Padd Solutions

Well, we're nearly at the end of Judge Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearings on becoming a Supreme Court Justice. I think Senator Lindsay Graham (one of the most conservative Republicans out there) is right--she hasn't had a meltdown, so she will probably be confirmed to take the place of the retiring Justice David Souter. Here are two articles from CNN.com and FoxNews.com that do a pretty good job of reporting on the hearings from the opposite sides of the political spectrum: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/14/sotomayor.hearing/index.html

Despite what Sotomayor has been saying all week about respecting precedent and rule of law, I believe she is a liberal activist and will do what she can to advance the liberal social engineering agenda. Her defenders have been making a lot out of things like she's followed precdent in most of her cases, and she's tried to back away from controversial statements like the "wise Latina", and even distancing herself from President Obama's qualification of a judge who uses his/her heart.

The problem is that her statements outside of the court reveal what's in her heart. Fox News came up with the best definition I've seen of a judicial activist--someone who creates rights that are not explicitly found in the Constitution. That's exactly what liberal activists try to do, from abortion to gay rights to gun control--you name it. I think it's funny that liberals try to turn this charge around and accuse others of being a "conservative activist", but by definition, conservatives don't create rights where there are none, but they do, rightly, try to roll back liberals' attempts to do so. The Ricci case is a perfect example--the Supreme Court stopped the 2nd Court of Appeals (with Sotomayor on the panel!) attempt to uphold reverse discrimination in the New Haven, CT Fire Dept in the name of affirmative action and racial quotas. Now, Sotomayor and other liberals can say what they want, but her words are clear and speak for themselves. Here is a YouTube clip showing the entire "policy is made from the bench" statement in its entirety and in context. Judge for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug-qUvI6WFo

In spite of all this, I think it would be a mistake for Republicans to spend a lot of political capital opposing Sotomayor's confirmation, and I think Senator Graham is right when he says she will be appointed with many Republican votes. The reason? Sotomayor will not change the current 5-4 Conservative/Liberal split on the Supreme Court. Remember, she is replacing Souter--a liberal for a liberal. Furthermore, the most likely justices that will be replaced in the future will come from the liberal wing--Justice John Paul Stevens is almost 90 years old, and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has health issues. The conservatives--Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, Alito, and Kennedy--aren't going anywhere anytime soon. This is crucial, because with a significant majority in the House of Representatives and a filibuster-proof 60 senators in the Senate, the Supreme Court looks to be the only check on the actions of Obama and the Democrats for the foreseeable future. I thank God once again for the wisdom of the Founding Fathers for creating the system of checks and balances in our Constitution, so that one man or faction can't become too powerful!