sonia sotomayor

Sonia Sotomayor

Justice on the US Supreme Court who'll be having a mostly negative impact on the U.S. for decades. Despite that fact, she was confirmed with little real opposition.

It wouldn't have been that difficult to cause her to withdraw after having been nominated to the Supreme Court, except few others gave it a try.

As far as the GOP was concerned, the fix was in from the beginning as they presented minimal opposition. Fox News and others harped on "wise Latina" but didn't go beyond that and weren't able to make her toxic to her supporters. And, the self-styled "patriots" in the tea parties said absolutely nothing about her.

All of that is despite the fact that her past memberships in the PRLDEF and the National Council of La Raza should have disqualified her.

If you don't like her positions, share the blame between Barack Obama *and* the tea parties, the GOP, and their helpers and enablers.

Last modified Sep 7, 2014
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Supreme Court upholds 2007 Arizona immigration enforcement law; eVerify; losing: US Chamber, DOJ, Berman, NCLR, ADL, SPLC, AILA, SEIU, LULAC - 05/26/11

In a major victory for states that want to reduce illegal immigration, the US Supreme Court has upheld Arizona's 2007 "Legal Arizona Workers Act" employer enforcement law that requires the use of eVerify and that allows Arizona to pull the business licenses of companies that knowingly hire illegal aliens. Note that the 2007 law and the decision have no relation to Arizona's more recent immigration law. A Los Angeles Times article is here, and links to legal documents are here. Sonia Sotomayor voted in dissent; see her name's link. Those who opposed Arizona's law in court and who lost today...

Supreme Court orders California to release >30,000 prisoners; how much overcrowding due to illegal immigration? (ACLU) - 05/23/11

The US Supreme Court has ordered the state of California to release at least 30,000 state prisoners in order to reduce overcrowding (link, excerpt at [1]). What you probably won't hear from many others is the role that massive immigration - especially of the illegal variety - has played in this matter. According to a Public Policy Institute of California study, "[i]n 2005, there were 28,279 foreign born adults and 139,419 U.S.-born adults in California prisons". Not all of the former are illegal aliens; in fact, it appears that statistics on the numbers of illegal aliens in California prisons...

Sotomayor uses "undocumented immigrant" in Supreme Court opinion; never happened before - 12/09/09

From this: In an otherwise dry opinion, Justice Sotomayor did introduce one new and politically charged term into the Supreme Court lexicon. Justice Sotomayor’s opinion in the case, Mohawk Industries v. Carpenter, No. 08-678, marked the first use of the term "undocumented immigrant," according to a legal database. The term "illegal immigrant" has appeared in a dozen decisions. This is a relatively minor issue, but expect things to get worse and maybe even much worse. At this point in time, it's worth looking back at those who basically took a fall after she was nominated; that will be...

Questions for John Fund about the Hispanic vote (Wall Street Journal, Carly Fiorina) - 11/28/09

John Fund of the Wall Street Journal offers an interview with California senate candidate Carly Fiorina (link). Fiorina is not an option, and she says the to-be-expected things. Rather than spending time discussing why Fiorina is wrong, I encourage the readers of this site to go to Fund's appearances and ask him about this paragraph: An issue that will give (Chuck DeVore) some traction in a primary is that Ms. Fiorina says she "probably" would have voted to confirm Sonia Sotomayor, because most presidential Supreme Court nominees who are qualified deserve a presumption of support. One can...

Kos: Republicans must do everything Hispanics want or we won't vote for them (Sotomayor) - 08/08/09

The great Kos speaks (dailykos.com/story/2009/8/7/763043/-It-WAS-an-incredible-day-for-Latinos): We have a wise Latina on the Supreme Court... Pat Buchanan pines for the America of the '50s, but the country has changed, and for the better... And while we Latinos celebrate Associate Justice Sotomayor's accomplishments, we have also take note of who tried to stand in her way... Nine Republicans voted to confirm... [aside from those retiring and the "Maine twins"] That leaves Alexander, Graham, and Lugar as the only other Republicans unwilling to alienate the nation's fastest growing ethnic...

National Council of La Raza promotes radical groups - 08/03/09

Tom Tancredo writes: The National Council of La Raza bills itself as "the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States" who works through "its network of nearly 300 affiliated community-based organizations." Among these affiliates are several chapters of the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (Chicano Student Movement of Aztlan) who La Raza helps fund. Aztlan is what radical "Mechistas"—as they refer to themselves on La Raza’s website—call the American Southwest, which they claim still belongs to Mexico. Their slogan is "Por La Raza todo, Fuera...

