The Rational Hysterics

Slate by Dahlia Lithwick | May. 27, 2009 (Opinion)
Republicans won't beat Sonia Sotomayor by attacking her as too darn human.

Instead of wading into a bruising identity politics war they cannot possibly win, conservatives—even the angriest conservatives—should wade into Sotomayor's vast legal writings. There are hundreds of cases for them to read and parse and quote out of context. Let's have this confirmation battle on the merits, rather than in the sinkhole of unfounded character attacks. The real problem for Sotomayor's opponents is that anyone who has closely read her ... Full Story »

Posted by Kaizar Campwala

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Margarita Persico
4.2
 by Margarita Persico - May. 27, 2009

This is a well-supported opinion/argument showing at first an apparent balanced with both sides depicted. For instance, how democrats did the same during the confirmation hearings of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito; however, it ends there. The author exposes, aside from the political bias (if that’s possible) Judge Sotomayor’s accomplishments, and her human side, following the law by the book, which is why there are no concrete accusations against her, but the illusion/accusation of having her own agenda. This opinion exposes counter-arguments that we will hear and read about during the next few weeks, for instance, the 2002 University of California at Berkeley speech. Throughout the opinion the level of research and well reason arguments were supported by quotes from today’s news, references to Sotomayor’s legal history, and her accomplishments and qualifications noticed by three US presidents on both sides – Bush, Clinton, and Obama.

Can three US Presidents be wrong? -- I don't think so. Disclosure, politics and I don't mix -- I'm more interest in health, environment, good news, etc...

“If the Republican attack on Sotomayor is really going to consist of scattershot claims that she is too female and ethnic to be truly fair or impartial, it will be a losing demographic battle. Recall that 67 percent of Hispanics and 58 percent of women voted for Obama in 2008, along with 96 percent of blacks. Folks across the political spectrum may wish that Obama hadn’t opened the door to discussions of the complicated connection between experience and judicial "empathy.” But now that we are there, it simply has to be a mistake for her opponents to attack Sotomayor as someone who is just too darn human to sit on a court. … Judge Sotomayor has taken a fairly moderate, text-based approach to the cases before her, placing her much closer to retiring Justice David Souter than to the late Justice William Brennan on the judicial activism spectrum."

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Margarita's Rating

Overall
4.2

Good
from 20 answers
Quality
4.1
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4.0
Fairness
3.0
Information
5.0
Insight
4.0
Style
5.0
Accuracy
3.0
Balance
4.0
Context
4.0
Depth
4.0
Enterprise
3.0
Expertise
4.0
Originality
3.0
Relevance
5.0
Transparency
4.0
Responsibility
4.0
Popularity
4.5
Recommendation
5.0
Credibility
4.0
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