May 28 2009
SUPREME COURT NOMINEE AND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY (Opinion)
An editorial by Jared Tallman (Republican)
On May 26, President Obama nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the U.S. Supreme Court to replace Justice David Souter, who is retiring in June. Obama praised her for her overcoming her difficult life, and her “empathy”. This unfitting, yet unsurprising selection has split the opinions of many Republicans.
What is the role of a judge on the Supreme Court? The Judiciary Branch of the government is too uphold the Constitution, keeping unconstitutional laws and actions from taking place. They are supposed to be unbiased, nonpartisan “referees” to the government. Sotomayor, an outspoken liberal activist, appears to be a little confused on this role.
While a judge on a Court of Appeals, speaking at a panel discussion at Duke Law School in 2005, she said, “Court of Appeals is where policy is made.”
Last time I checked, policies were made in Congress. If it is constitutional, it is upheld by the Supreme Court.
She went on saying, “I know, and I know, that this is on tape, and I should never say that. Because we don’t ‘make the law’”. The others present then laughed with her as they mocked the constitutional roles of the courts.
The question is, how should the Republican Party react to the nomination? It is no surprise to anybody that Obama would nominate someone who is on the far-left. A filibuster in the Senate would be ineffective, and even if Obama were to withdraw the nomination (yeah, ok), he would have no problem finding an equally liberal judge to fill the spot.
It is my belief that the Republicans in the Senate should not filibuster, and not reject this nominee. The appointing of another liberal judge surprised no one, and it does nothing to change the typical voting decisions. Justice Anthony Kennedy still remains the usually swing vote of the Supreme Court, keeping the conservative to liberal ratio as 4:4.
In politics, one must learn to pick their battles (Obama realized this with the overturning of his own decision to release torture photos of terrorists). This is a battle that we won’t win, and creating enough stir will discourage the Hispanic vote, which is rising to be of bigger importance more than ever.
There is little doubt in my mind that Judge Sotomayor is a radical choice for a Supreme Court Justice. Her ideas of the roles of the court are estranged from what the Constitution are out there. But in the end, a filibuster would do nothing, and pushing the issue in the Senate too much would deter the Hispanic voting population, which the Republican Party must try to gain support from for the 2010 and the 2012 elections. I still believe that conservatives should still vocally oppose any actions that Sotomayor takes that goes against her role as an unbiased judge.
Jared Tallman can be reached at tallman2555@yahoo.com
