Tuesday, June 2, 2009

'Blind justice' & the 'quota queen'

Conservative commentator Patrick Buchanan has referred to Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, as a 'quota queen'. He claims that she is "all about" race-based justice. In support of his claim, he cites the following:

* She "headed up Accion Puertorriquena (at Princeton), which filed a complaint with the Department of Health, Education and Welfare demanding that her school hire Hispanic teachers"

* She "co-chaired a coalition of non-black minorities of color that demanded more Latino professors and administrators" at Yale

* She was "alarmed" when the use of quotas in university admissions was prohibited by the Supreme Court's 1978 decision in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. In this case, the white Bakke was rejected admission by UC Davis' medical school even though he scored higher than "almost all" minority students who were admitted

* She has joined groups which "promote race and ethnic preferences, affirmative action and quotas for Hispanics" (e.g. the radical National Council of La Raza & the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund)

Buchanan claims that she is "a judge who, all her life, has believed in, preached and practiced race discrimination against white males". We know that she has put this into practice even in her own court decisions. For example, she decided that white firefighters should be denied promotions they had earned because they were white (apparently "few" minorities qualified for promotions based on the exams so she opted to disregard the exam results). We also know that she has stated publicly that "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." She has also given the indication that she is an "activist judge" who may take "personal feelings & experiences" into account instead of being a fair, impartial judge.

No matter what your race or gender, this should send a chill up your spine. Who really wants to live in a country where your gender or skin color are more important than truth & justice? Or when a judge's "feelings & experiences" are allowed to trump a fair and impartial assessment of the law? So much for the concepts of justice being 'blind' and 'equal justice for all'! Obama has chosen this divisive nominee who stands for race-based justice, reverse discrimination, and judicial activism. Elevating this woman (who, by the way, has a "terrible record of reversals") will be a signal that "diversity" is more important than law and skin color & gender are more important than justice. It will further destroy justice in this country by allowing 'lawmakers' to be disguised as judges. Call your senators & representatives and tell them to oppose this nomination. Demand that judges demonstrate that they are fair and impartial and don't render decisions based on "feelings" or personal agendas. [story here] [6/2]