Arlen Specter: "wise Latina" was commendable, "nothing wrong with a little ethnic pride" - 07/28/09

Earlier today, Arlen Specter said referring to the infamous comments from Sonia Sotomayor: "I didn't find fault with the 'wise Latina' comment, I find it commendable... There's nothing wrong with a little ethnic pride." Of course, what she said wasn't so much "ethnic pride" as chauvinism or worse. Some forms of ethnic pride are certainly inoffensive. Others aren't, such as being a board member of a far-left racial power group (the PRLDEF) and being a member of another (the National Council of La Raza).

Ian Millhiser of ThinkProgress lies about anti-Sotomayor ad (Committee for Justice's incompetent ad) - 07/16/09

The attached video shows an anti-Sonia Sotomayor ad from the "Committee for Justice".

Sen. Pat Leahy lies about Sonia Sotomayor "wise Latina" statement - 07/16/09

The attached video from the Sonia Sotomayor confirmation hearings has Senator Pat Leahy saying: "You said that, quote, you 'would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would reach wise decisions'". Leahy is lying and doing so outrageously. Here's the accurate version of Sotomayor's famous comment: "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". Did he realize how outrageous her statement was and then decide to bowdlerize it on the spot, or...

How to block Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court - 07/13/09

If many of Sonia Sotomayor's online opponents concentrated on opposing her in effective ways, she might not be confirmed. At the very least, that opposition would deal a blow to the Obama administration and the MSM. Here's how to do it:

People for the American Way, TPM begin personal destruction campaign against Frank Ricci (what you can do) - 07/11/09

McClatchy reports that People for the American Way and perhaps other groups are "quietly" beginning a "politics of personal destruction"/"Joe the Plumber"-style campaign against Frank Ricci, the firefighter who'll be testifying at the Sonia Sotomayor confirmati

Sonia Sotomayor's PRLDEF pushed Ricci-style cases, campaigned against Robert Bork - 07/02/09

From this: The Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF) officially opposed Bork, whose nomination by President Ronald Reagan was rejected by the Senate in 1987, "because of the threat he poses to the civil rights of the Latino community," its president reported in one of several documents from the group that the Senate Judiciary Committee released Wednesday. And, from this:

Sonia Sotomayor dismissed innocent man's case on a technicality, costing him six years in prison - 06/30/09

From this: The nomination by President Obama of 2nd Circuit Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court is more than alarming to an innocent man who was convicted of murder and spent 16 years in prison before being cleared and released. Jeff Deskovic, whose pursuit of freedom has been chronicled by the New York Times and others, told WND that the last six of those years are directly attributable to decisions endorsed by Sotomayor... ...According to reports, his lawyer asked a court clerk about the [habeas corpus] deadline and was told it had to be mailed by that date. Wrong. The...

Sotomayor in 1986 found that "men unconsciously discriminate against women" - 06/19/09

Journey back to the 80s with the attached video clip featuring Sonia Sotomayor being interviewed on Good Morning America in 1986. In the clip, she says she found that "men unconsciously discriminate against women". If there's something else on this clip of interest, or if someone can find the full version of the interview, please leave a comment. And, for all the dirt on Sotomayor that the GOP is largely ignoring, see her name's link above.

Kristin Collins/News & Observer misleads about NCLR (Andrea Bazan) - 06/18/09

Kristin Collins of the Raleigh, North Carolina News & Observer offers "La Raza drawn into debate/Sotomayor is a former member" (link), about Sonia Sotomayor's membership in the NCLR. If you trust Collins' reporting, please compare her report to my extensive summary of that group on the National Council of La Raza page. You'll discover a large number of things Collins didn't tell you; whether that's because she's completely gullible or because she's in on the game isn't known, but in either case her journalistic skills are questionable. The article might be an indication that the NCLR (or...

Sonia Sotomayor, the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, and more quotes (on PRLDEF board for 12 years) - 06/13/09

This post will round up Sonia Sotomayor's involvement with the far-left, illegal immigration-supporting Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF), nowadays called "LatinoJustice PRLDEF". See below for some of the details on her involvement with that group and even more questionable quotes from her.

Poll: 55% don't yet have opinion of Sotomayor; Hispanics generally in line with everyone else on how GOP should proceed - 06/12/09

Margaret Talev of McClatchy offers "Poll: GOP risks loss of respect if it goes after Sotomayor" (link). Both the absurd headline and, to a slightly lesser extent the article, try to spin the poll in the most Democratic Party-favorable fashion possible. However, that fails: Fully 55 percent of Americans said they hadn't yet heard enough about Sonia Sotomayor to have an opinion of her, according to a new McClatchy-Ipsos poll. That could be the opportunity that Republicans can exploit by attacking her. Even so, 54 percent said the Senate should confirm her, while only 21 percent said it should...

