Closing Arguments: Newt vs. Rush on Sotomayor

I think her comments were racist.
If I, a white man, said similar comments about myself everyone would believe I was being racist.
She should only come to decisions using relavent aruguments of both sides and not even consider race or gender a factor.
We are all equal under the law.

She’s definately a racist. But her comments referring to the US Congress as the “North American Congress” is what gets me. The woman is a seperatist as well.

As a Latina, I just feel she’s really going to have to tread her waters very very carefully. She will be under a microscope.
The comment was uncalled for, if that. And yes racist especially to anyone outside the Hispanic race. But I feel that she shouldn’t of said it because let’s be honest if a Caucasian man/woman said something reverse to that we would give them hell. But I would say this to the Obama camp, as a fellow Democrat I hope you’re not just trying to push the multi-cultural line and instead are picking people based up their virtue & experience.

What a ridiculous question…of course they were racist! She sure as heck wasn’t talking about the color of somebody’s tie! When you imply that worth, quality, character of judgement is dependant on race that is “racist”. Why is it always assumed that only caucasions make racist statements? No one seems to mind attaching that label to them. When a minority makes such an obvious and undeniably racist statement it should fall under exactly the same scrunity and condemnation.
This lady is totally unsuitable for the highest court in the land. She’s already openly shown herself to be a social activitist not a CONSTITUTIONAL scholar!
Newt’s being a very disappointing whimp with an eye for his own political future rather than being just plain honest!

Did anybody miss the fact that she said, “I would hope…”, not “I believe” or “I’m sure”. How is hope racist? Haven’t old, fat white guys been saying that they knew more than anybody else for well over the last thousand years? If all these egg-walking Republicans would just take a real look at her judicial record, they just might recognize how fair and reasonable she has always been.

She is definately racist, but that seems to be an acceptable thing to be now.

Of course the comment by Sotomayor was racist. Can you imagine the “outcry” if a white male had inferred that his judgement was superior because of his background? He would be vilified! Her comments and judgement are flawed and yet her nomination will be pushed through. Can you say double-standard?

I do think that Sotomayor’s remarks were racist. I don’t think Rush and Gingrich’s slight difference here has anything to do with a rift in the Republican party.
Obama is picking a left wing judge who believes, as he does, that the Constitution is passe’ because it limits the power of the government. He wants to expand government control as much as possible. Sotomayor will decide by empathy (for her side) and not by constitutional law.
Decisions based on whim are dangerous. Lawlessness is the result.

If what she said wasn’t meant to be racist then her remarks came from an unwise heart and mind. And this shakey country CAN NOT AFFORD another unwise judge on the supreme court.
A wise judge would interpret our constitution in light of what the founding fathers wrote as they prayed for God’s guidance to lead them.
That is what our judges (and country) need to do to get back to the basics, pray for God’s guidance, and NOT LEGISLATE FROM THE BENCH.
And, I think I heard that she made some small remark about, judges make policy. If I’m wrong, please correct me.
YES, IT WAS RACIST, IF NOT, THEN, AT LEAST SEXIST!!!

Rush is telling it as it is. He is very brave indeed..no PC and no hatred.Yes,Sotomayors remarks were insulting,demeaning and racist. Her words were against white men!If there were nothing wrong with her remarks then why did Pres. Obama say that she would do it differently if she could re do it?In addition, Newt is a typical politician..and Rush is a very smart political analyst.

If what she said wasn’t meant to be racist then her remarks came from an unwise heart and mind. And this shakey country CAN NOT AFFORD another unwise judge on the supreme court.
A wise judge would interpret our constitution in light of what the founding fathers wrote as they prayed for God’s guidance to lead them.
That is what our judges (and country) need to do to get back to the basics, pray for God’s guidance, and NOT LEGISLATE FROM THE BENCH.
And, I think I heard that she made some small remark about, judges make policy. If I’m wrong, please correct me.
YES, IT WAS RACIST, IF NOT, THEN, AT LEAST SEXIST!!!

It was a RACIST comment. It proves that no matter how hard a person tries to “hide” their true feelings, eventually they reveal who they really are sooner or later.

that comment was not racist, racist is a hate of a race. it was prejudice. prejudice is arrogant bias. this can be applied to law and can destroy our constitution. Prejudice applies to all races.

