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Obama's First U.S. Supreme Court Pick
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05-26-2009, 09:16 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-26-2009 09:17 PM by WeWantLiberty.)
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Obama's First U.S. Supreme Court Pick
Obama Makes His First U.S. Supreme Court Pick: From Souter to Sotomayor Taken from Eagle Forum's Court Watch - May 26, 2009 Barack Obama has ended the well publicized speculation concerning the identity of his first Supreme Court nominee by naming to the critical High Court seat a well publicized contender — Sonia Sotomayor. Sotomayor has been tapped to take the seat of retiring Justice David Souter. Souter, a Reagan appointment, turned sour on the Court and has been a staunch Reconstructionist — an opponent of the Constitutionalist theory necessary if our Constitution and culture are to survive and thrive. What can we expect of Sotomayor? We offer a preliminary view below. For several years, Court Watch has identified and articulated the essential characteristics of a Constitutionalist judge. This description is presented below in "A Portrait of a Constitutionalist Judge." We follow this "yardstick" with "A Portrait of Judge Sotomayor." A Portrait of a Constitutionalist Judge 1. The Constitution is, and must be, by definition, the "supreme, fundamental, paramount, permanent" law of the land. No court decision, statutory law, or other form of "law" is either equal to, or superior to, the Constitution. 2. The basic purpose of our Constitution, as of all constitutions, is to provide the stability necessary for our legal system to survive and thrive. Additionally, the Preamble lists six specific constitutional purposes, which balance individual liberty with the common good. 3. The provisions of our Constitution have fixed meanings. These meanings can, and must, be determined by careful objective study of such factors as the express language of the text (understood in its original meaning), the context of the provision being interpreted and of the entire document, the intent of the Framers, and the worldview in which the Constitution was embedded by its Framers. 4. The Constitution, properly interpreted, can express the values of only one worldview. It cannot reflect a "pluralism" or "diversity" of worldviews. 5. The worldview in which the Constitution is embedded is the Judeo-Christian worldview. The Constitution's principles and purposes are defined and prioritized by the Judeo-Christian value system. The Constitution cannot survive if it is ripped from its Judeo-Christian moorings. 6. The Constitution embodies a multiplicity of distinct principles to guide our legal system and our culture. These principles include popular sovereignty with representative government, life, liberty, the rule of law, due process of law, equal protection of the laws, and private property/free enterprise. These principles are to be secured by structural principles including federalism and separation of powers. 7. Judges have neither the authority nor the competence to rewrite the Constitution by altering its basic meaning. Judges are governed by the Constitution. They are required to respect their boundaries and give full respect to the constitution document, the consent of the governed, the other branches of the national government, the state governments, and other societal institutions. A Portrait of Judge Sonia Sotomayor Educational and Professional Background Judge Sonia Sotomayor graduated from Princeton University summa cum laude in 1976 and attended Yale Law School. At Yale, she served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal and managing editor of the Yale Studies in World Public Order. She began her legal career in 1979 as an Assistant District Attorney in New York County. Since October 7th, 1998, Sonia Sotomayor has been a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Despite the fact that President George H.W. Bush nominated Sotomayor for the district court judgeship, there is more to the story. "When President Bush nominated Sotomayor in 1991, the New York senators Moynihan and D'Amato, had forced on the White House a deal that enabled a senator not of the President's party to name one of every four District Court nominees in New York. Sotomayor was Moynihan's pick." According to Ed Whelan, it is likely that Bush only nominated her to move along the other nominees that Moynihan was holding up. Judicial Activism Judge Sotomayor appears willing to expand constitutional rights beyond the text of the Constitution. The most direct example of this is found in her decision in Malesko v. Correctional Services Corp., 229 F. 3d 374 (2d Cir 2000), rev'd 534 U.S. 61 (2001). In that case, Judge Sotomayor attempted to expand the liability of individual federal agents who violate constitutional rights to include corporations. In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Second Circuit's decision. Chief Justice Rehnquist noted that the plaintiff was "seek a marked extension of Bivens, to a context that would not advance Bivens' core purpose of deterring individual officers from engaging in unconstitutional wrongdoing." Correctional Services Corp v. Malesko, 534 U.S. 61 (2001). Sovereignty Judge Sotomayor has written a foreword to a book called The International Judge: An