Obama nominates NewyoRican female to SCOTUS

[Ben Kenobi]

That's hilarious. Another benefit in appointing crazies.

[DaShi]

Probably will easily go through, as a number of Republicans approved her to be on the 2nd Circuit CoA when she was nominated by the first Bush.

I predict that they will fight it hard. Threaten, if not, use a filibuster to block the nomination. The Grand Obstructionist Party has a reputation to live up to. Plus, if anyone complains, they can just cry that the dems did it with Bush's crazy nominees.

Although it was brilliant of Obama to put someone well qualified and hispanic ensuring that the Republicans will further destroy themselves over this. I don't buy his reaching across partisan boundaries. It's a trap!!!

[DinoDoc]

When have the Senate Republicans filibustered anything this President wanted?

[DaShi]

When you took your head out of your ass.

[DinoDoc]

I didn't think you had an answer.

[DaShi]

Now you know better.

[SpencerH]

She's a poor choice IMO since its clearly been made in order to placate the unwashed masses rather than by virtue of being best qualified.

[DinoDoc]

She's a poor choice IMO since its clearly been made in order to placate the unwashed masses rather than by virtue of being best qualified.

She likes the identity politics game though. Obama is apparently a recent convert as well. I dunno about being unqualified though. Scary judicial philosophy maybe. I will say that the push for a quick confirmation by the admin is worrying. Questions about qualifications may arise in force though if/when SCOTUS reverses her decision in Ricci v. DeStefano.

[SpencerH]

She's not unqualified. Based upon what we've seen so far including the "landmark decisions" she's made, I just doubt she's the best qualified. When the most impressive case mentioned by the president at the nomination announcement concerns baseball, it doesnt speak well of her constitutional expertise.

[DinoDoc]

Constitutional expertise or even legal knowledge wasn't high up on Obama's stated qualifications for his SCOTUS pick, Spencer. Empathy was at the top of the list.

[SpencerH]

Unfortunately thats true. Of course by "empathy" he means the ability of a judge to make law from the bench in favor of minority plantiffs.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

She's not unqualified. Based upon what we've seen so far including the "landmark decisions" she's made, I just doubt she's the best qualified.

Just curious: which of the nine sitting justices were the best qualified candidates when they were appointed? Bonus points if you can make the case for Clarence Thomas.

[Patroklos]

Isn't empathy exactly what we don't want in our judges, regardless of their left/right leaning?

[-Jrabbit]

Just curious: which of the nine sitting justices were the best qualified candidates when they were appointed? Bonus points if you can make the case for Clarence Thomas.

QFT. But separating jurisprudence from politics is, sadly, a pipedream.

While the Fox pundits et al. will have a field day trotting out their activist judge meme, I think this nomination will sail through without too much trouble. But if Obama is called on to replace a hardcore conservative (read: entrenched pro-lifer), then the GOP will pull out all the stops.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

QFT. But separating jurisprudence from politics is, sadly, a pipedream.

Yep, it's always political. The question isn'ty whether she's the best qualified candidate, merely that she's a well-qualified candidate. Unqualified candidates have been nominated in the past; sometimes they make it (Fortas, Thomas) and sometimes they don't (Carswell, Meirs). But there's no way Sotomayor is actually unqualified -- quite teh opposite -- and beyond that, it's all, always, politics.