I hope the Republican Party will soon be defunct.
They blame anyone else for the very corruption that they’ve done in the past.
Racist? Who set up Choice Point, a private company so they could collect and buy zip codes of African Americans, Native Americans and Mexican Americans? Then dumped the votes so Bush would win. 6 million votes!
REPUBLICANS DID!
I am one of those who used to be a Republican until I learned how hideously corrupt the GOP is. I was moritifed to belong to the Republican Party
I will never vote for another Republican ever. Not after Bush, Palin, Cheney, Romney and Rove showed me what they don’t know, won’t do and refuse to allow anyone to get done.
Republicans have proven to me that there is no quality in the good ol’ GOP.
They are desperately scraping bottom dragging out Cheney et al.
Only those of you who have never put forth the effort still believe anything Republicans stand for…smoke-screens to hide what they are not doing for you.
Thank god, there were enough of us at the last election who knew the truth about Republicans and voted them out.
I thank everyone of you who voted Republicans out everywhere across the US. Let’s keep it rollin’!

You really have to want to comment very seriously to go through tyring to do it here.
Lottza luck!

The fact that someone of a different race can make a statement like that and have a majority of the white people on this blog call it racist makes the people who call it racist “racists”. When you have 7 white men, one black man, and one white woman on a court that supposed to be representative of the total population of this country means that a majority of the people who selected and appointed them have a similar and relative basis for their decision, “a white male background”. Judge Sotomayor was absolutely correct. The people who appointed them could only pick them relative to their personal life experiences (a white male background). That is why we have never had a female hispanic Supreme Court Justice nominee and only three black nominees and three white female nominees in the 200 year history of this great country until now. THIS IS REAL CHANGE! GET OVER IT!

I’m a white male, 44 years old. I’ve never lived the life of a Latino Woman or had the experiences of a Latino Woman.
In my 44 years I have never even contemplated needing to understand the experiences of a Latino Woman. It’s not that I don’t want to, I’ve just never thought about it.
I do know how to read and how to comprehend Sotomayor’s speech and I can see she was only talking about her experience in her life.
The Supreme Court has had 110 Justices in our history. Of those, 106 have been White Males.
I think it is way past time for America and her Constitution to be fairly represented in the make up of our Supreme Court.
I’m glad Sotomayor has the educational and judicial experience we need.
You folks that are tools for right wing extremes need to research, read and learn before you jump to wrong conclusions. You are not helping America when you spew right wing nut bs.

Of course her remarks were racist … sexitst … but taken in context, i.e. 2001, the evil GWB is president, what do you expect… wisdom, insight, humility? I agree with Ru_sh – I can overlook a little politically correct racism and sexism if she is right on life….

The comments were made to a group of Hispanic women and were completely taken out of context. I’m sure they were only said as a joke to get her audience to relax. I’ve been to many womens seminars etc. and remarks like this are always made by one or more of the speakers. In fact these remarks were pretty tame compared to some of the one’s I’ve heard. They are never meant to be taken very seriously. Get over it already. Sonia Sotomayor is not a racist based on this.

Judge Sotomayor’s comments were blatently racist and sexist. She is NOT a suitable person to sit on the United States Supreme Court. The US Supreme Court represents the US Constitution for ALL Americans, NOT just a single group. A judge does NOT MAKE law, a judge interprets the law. And for her, after making this comment, to have any possible say in how the law of this great land, the USA, is interpreted is scary for the future of our great country. I applaud Mr. Limbaugh in standing firm with his opinion. Unlike Newt Gingrich Mr. Limbaugh is an honest voice for the USA, who does not change his view on the whim of the political winds. It is insulting to the American people to nominate someone like her to such an important position. I pray that the American People stand up and say, “No More. We deserve better”. God Bless America!

Yes I believe the comment was racist, being in the public light it would be very difficult not to have a slip of some kind or folly of some sort, cut her a litlle slack, I am not saying she was right, I am only saying, When was the last time you put your foot in your mouth?

Yes, she did make a racist statement…for out of the heart the mouth speaks!

No, Gingrich was right in saying that Sonia Sotomayor’s comments were not racist because Ms. Sotomayor’s race is White (Caucasian). What everyone fails to see is that Ms. Sotomayor is Hispanic, however Hispanic is NOT a race. Yes, Rush Limbaugh Hispanic/Latino(a) is not a race, but an ethnicity. Ms. Sotomayor may not be able to identify with White males because she is a White woman of Latina heritage (Puerto Rican). I think it would be a great achievement for the United States to have a more representative body in its Judicial branch to represent the millions of Hispanics who live here.

