end of the spectrum, and white men are disfavoured. I frankly don't care if the Supreme Court, or Congress, or the Presidency or anything looks like the country. I would rather have the best and the brightest, and say "who cares" when it comes to race, ethnicity, sex, gender, national origin, sexual orientation or any other characteristic. It does not matter what one looks like, it matters what the brain contains. Hence the pick of Justice Alito over more PC potential choices, such as Priscilla Owen, Janice Rogers-Brown, or even Sonia Sotomayor, who was rumoured to be on the list to replace Justice O'Connor, was a wise one.
Pat Buchanan is the redneck version of an uncle tom.