Sotomayor Has Some Explaining To Do

Threats from the White House, left-wing groups and the media that any and all criticism of President Obama’s choice to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat will be considered racist and sexist have become, in a mere matter of two days, our nation’s greatest shame.

Sotomayor will be confirmed. Despite some of her rather shocking statements, her record does not seem to be a reflection of her statements. But the onus is on her to convince the Senate and the American public that her personal bias on race and gender will not affect her decisions on the bench. That’s a difficult task for any justice.

Sotomayor’s personal experiences bring a unique balance to the bench that is welcome. However, her claim that being a Latino woman makes her more qualified than a white man to make judicial decisions is racist and sexist by any honest definition. After spending the past two days wincing as pundits and members of the media AND the White House press secretary literally try to intimidate and threaten anyone who would call Sotomayor out on her comments, as a woman I am offended that so many in our society still think my gender needs be graded on a curve. I am not a member of an ethnic or racial minority, but I imagine many who are may be equally offended by the double standard.

If Sotomayor had acknowledged that her perspective as a Latino woman would be a plus to the bench, and even noted that she might bring a little something extra to the table because as a woman and a minority, she had to work a little harder to be considered as qualified, then I would likely have to agree with her. But that is not what she said. She blatantly promoted, in a premeditated, prepared statement, that due to her gender and her race, she was “superior” to another gender and race.

That is not a statement of racial pride. That is not an acknowledgment that a particular race or gender has had to work harder than another. It is racist and sexist, pure and simple. The United States Senate needs to ensure that Sotomayor thoroughly explains her thoughts on the matter and can convince us all that these racist and sexist biases will not affect her decisions as a member of the highest court in the land — no matter what the left-wing race-baiters have to say about it, whether they are in the media or behind the White House podium in the press briefing room.

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