Monday, June 15, 2009

Sotomayor - "I Am A Product Of Affirmative Action"

New tape has come to light where Sotomayor says:

http://mediamatters.org/research/200906140008

"I am a product of affirmative action. I am the perfect affirmative action baby. I am a Puerto Rican, born and raised in the South Bronx, and from what is traditionally described as a socio-economically poor background. My test scores were not comparable to that of my colleagues at Princeton or Yale -- not so far off the mark that I wasn't able to succeed at those institutions"

She goes on to talk about how her grades alone may not have been enough to get her accepted into school, and how cultural biases are built into tests which is what affirmative action is designed to balance out.

Video embedded below.



Is this going to be a problem; yes and no. The repeated and constant racial references and distinctions in the law are getting more and more worrisome. Equality under the law should not have carve outs for a particular race. The grades part is less of a problem. What ever her grades were back before and in law school does not effect her current level of knowledge. Saying that a long time ago she did not know enough to be a Supreme Court justice is a ridiculous argument. She was not being considered for Supreme Court Justice a long time ago, she is being considered now. What she knows now is what is important. I doubt her past grades will get anything more then the most cursory of mentions at her confirmation hearings if that, but her views on how race impacts/effects law/rulings may take center stage

Past related posts:
Berman Post: Supreme Court Justice David Souter Will Retire
Berman Post: Obama Comments On Supreme Court Justice David Souter's Retirement
Berman Post: Specter's Defection May Hurt Obama in Picking a New Supreme Court Justice
Berman Post: ObamasFrontrunners.com
Berman Post: Obama Nominates Sonia Sotomayor For Supreme Court Justice
Berman Post: Is Sotomayor a Racist?
Berman Post: When Life Experience Apparently Matters (in Politics)
Berman Post: Harry Reid on Sotomayor - "She's Written Hundreds And Hundreds of Opinions. I Haven't Read a Single One of Them"
Berman Post: Sotomayor Made Other Sexist Comments
Berman Post: Aide To Sotomayor - "Don't Answer Any Questions", Sotomayor to Aide - "I Know"
Berman Post: Sotomayor Was a Member of La Raza For Six Years
Berman Post: Sotomayor's Senior Thesis
Berman Post: Sotomayor Repeatedly Made 'Wise Latino Woman' Statements
Berman Post: Sotomayor Questionnaire Omits Death Penalty Memo, Said Death Penalty Is Racist
Berman Post: Sotomayor And Liberalism (She Said She Does Not Know What Liberalism is After Calling Herself One)
Berman Post: Does Sotomayor's Past Shows a Propensity to be Swept Away by Radical Causes or Theories That Relate to Her Identity?
Berman Post: Sotomayor Fractures Her Ankle
Berman Post: Confirmation Hearings For Sotomayor Start July 13

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