Sonia Sotomayor is member of elite womens-only group (Belizean Grove) - 06/12/09

Sonia Sotomayor is one of the 125 members of the elite, womens-only "Belizean Grove" (belizeangrove.com). More on them here, and from their site: Having observed the power of the Bohemian Grove, a 130-year-old, elite old boys' network of former Presidents, businessmen, military, musicians, academics, and non-profit leaders, and realizing that women didn't have a similar organization, Susan Stautberg and 26 other founding members created the Belizean Grove, a constellation of influential women who are key decision makers in the profit, non-profit and social sectors; who build long term...

Sonia Sotomayor admits she was an "affirmative action baby"; said it's "critical that we promote diversity"; there are "cultural biases built into testing" - 06/11/09

If we could replace the GOP leadership with the Washington Post and the New York Times, we might be able to block Sonia Sotomayor.

Chuck Schumer: Sotomayor is "within the judicial mainstream" on immigration cases; how far off is he? - 06/08/09

From this: Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), chairman of Judiciary’s immigration subcommittee, assigned his staff to analyze how (Sonia Sotomayor) voted in 955 immigration cases in which she has participated throughout her judicial career, with a special focus on cases that involved foreigners trying to win asylum claims in order to remain in the United States. Of the 848 asylum cases in which Sotomayor has taken part, Schumer’s aides say, she sided with the foreigner over the government in 144 of them, or 17 percent of the time. That percentage, the aides point out, is virtually identical to...

Dave Neiwert is very confused about identity politics (Sotomayor) - 06/06/09

David Neiwert of Crooks and Liars offers "We Stand With Sonia Sotomayor" (crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/we-stand-sonia-sotomayor) about a new solidarity campaign for her. When some of the comments others left on the post didn't break his way, Neiwert left a comment of his own: Standing behind her has nothing to do with identity politics. Indeed, it's about refuting white male identity politics -- the primary reason for the right's opposition to her. We stand behind her because of her extraordinary qualifications and her sound legal reasoning. I don't think the fear of Catholicism is a...

WaPo: "Sotomayor Speeches Woven With Ethnicity"; "The Latina in me is an ember that blazes forever"; "sister power" - 06/06/09

Sonia Sotomayor is so deeply enmeshed in far-left concepts like ethnic nationalism that even the Washington Post isn't trying to hide it.

Sonia Sotomayor was member of National Council of La Raza from 1998 to 2004 (+Raul Yzaguirre) - 06/05/09

As first discussed here over a week ago, Sonia Sotomayor was member of the far-left, illegal activity-supporting, extemist-funding, racist-awarding National Council of La Raza. Now we know that she was a member from 1998 to 2004 (link).

Cecilia Munoz rallies troops at Reform Immigration for America confab (+Deepak Bhargava) - 06/05/09

Obama administration official and former National Council of La Raza VP Cecilia Munoz appeared at today's meeting of the new Reform Immigration for America group.

1976: Sotomayor favored Puerto Rican independence, referred to "North American Congress" and "mainland Congress" - 06/05/09

A history professor took a look at Sonia Sotomayor's 1976 Princeton University senior thesis and says it would get an A minus or thereabout. Oh, and also: First, I'm curious as to when Sotomayor ceased being a Puerto Rican nationalist who favors independence -- as she says she does in the preface. (The position, as she points out in the thesis, had received 0.6 percent in a 1967 referendum, the most recent such vote before she wrote the thesis.) I don't know that I've seen it reported anywhere that she favored Puerto Rican independence, which has always been very much a fringe position.......

Sotomayor repeatedly used "wise woman" or "wise Latina" in speeches - 06/04/09

From this: Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor delivered multiple speeches between 1994 and 2003 in which she suggested "a wise Latina woman" or "wise woman" judge might "reach a better conclusion" than a male judge... A draft version of a October 2003 speech Sotomayor delivered at Seton Hall University stated, "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would, more often than not, reach a better conclusion." That is identical to her October 2001 remarks at the University of California, Berkeley... A list of the times she's said various similar things would...

NCLR makes hay out of opponents' mistakes (Sotomayor) - 06/03/09

One would think that a group that gave an award to someone who'd proposed genocide wouldn't have much of a chance at beating their opponents. Yet, the National Council of La Raza is in the lucky position that most of their leading opposition doesn't have a clue about that organization or doesn't have a clue about the best way to oppose them. (For those curious, the way to oppose them is simple: just tell the truth. See the extensive summary of their activities at the last link.)

