Defending 'Wise Latina'

[mystieus]

Run time: 03:39 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3eWGbiBqK0   Posted on YouTube: July 16, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: July 16, 2009 By DU Member: mystieus Views on DU: 408

 
Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor defended several comments she previously made before the Senate Judiciary Committee about judicial policy making and her background as a Latina.

[Wizard777]

1. I'm liking some of the things I'm hearing from her. Even on the ever dreaded statement.

For anyone aware of my position on Sotomayor. You know I'm a hard sell or in the vulgate a hard ass. You'll never convince me that statement wasn't tinged in racism and sexism. But I'm liking some of what I'm hearing from her on it and her hindsight view of it. Even if she is still trying to avoid personal honesty about and personal responsibility for her poor choice of words by not calling them what they are. Tinged in racism and sexism. I'm not adversed to Sotomayor living, learning, and becoming wiser. Even if I refuse to believe her race and sex play any role in this newly found wisdom. Many people commonly call that tried and true process life. That the only real role life experience plays in the court. Because it is formed of people just like the rest of our Government. The Supreme Court also lives, learns and becomes wiser along with it's members and participants with each new ruling.

I also believe that personal experiences and prejudices have no place on the bench. Especially if they are outside of the facts before them. They need to be making their decisions from hard facts with logic and reasoning provided by case law. They are judges not sociologists. I disagree that courts "can't remedy social ills." The courts must make people whole and restore them as if they hadn't incurred the social damages. So courts must remedy social ills. However they can not inoculate society to make them immune to future illness. Maybe it's just another poor choice of words. But in this I think I see the point she's actually trying to make and it's not a bad one or something I disagree with. I'm not supporting her nomination yet. But I'm finding reasons to oppose it less.

So my final thought on the very dreaded comment is this. Regardless of Sonia Sotomayor's race, sex, religion, sexual preference or socioeconomic standings. If she has not lived and learned to become wiser about making statements that. If she repeats that mistake in the future. I trust the other Justices to take issue with it. I trust Chief Justice Roberts to take or recommend the appropriate disciplinary actions up to and including impeachment. So I'm starting to lean toward giving her a fair and equal chance to do the job and trusting the court to remedy any social ills, like racism and sexism, she may try to bring to it. If there are any brought at all.