Just a few hours ago, the sirens went up and Obama announced he would nominate Sonya Sotomayor for the open Supreme Court slot. In those few hours, the arguments for and against are already quite apparent. Obama supporters and those on the left seem to like the pick. They paint Sotomayor as a bright, accomplished jurist destined for the nation’s highest court. Detractors are already digging up money quotes sure to be repeated during the confirmation process. Weighing the debate so far, it seems clear that Sotomayor will glide through without much of an issue. It’s not like Obama needs a boatload of Republicans to help secure her confirmation anyhow.

Some of Sotomayor’s former clerks and co-workers paint her as an angry, semi-incompetent jurist. But others rally to her defense and tout her background and extensive resume. It’s confusing.

I’m a bit worried about the possibility of Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor for a few reasons. This quote “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,” from Sonya Sotomayor’s speech at Berkeley a few years back, seems more than just a little extreme (and more than just a little racist). Sotomayor seems to be suggesting that white males are less capable of reaching a sensible conclusion than men and women of other races.

Another quote, “all of the legal defense funds out there, um, they’re looking for people out there with court of appeals experience, because court of appeals is where policy is made” from an event at Duke is also worrisome. I don’t want a Supreme Court jurist (from the Right or the Left) legislating from the bench and that quote seems to cross a line between prudent decisions and policy making.

I’m going to need to read up on her opinions before I make a final judgment.

Still, we’re pretending all of this debate actually matters. So long as Obama’s sale of Sotomayor to the Senate works, there’s no chance of blocking her. The Republicans are in a very weak position here and should probably count themselves lucky that the President didn’t pick someone who appeared more radical at first glance. With 60 votes on the left side of the aisle (no telling if Franken will be seated for this, though), debate seems kind of futile. Though I’m quite sure the dirt tossing is far from over.

And as for the ‘George H. W. Bush appointed her’ argument, it’s only a half-truth.

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