Sotomayor made "wise woman" comment in 1994; only 19% support her New Haven firefighter decision; Gingrich gets smarter - 06/03/09

In 2001, Sonia Sotomayor made her now-infamous "wise Latina" speech, and since then Barack Obama and Robert Gibbs have tried to walk her back from it, despite the fact that at no time between when she said it and now did she issue any sort of backtrack. Not only that, but back in 1994 she said something highly similar (link); one of the few differences is that she didn't mention her ethnicity, only her gender: Justice O’Connor has often been cited as saying that “a wise old man and a wise old woman reach the same conclusion in dueling cases. I am not so sure Justice O’Connor is the author of...

Sonia Sotomayor as a "gift" to Obama opponents if they have the guts to exploit it; "poster child of the Left" - 06/01/09

I don't know if Sonia Sotomayor is a "bigot" as Bay Buchanan calls her in "Obama Picks a Bigot for the High Court" (link). Calling her extremely ethno-centric and steeped in identity politics is the better option. However, the ending - aside from the part where she doesn't broaden the opposition to include all Obama opponents - is correct: Sonia Sotomayor is a gift to conservatives. But we must find the guts to exploit it. Sonia Baby needs to become the poster child of the Left. With her as point, we can strip away the scab hiding the real identity of those in power: anti-white male racists...

Lawyer for far-left LULAC has advice for Republicans re: Sotomayor - 05/31/09

Of the opposition response to the Sonia Sotomayor nomination, Luis Vera - National Legal Advisor of the League of United Latin American Citizens says: "The more they personalize their attack, all I can promise you is that the Latino community will raise such a voice across the country, that it'll be many, many, many years before the Republican party can draw Latinos back into their voting block"... ...Vera says it's acceptable to attack Sotomayor's voting record, and what she's written in her decisions, but it's not fair to pull a few words and use them against her. "The Republicans need to...

NYT: Sotomayors Focus on Race Issues May Be Hurdle (laying the groundwork for her withdrawal?) - 05/30/09

David Kirkpatrick of the New York Times offers "Sotomayor’s Focus on Race Issues May Be Hurdle" (link). Kremlin watchers are invited to speculate on whether they're trying to get those issues out of the way now, whether they're trying to give her an easy pretext to withdraw, or something else. Judge Sotomayor, whose parents moved to New York from Puerto Rico, has championed the importance of considering race and ethnicity in admissions, hiring and even judicial selection at almost every stage of her career — as a student activist at Princeton and at Yale Law School, as a board member of left-...

Hispanic GOP strategists shocked enough by anti-Sotomayor comments to help Democrats (Lionel Sosa) - 05/30/09

Lionel Sosa from MATT.org and other groups is an extremely ethnocentric GOP advertising consultant who worked on presidential campaigns by George W Bush and others. In 2007, he crossed over and supported Bill Richardson because, as he said at the time, "Blood runs thicker than politics".

Sonia Sotomayor is/was member of National Council of La Raza (far-left, supports illegal activity) - 05/27/09

[UPDATE 3: She was a member for six years. Please be sure to see the NCLR summary.]

Some Hispanic leaders not 100% happy with Sotomayor being Puerto Rican, not Mexican-American - 05/27/09

Oh what a tangled web they weave when first they start to play ethnic politics and assume that all Hispanics think alike despite country of origin. Daniel Gonzalez and Erin Kelly of the Arizona Republic offer "Hispanics laud choice, but many hoped for a Mexican-American" (link). Considering that in Arizona there are, per the article, "1.6 million Latinos of Mexican ancestry, compared with 28,524 of Puerto Rican ancestry", one wonders what (if anything) Ben Smith was thinking when he earlier wrote that "Fierce opposition from the right could push Florida and the West out of reach." Some...

Sonia Sotomayor: affirmative action nominee for Supreme Court? Close to far-left Puerto Rico extremists? - 05/26/09

[SEE THE UPDATES] Judge Sonia Sotomayor is Barack Obama's choice to replace David Souter on the US Supreme Court. Weak GOP talking points are here; Peter Baker and Jeff Zeleny (remember him?) have the New York Times' take here. Was she selected only because of her outstanding grasp of legal issues? Or, was at least part of the selection due to the fact that she's a woman and a Hispanic? Were there more qualified possibilities who didn't happen to fit the politically-friendly uniform? If so, then she is indeed an affirmative action pick, despite the many attempts to claim otherwise we'll be...