Introduction to the Men and Women Who Decide the World's Cases, which suggests that she believes foreign case law and statutes have a role in the adjudication of U.S. cases. Track Record In an October 3, 2008 commentary on National Review Online, Ed Whelan pointed out that "n those occasions on which the Supreme Court has reviewed Sotomayor's rulings, she hasn't fared well, drawing some pointed criticism and garnering at most 11 out of 44 possible votes for her reasoning across five cases. No one expects that Barack Obama will select federal judges who are faithful to the Constitution, and many Americans (especially we Constitutionalists) have expressed a sense of alienation and futility in opposing Obama nominees. The truth is, however, that now is the time to mount the most vigorous campaign possible on behalf of Constitutionalist principles. James Madison said it well, "Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: and a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power that knowledge gives." Now is the perfect time to arm ourselves with knowledge — to become knowledge-empowered! http://www.WeWantLiberty.com |
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05-27-2009, 12:19 PM
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RE: Obama's First U.S. Supreme Court Pick
(05-26-2009 09:16 PM)WeWantLiberty Wrote: I think she is a bad choice and she makes foolish statements and decisions....she needs to be questioned on a lot of things.... http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-...3030.story Quote:During her confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate, probably this summer, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor will almost certainly be questioned about her role in Ricci v. DeStefano, the potentially groundbreaking, reverse discrimination case brought by city firefighters denied promotion in New Haven. Kathyet |
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05-27-2009, 04:26 PM
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RE: Obama's First U.S. Supreme Court Pick
Hopefully no one cracks under the politically-correct pressure...
http://www.WeWantLiberty.com |
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05-27-2009, 07:09 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-28-2009 12:02 PM by NewFederalist.)
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RE: Obama's First U.S. Supreme Court Pick
I only hope she disappoints the Left as much as Souter disappointed the Right! Given his track record she can hardly be worse. BTW, Souter was appointed by George H.W. Bush not Ronald Reagan.
Constitutional Libertarian Federalist |
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05-28-2009, 04:08 PM
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05-29-2009, 02:33 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-29-2009 03:12 PM by Volitzer.)
Post: #6
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RE: Obama's First U.S. Supreme Court Pick
She's a ethnocentric miso-andrist but because she is Hispanic liberals will love her.
Rabidly Anti-gun Sotomayor is Unacceptable Obama Picks Anti-gun Judge for the Supreme Court -- Time to start contacting your Senators right away Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert 8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151 Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408 http://www.gunowners.org Friday, May 29, 2009 Unless you've taken a very long Memorial Day vacation, you've no doubt heard the big news. President Obama has picked an anti-gun radical to replace Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court. Obama's pick is Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who is currently on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second District. There she has racked up an anti-Second Amendment record and has displayed contempt for the rule of law under the Constitution. The Heller decision put the Supreme Court in support of the Constitutional protection of the individual right to keep and bear arms. Sotomayor, a politically correct lover of centralized government power (as long as she is part of the power elite), immediately went into counter-attack mode against the Heller decision. Sotomayor was part of a three-judge panel earlier this year which ruled in Maloney v. Cuomo that the Second Amendment does not apply to the states. As she and her cohorts claimed, the Supreme Court has not yet incorporated the states under the Second Amendment. Until then, she believes, the Second only applies to the District of Columbia. This is pure judicial arrogance -- something Sotomayor relishes (as long as she is one of the ruling judges). In fact, protection of the right to keep and bear arms was a major objective for enactment of the Fourteenth Amendment, as recently freed slaves were being disarmed and terrorized in their neighborhoods. But Sotomayor disdains this important right of individuals, as indicated by an earlier opinion from 2004. In United States v. Sanchez-Villar, she stated that "the right to possess a gun is clearly not a fundamental right." Sotomayor has held very anti-gun views, even as far back as the 1970s. Fox Cable News reported yesterday that in her senior thesis at Princeton University, she wrote that America has a "deadly obsession" with guns and that the Second Amendment does not guarantee