Sonia Sotomayor
Today the president nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court. Obama was under some pressure to nominate a Hispanic woman to the court and he followed through. The era of identity politics continues; this is not really a surprise since Sotomayor was on many people’s short list to be picked. Unless there’s some skeleton in the closest that no one knows about she should be confirmed rather easily. This is despite the fact she is on record for making a comment that if had been made by a man would automatically disqualify her.

“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.”

Imagine if Justice Roberts had said that he could reach a better conclusion than any woman. There’s no way he could ever serve on the court. This quote isn’t a new revelation; it’s been floating around ever since Souter made his announcement. The president knows that her historic appointment will drown out any opposition. This is part of the reason the Democrats adamantly opposed the appointment of Miguel Estrada to the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The Democrats filibustered Estrada’s nomination because they were afraid President Bush was grooming a latino for the court.
Any serious attempt to block Sotomayor’s nomination will be greeted with cries of racism. The press was quick to label Roberts and Alito “hard line conservatives,” but there will be no such coverage from the press this time around. From a political standpoint it’s a great pick for Obama. He’s able to appoint someone with a liberal judicial record under the cover of a “historic appointment.” This isn’t a new practice; George H.W. Bush did the very same thing with Justice Thomas. After it’s all said and done the court still stands at four conservatives, four liberals, and one swing vote.