Scrutinize Sotomayor

Conservative Republican Jim Ellis and liberal Democrat Bennet Kelley present Filibanter, a combination of political filibuster and banter. Read Kelley’s perspective on the Sotomayor nomination claims here. “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 who hasn’t lived that life,” said Obama Supreme Court designee Sonia Sotomayor during a speech before a leftist throng at the University of California at Berkeley Law School back in 2001. Newt Gingrich is right. As the former speaker of the House opined, if, hypothetically, a different judicial nominee had substituted “white man” for “Latina woman” in that same speech, he would have been subjected to a media and political onslaught that would have already forced withdrawal. This is not to say that Judge Sotomayor’s racially charged comments to a politically correct audience should necessarily disqualify her from confirmation. It does, however, suggest that careful examination into her record and views be conducted. The Supreme Court exists to blindly interpret the law, not create binding statute or become a bully pulpit for any particular political or social cause. Other utterances and previous rulings, such as her position that state governments don’t have the authority to enforce the Second Amendment, further suggest that Sotomayor may not agree with this fundamental tenet, which does call her legitimacy as a nominee into question. Those who want to make policy, like Barack Obama and Newt Gingrich, should run for president or Congress. Legal scholars, like Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who interpret the law without consideration of their personal feelings and opinions, should be appointed to the bench. Unfortunately, we as a country have strayed dangerously afar from this basic principle. It’s time to return.Jim Ellis is a former political adviser to the House Republican majority and currently provides election analysis for clients of the PRIsm Information Network. With Bennet Kelley he has formed Filibanter, which provides a live presentation combining political filibustering and banter.