Who will stop the whining?

If I were blind, I would ask someone with intimate knowledge of birds to describe a dove. If I were deaf, I would read the words of a great composer, hoping for some glimmer of understanding from their experience. And if I were a minority standing trial, I would want a judge who understands the fullness of my experience. And I am betting that a Latina from New York will have a bit more in common with most of us than the “old, rich, white” dudes we’ve had for decades with a few exceptions, not always for the better.

Judge Sotomayor is not saying she will make a better decision BECAUSE she is a Latina. She is clearly saying that the breadth of her experience gives her a wider view of the common experiences of many people who come before the Court. And this is bad how? The last time the Republicans whined this much they lost the White House.

As usual the Conservative Semantic Team is running full throttle to discredit her remark by saying that “…if a Republican made a comment like this they would never be confirmed.” Really? I have to wonder. Here is what Judge John Roberts had to say in 1991 (after his confirmation), activist judge that he is:

Roberts wrote the government’s brief in a 1991 case in which the Supreme Court held that government could prohibit doctors and clinics who receive federal funds from discussing abortion with their patients. In his brief, Roberts wrote: “We continue to believe that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided and should be overruled.” He also stated that the 1973 Court decision finds “no support in the text, structure, or history of the Constitution.” (emphasis added)

What? Is he saying that every other Supreme Court Judge who has upheld this decision is wrong? And who is the “We” he speaks of? Certainly not the majority of American voters. Did he mean “we” as in white men? We, Supreme Court Judges who disagree with this ruling? We, as in Republicans? Is this the “we” he speaks of? Could it be his own “collective experience”? Should we have confirmed a man with such a vision of the law? Might he be using his own beliefs, values and background to “color” his opinion?

I keep waiting for the Liberal Elite Media to make some hay. But they seem dismally silent. CNN seems to take pleasure in allowing the self-proclaimed “independent” Lou Dobbs to spend an hour each day critiquing every decision President Obama makes. If I close my eyes, I almost think it is FOX’s Bill O’Reilly spewing his own special brand of hate.

It is possible to take any comment and change its meaning to a partisan one. Anyone remember “Mission Accomplished”? How about “death tax”? And let’s not forget the all-ironic, “fair decision” by the Supreme Court when they appointed George Bush President. No one was allowing their personal beliefs to color that decision. They all left their politics at the door the day they halted the recount on the word of the Republican Secretary of State Katherine Harris, she who just happened to be the Chair of Bush’s campaign in the State of Florida. But surely, her Anglo-Saxon, Christian, Conservative background had nothing to do with that decision.

See how easy it is? I am not going to defend Judge Sotomayor’s words. She speaks for herself. I will instead continue to point out the irony, contradiction and hypocrisy of the “right conservative republican” ideologues.

Let’s review.

When I questioned invading a nation without a declaration of war or provocation, I was called a traitor.

When I support social justice, I am labeled a socialist.

When I stand firm for a woman’s right to choose, I am accused of supporting murder.

And when I point out these absurdities to Conservatives, I am being rude. I am tired of this double standard. Republicans who downplay violence on certain doctors because it is a “war” on abortion, are not “patriots”. They are terrorists just as much as the suicide bombers killing our soldiers every day.

I support and defend my country in a very real way, not with semantics, but with sincerity. I do not blindly accept any statement. I allow my intellect to review the data and make a determination. I have had eight years of platitudes and attitudes, I am ready for some depth and discourse.
Judge Sotomayor never said she would decide a case based upon her ethnicity, or that being a Latina would change her view of the law. Judge Sotomayor said that the “fullness” of her experience would hopefully allow her to make a “wiser” decision. I for one agree, being empathetic, not emphatic, is what we need. And less whining would help too.


This piece is dedicated to Skip Lawrence, who gave me the confidence to start writing again