Yes she is racist. I see more of this type of “reverse racism” all the time. The St. Lucie School District in Florida is now requiring African and African American Education in every class every day of the year. Where’s the European education? The Chinese education? Every culture is important, inlcuding that of old, white men that Sotomayor puts down.

I most definitely feel Sotomayor’s comments were racist. Everyone is just splitting hairs by saying anything different. If the same comment had been made by a white male in reverse, the media storm would still be raging.

Absolutely RACIST, a white person says this and we aren’t even asking this question! What a joke!

Her comment was clearly racist and betrays racist thinking.
What is far more significant, however, is that her comments show she would not limit herself to constitutional principles and the evidence and arguments presented to her in court. Instead she would base her decisions on her personal experience, feelings, and history.
There is definitely a serious rift in the Republican Party. But it’s not Newt vs. Rush. It’s Neocons vs. the several other factions: Constitutionalist, libertarian, Conservative, and Religious Right. The bulk of the potential recruits from the new generation are Constitutionalist or libertarian. If the Republican Party is to successfully rebuild one of two things must happen: It must accept these new people, or they must overthrow the old leadership and take over.

Her statement was racist and even more important, she has backed up her opinions with her decision in the New Haven Fire Dept. case where she ruled that a group of mostly white firefighters should not be promoted. The racist controversy is not as important though as her support of the Kelo decision which gives local governments the right to take private property for virtually any reason! Republicans need to stop worrying about political correctness — I’m not a big Limbaugh fan, but now I have NO respect for Newt Gingrich.

Posted by: Myra | Jun 4, 2009 3:22:02 AM
I think people are proving what her point was when I read the comments posted by white males. It is a completely different lifestyle a minority woman lives. It is ridiculous how the basis of most of the complaints are coming from the right wing white males. I’d like to see them put themselves in a Latina’s place for a day and see if they change their tune.
So Myra,
Tell us “complaining right wing males” what is it like to be a Latina? Why do you consider Sotomayer a minority? I thought that her ancestors came to the western hemisphere from Spain, the same as all Latinas. They are of the human race and white just as Italians and French and Greeks and Jews and……
Why do you try to sew division in america. I always thought all legal citizens of the good old US of A were Americans just as Canadians are Americans and (I was taught) Mexicans and all people who lived in the western hemisphere were Americans, not always US citizens, but, still americans.
If life is harder for a Latina, maybe someone other than a right wing white male is making it that way.
Try living in a community of right wingers (mostly husbands and wives, living together with their 2 to 3 children, one family to a house, in prosperous neighborhoods of 3 bedroom houses with nice yards). Where we are friendly with our neighbors and have their best interest at heart. We don’t have to lock our doors against our neighbors. And we don’t teach our children to distrust other people who are different than we are. Teaching them to get to know strangers before calling them a friend.
Now, tell me Myra, can you really blame male right wingers for the plight of any one who is a Latina or a minority?
If I had to spend a day in their shoes, I would not change my tune. I would be as I have been brought up to do. I would not stand for it, I would not search for someone to blame, I would not feel sorry for myself, I would not let it continue and I would make changes in my life, just as Sonya reportedly has. Why? Because I’m a Conservative, (spelled; Right Wing Male) and we belive in making the best of everything and working hard to create the best and safest life possible for our families and to be a blessing to others.
Oh, and also, we are a very large percentage of the Christian community.

Of course that comment was racist. Can you imagine the “outcry” if a white male had inferred that his judgement was superior because of his backgraound?
Don’t take it personal but actually white men have been doing it for centuries
Her comment was biased but racist is too strong a word, people that have suffered racism historically knows it means lynching, jim crow, chattel slavery, beatings and maiming, denial of constitutional rights…etc
are things getting better…yes…crying victim from Sotomayer is a lack of what racism means.

This woman is difinately a RACIST !!! Not only that but she needs to learn where she lives. The U.S. Congress is not the “North American Congress”. If she keeps using terms like that…maybe she should return to South America.
She does NOT belong in a black robe !!!

Everybody is being hard on her because she is a latina. Nobody is calling obama a racist for all the comments hes made towards America. And he got all the white vote

Oh yes I see nothing wrong with what
Newt or Rush said. Only those who
think Hispanics are a seperate race
have a problem. By the way are Irish
people a seperate race,many speak two
languages Gaelic and english,are they
just white people like Judge Sonia
Sotomayor.