GOP response to Judge Sotomayor

I would like to make a quick comment on the GOP reaction to President Obama’s nomination of Judge Sonya Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court.

It is not particularly surprising that conservatives would have objections to any such nomination made by President Obama. When a president names an appointee to such an important position, members of both parties typically raise questions and debate the appropriateness of the appointment. Judge Sotomayor will undoubtedly be poked, prodded, and turned inside out during her confirmation hearing. This is how the process works. No one wants a person who is unqualified or less than extremely competent appointed to the highest court in the land. We already went down that path with the last presidential administration and we are still reeling from that disaster.

Republicans would be expected to scrutinize this choice, but what I find quite odd is the knee jerk reaction of several outspoken conservatives. How easily men like Newt Gingrich, Tom Tancredo, and talk show host, Rush Limbaugh, throw around the word “racist.” Her critics have also labeled her a “judicial activist,” a term that I have noticed conservative commentators often like to use about when a judge writes an opinion in favor of equal rights for minorities. Again, they zero on a few of those decisions as evidence she is an unfair judge and that she should immediately withdraw her nomination.

When making a decision as important as this one, the Senate will examine Sotomayor’s entire record and body of experience. From what we know so far she is qualified, has heard a wide breadth of cases during her judicial career, and has made rulings on various points of law that could be considered to fall on different sides of the political spectrum. This CNN article provides a pretty good summary if you are interested.

Some of her statements might be considered controversial, but there is nothing to indicate that she is unfit for this nomination. Unless something more than what we know surfaces during the confirmation hearing it is likely that she will be confirmed. It appears that the claims of racism are much ado about nothing, and in Limbaugh’s case it is particularly hypocritical given his history of blatant racial slurs.