Sotomayor Still Needs Serious Questioning
Steve Adubato, Ph.D.
CBS 2 Political Analyst

Clearly, Judge Sonia Sotomayor is going to be confirmed for the US Supreme Court.  Even the Republicans, who have serious reservations about her, are extremely reluctant to be overly aggressive in their challenging and questioning of her.  Support in the Hispanic community for Sotomayor is rock solid given that she will likely become the first Latina to serve on the Supreme Court.  We’re talking about big-time ethnic pride here, which has the potential to translate into big-time Hispanic voter blocks in upcoming elections.  Senators and House Members in states like Nevada, Arizona, and Florida are not anxious to get Hispanics upset by being too aggressive with Judge Sotomayor. 

However, even though she’s going to be approved, she should be pressed hard, particularly about her off-the-wall comments about a “wise” Latina making better decisions on the Supreme Court than a white male.  Who says that kind of thing, especially in public?  I still haven’t heard a reasonable explanation
for any of it, and she owes the Senate and the American public a lot more on this subject.  Further, her decision to knock down a lawsuit brought by white firefighters in New Haven, CT after an absolutely legitimate and credible firefighter test was thrown out because no Blacks and only a few Hispanics actually passed it needs to be seriously examined. 

The US Supreme Court made it clear recently that they disagreed with Sotomayor’s decision. There was no reason to throw out that test in this case.  Firefighters should be hired based on one set of criteria, which includes uniform qualifications and how they perform on standardized tests.  Barack Obama didn’t become President by throwing out certain elections and skewing the results because he’s an African American.  He won on merit; he won on the numbers.  The same thing should be true about Firefighters in New Haven, in New York and in New Jersey.
I just don’t understand why Sonia Sotomayor doesn’t get that.  Her decision had nothing to do with ethnic pride and everything to do with an outdated and seriously polarizing approach to affirmative action in racial and ethnic quotas.

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