The U.S. Senate this past week has been holding confirmation hearings for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Throughout the whole time since Obama first appointed her for the high court, we've been hearing many references made in regards to her being a Latina woman. We've been hearing that if she's confirmed, she'll be the first Latina woman to ever serve on the Supreme Court. The issue of her race has almost overshadowed all the other pertinent issues when it comes to a nominee's view of the law and how they'll handle the law while on the bench.
When Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) changed parties recently, he was interviewed on NBC's "Meet the Press" and he was speaking of the importance of having racial diversity on the court. He said there needs to be more women and minorities on the court. One of the statements that Sotomayor has made in years past that's been somewhat controversial for her was when she stated, "A wise Latina woman with rich life experiences has the ability to make better decisions than a white male that's never experienced them". Those aren't the exact words she said but they sum up the point she was making.
The United States has been confronted with racism since the dawn of time with slavery against the black race. There were abolitionist groups that protested against slavery and called for the end to such a cruel and barbaric practice. Since the end of slavery, there arose the civil rights movement which pushed for equality for blacks in the mainstream of society. Today blacks have largely achieved that goal. However many civil rights activists today wish to use "reverse discrimination" to "right" the wrongs of the past. It goes contrary to the legendary civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr, when he gave his "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington, D.C. in 1963. He said he had a dream in which a person would be judged by the content of their character instead of their skin color.
Why do we place such heavy emphasis on race when it comes to qualification? How is it going to affect the judgment of a judge that sits on the Supreme Court? Many of the liberal activisits as well as Democrats that place such a huge emphasis on race are only one-sided about it. They favor racial diversity as long as their candidate upholds liberal, progressive views. If the nominee doesn't uphold liberal, progressive views, the liberals will turn against them.
Let's consider some examples. Back in 1991 Clarence Thomas was appointed by George H.W. Bush to be justice on the Supreme Court. He is black. However, scores of civil rights leaders came out in opposition against him. He faced a tough grilling by the Democrats. At the last moment they used Anita Hill to deter Thomas before he was finally confirmed by a slim margin. Janice Rogers Brown is a black woman appointed by former President George W. Bush for the appeals court. Liberals and Democrats came out against her and stalled her nomination in the Senate committee. It was through some sort of compromise with the "Gang of fourteen" in 2005 that finally landed her the seat. Miguel Estrada is a Hispanic that George W. Bush appointed but was stalled by the Democrats in the Senate committee. It's more about ideology than race.
I'm 100% in favor of appointing blacks, Hispanics, and Chinese Americans to the Supreme Court or other judicial courts if they're of the right judicial temperament and are wholly qualified. I'm elated to see people of other races achieve in unprecedented ways. That's what the American dream is all about. It's the ability to apply yourself and use your God-given talents to achieve great things. I greatly encourage blacks and people of other races to work hard so they can have the opportunity to be placed in positions of authority due to merit. However, we shouldn't use affirmative action as a qualifying factor.
All this talk about racial diversity is nothing but a smokescreen. The very liberal progressive civil rights activists such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton support the Democratic Party so as a result the Democrats tow the line for them. It's time that we rise past using race as a means to determine the qualification of a judicial nominee. It does nothing but cause racial polarization in America.
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