an individual right to firearms ownership. Sotomayor's Second Amendment views go hand in hand with her politically correct views on the law and the role of judges. In a speech given at Duke University in 2005, she made it abundantly clear that judges are involved in making policy. Realizing that this did not sound very judicial (even though most judges act on this basis), Sotomayor tried to laugh off her brazen admission: "I know this is on tape and I should never say that, [audience laughing], because we don't make law -- I know. Um, okay. I know, I'm not promoting it, I'm not advocating it." The audience continued to laugh. They got the joke. But Sotomayor's joke will be on us and our liberties if she gets confirmed to the Supreme Court. And that is why we need to start contacting our Senators early and often, urging them to vote against this dangerous nomination. ACTION: Please contact your two Senators and urge them to oppose the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. You can go to the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center at http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm to send your Senators the pre-written e-mail message below. ----- Pre-written letter ----- Dear Senator: If you cherish the Second Amendment and agree that it protects an individual right to keep and bear arms -- as stated by the recent Heller decision -- then you must vote against Judge Sonia Sotomayor. This choice for the Supreme Court is totally unacceptable! Consider a partial rendering of her anti-gun record: * Sotomayor ruled in United States v. Sanchez-Villar (2004) that "the right to possess a gun is clearly not a fundamental right." * Sotomayor was part of a three-judge panel earlier this year which ruled in Maloney v. Cuomo that the Second Amendment does not apply to the states. This makes her more liberal than the Ninth Circuit, which stated in April that the Second Amendment does apply to the states. * Sotomayor has held very anti-gun views, even as far back as the 1970s. Fox Cable News reported on May 28 that in her senior thesis at Princeton University, she wrote that America has a "deadly obsession" with guns and that the Second Amendment does not guarantee an individual right to firearms ownership. I will consider a vote in favor of Sotomayor as the most anti-gun vote a Senator could cast. To send an anti-gun liberal judge to the Supreme Court for the rest of her life is to establish "legislation without representation." After all, she says that the courts are where policy is made, and once she's there, we'll never be able to vote her out. Again, please vote against this dangerous nomination. Sincerely, **************************** "Live Fire" radio with Larry Pratt is broadcast by the Information Radio Network on Saturdays at 12:00 Noon Eastern. "Live Fire" is simulcast on the web at http://inforadionet.com and previous episodes are archived at http://irnusaradio.com/our-programs/live-fire with a number of listening formats, including podcasts, supported. Recent guests, among many others, have included: * Charl van Wyk -- Gun Control in Africa * GOA's Mike Hammond -- Socialized Medicine and Gun Control * Dave Hardy -- Ranchers, Illegal Immigrants, and Guns **************************** Please do not reply directly to this message, as your reply will bounce back as undeliverable. To subscribe to free, low-volume GOA alerts, go to http://www.gunowners.org/ean.htm on the web. Change of e-mail address may also be made at that location. To unsubscribe send a message to gunowners_list@capwiz.mailmanager.net with the word unsubscribe in the subject line or use the url below. Problems, questions or comments? The main GOA e-mail address goamail@gunowners.org is at your disposal. Please do not add that address to distribution lists sending more than ten messages per week or lists associated with issues other than gun rights. |
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05-29-2009, 07:18 PM
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RE: Obama's First U.S. Supreme Court Pick
After all these years, we have come full circle and it is back to the color of your skin. We never change.
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05-29-2009, 07:26 PM
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RE: Obama's First U.S. Supreme Court Pick
Prediction: TOP TEN REASONS Sotomayor won't be confirmed
URGENT NEW PETITION: Click, sign, WE WILL FAX your petition automatically to all 99 Senators, to OPPOSE and FILIBUSTER Judge Sotomayor. (Saving hours of labor!) https://secure.conservativedonations.com...mx/?a=2482 TOP TEN REASONS SOTOMAYOR WON'T BE CONFIRMED (& how to stop her) I generally support the idea of nominating a woman or a Hispanic to the U.S. Supreme Court, but not this one, not Judge Sonia Sotomayor. And she's so biased, that I'll go out on a limb to predict she won't be confirmed, for ten reasons: 10) SOTOMAYOR: ADMITS MAKING ACTIVIST POLICY FROM THE BENCH In a 2005 panel discussion at Duke University, Sotomayor told students that the federal Court of Appeals is where "policy is made." She said the "Court of Appeals is where policy is made. And I know, and I know, that this is on tape, and I should never say that. Because we don't 'make law,' I know. [audience laughter] Okay, I know. I know. I'm not promoting it, and I'm not advocating it. I'm, you know. [audience laughter] Having said that, the Court of Appeals is where, before the Supreme Court makes the final decision, the law is percolating. Its interpretation, its application." As a judicial activist, she jokingly admits "making policy" from the bench, based on feelings or empathy or judicial precedent, not laws passed by Congress, and so she assumes the power of legislature, to make policy, legislating from the bench. 