Uh Oh: Even Liberals Think Sotomayor Too Dumb for Supreme Court
Posted by Bill Dupray
on May 26 2009 Filed under Politics.
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Forget ideology for a minute. It doesn’t matter on which side of the political aisle you stand. Everyone should seek and hope for the brightest minds possible for the Supreme Court. Earlier this month, Jeffrey Rosen at the liberal New Republic, was profiling potential SCOTUS nominees and did a little write up on Judge Sotomayor that was well, less than charitable. In fact it probably falls more into the category of hit-piece and a warning to the administration to avoid this judge.
This is a lefty writer, at a lefty rag, interviewing lots of lefties who know Sotomayor, and who really want a lefty Justice on the High Court. And they think she is too dumb.
But despite the praise from some of her former clerks, and warm words from some of her Second Circuit colleagues, there are also many reservations about Sotomayor. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been talking to a range of people who have worked with her, nearly all of them former law clerks for other judges on the Second Circuit or former federal prosecutors in New York. Most are Democrats and all of them want President Obama to appoint a judicial star of the highest intellectual caliber who has the potential to change the direction of the court. Nearly all of them acknowledged that Sotomayor is a presumptive front-runner, but nearly none of them raved about her. They expressed questions about her temperament, her judicial craftsmanship, and most of all, her ability to provide an intellectual counterweight to the conservative justices, as well as a clear liberal alternative.
The most consistent concern was that Sotomayor, although an able lawyer, was “not that smart and kind of a bully on the bench,” as one former Second Circuit clerk for another judge put it. “She has an inflated opinion of herself, and is domineering during oral arguments, but her questions aren’t penetrating and don’t get to the heart of the issue.” (During one argument, an elderly judicial colleague is said to have leaned over and said, “Will you please stop talking and let them talk?”). . . .
Her opinions, although competent, are viewed by former prosecutors as not especially clean or tight, and sometimes miss the forest for the trees. . . .
Some former clerks and prosecutors expressed concerns about her command of technical legal details: In 2001, for example, a conservative colleague, Ralph Winter, included an unusual footnote in a case suggesting that an earlier opinion by Sotomayor might have inadvertently misstated the law in a way that misled litigants.
And the knockout punch. Keep in mind no partisan Republicans took part in this thrashing.
It’s possible that the former clerks and former prosecutors I talked to have an incomplete picture of her abilities. But they’re not motivated by sour grapes or by ideological disagreement–they’d like the most intellectually powerful and politically effective liberal justice possible. And they think that Sotomayor, although personally and professionally impressive, may not meet that demanding standard. Given the stakes, the president should obviously satisfy himself that he has a complete picture before taking a gamble.
And the dumbing-down of the Supreme Court (thank you Affirmative Action) begins. Everybody said David Souter was odd, quirky, and boring. But nobody ever said he was an idiot.
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Short URL: http://libertypundits.net/?p=4291
Too dumb, eh? She graduated summa cum laude from Yale, high honors from Princeton, and was the editor of the Yale law review.
Sounds like haters to me.
And liberal haters at that. Just amazing. I’m … I’m shocked! Shocked, I tell you!
I am with Jim Smith and Clyde. Who knew that liberals were so elitist and condescending? I am sure she got into those great schools solely on the merits of her intellectual firepower.
I love people who think degrees and awards granted by leftist institutions and leftist professors have any relation to intelligence. Silly, silly people.
Don’t be so quick on Souter. I don’t think history will ever look on him as an intellectual heavyweight.
I think Sotomayor is the natural choice for Souter’s legacy. Just as Bush 41 needed to nominate a black man for Thurgood Marshall’s seat, and Bush 43 wanted a woman for O’Connor’s seat, I think that Sotomayor is filling the idiot seat.
Now if we could only take that seat and place it in the corner of the courtroom, it would be more appropriate.
I may be wrong, but I don’t think Yale Law gives honor categories. I know it doesn’t give grades, so I would suspect that designating any of its graduates with honors would be very difficult.
Is she a woman? Man, she sure is UGLY!
Not to mention unfair to all the non-winners (we avoid using the term “losers.” It affects self-esteem).
Idiot Seat! Good one.
It’s a well-known fact that conservative women are much hotter than liberal women.
Yeah, like that MAN in woman’s clothing, Ann Coulter.
Boys, boys, settle down! Now, who wants cake?
First, why do people nowadays get labeled a ‘hater’ if they have an opinion that differs? Is it the new label that gets thrown around in place of (or along side of) ‘racist’ ? Labeling someone a ‘hater’ is not a coherent argument for or against something!
Second, Are you blind Jason? Ann Coulter is smokin’ HOT!!
You’re so right, Scott.
I didn’t even graduate high school. Would you have known that by my comments here if I hadn’t told you?
Of course, some people think I’m as dumb as a rock. Usually it’s those who have degrees from “leftist institutions.” Those are insane asylums, aren’t they?
Book learning pales compared to life experience. Never let a piece of paper on the wall define someone’s worth or intelligence in comparison to yourself.
“Ann Coulter is smokin’ HOT!!”
Because she is the devil….:)