9) SOTOMAYOR: PRO-ABORTION-SUPPORTS ROE V. WADE Although she ruled to uphold the longstanding "Mexico City Policy" which had limited funds for abortions performed overseas (until President Obama struck down that policy, now fully funding abortions overseas with our taxes), Sotomayor stands squarely in the camp of supporting and upholding the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized child killing across America and cost 50,000,000 children their lives. Furthermore, Rev. Rob Schenck of The National Clergy Council now reports that Sotomayor was or is an active board member of a group called the "Childbirth Connection" that advocates for "reproductive rights of women," which is generally a code word for abortion on demand, including partial birth abortion, which Sotomayor has never publicly opposed. Since I was born to a single mom who courageously gave me up for adoption, and I was adopted at age three by a Christian family, I'm passionately pro-life. PLEASE SELECT HERE TO SIGN, AND WE'LL AUTOMATICALLY FAX YOUR PERSONALIZED PETITION TO ALL 99 SENATORS, TO OPPOSE AND FILIBUSTER JUDGE SONIA SOTOMAYOR. (SAVING YOU HOURS OF LABOR!) 8) SOTOMAYOR: ANTI-GUN, ANTI-WEAPON, ANTI- 2nd AMENDMENT In her ruling to allow government to ban privately owned weapons belonging to New York citizens, Sonia Sotomayor wrote in Maloney v. Cuomo: "The Second Amendment applies only to limitations the federal government seeks to impose on this right . . . not upon that of the state." Since her crazy reading of the 2nd Amendment only forbids Congress from seizing your guns, the New York State Assembly was fully authorized to ban nunchuks, or seize ANY AND ALL of your weapons, according to Sotomayor's anti-liberty reasoning. But as a former military distinguished marksman and former captain of my rifle team at a New York State high school, I care about protecting our right to bear arms. 7) SOTOMAYOR: ANTI-TEN COMMANDMENTS, BUT PRO-MUSLIM? ACLJ Attorney Jay Sekulow said of Sotomayor: "She is left in judicial philosophy, ranges much further left than Justice Ginsburg or Justice Souter . . . I just had a case where the Court was unanimous, it was involving the 10 commandments issue, and the court was unanimous 9 to 0, but I would not expect that if Judge Sotomayor was confirmed, that it would probably have been 8 to 1. She has a very, very strict view of church-state separation, and she was aggressive on this idea of a 'living constitution.'" Meanwhile she ruled one Muslim prisoner had a right to receive the Eid ul Fitr feast (a Muslim holiday meal) in his prison cell, and another Muslim prisoner had a right to access a Muslim chaplain, which is fine if she treats other faiths equally. But I personally suspect Sotomayor would rule to disallow public prayers offered "in Jesus name" but allow prayers to Allah, just like Obama's other judicial nominee David Hamilton. PLEASE SELECT HERE TO SIGN, AND WE'LL AUTOMATICALLY FAX YOUR PERSONALIZED PETITION TO ALL 99 SENATORS, TO OPPOSE AND FILIBUSTER JUDGE SONIA SOTOMAYOR. (SAVING YOU HOURS OF LABOR!) 6) SOTOMAYOR: SAVIOR OF THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF WOMEN NOW President Kim Gandy quickly endorsed Sotomayor, saying: "This morning we will celebrate, and this afternoon NOW will launch our 'Confirm Her' campaign to ensure the swift confirmation of the next Supreme Court Justice." There's no way this liberal group would endorse Sotomayor unless she were pro-lesbian and pro-abortion, as Gandy openly advocates on the NOW web-site. 5) SOTOMAYOR: OVERRULED 33 OF 44 VOTES BY SUPREME COURT Sotomayor has had 5 decisions reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court, 3 of which have been reversed. One of these was her aggressive pro-environmental anti-energy decision, another was her aggressive pro-litigation anti-business decision, which was overturned unanimously. She has carried only 11 of 44 possible votes during those cases. Chief Justice Roberts once stated that her method of reading the statute in question "flies in the face of the statutory language." Dean Mat Staver of Liberty Law School cites these reasons to oppose Sotomayor, saying, "No one ever expected President Barack Obama to nominate someone who respects the original intent of the Constitution." 4) SOTOMAYOR: FAVORITISM BY RACE OR GENDER, NOT LAW Sotomayor told the Berkeley Law School: "Our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging . . .I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life." It is no surprise, therefore, she ruled against white Firefighters of New Haven, throwing out the results of a promotion exam because almost no minorities qualified. She denied promotion for the white firefighters who performed well on the exam, and gave minorities who failed the exam favorable consideration toward promotion. Sotomayor promotes aggressive affirmative action, promoting race or gender, not merit. The U.S. Supreme Court reviewed this case in April 2009, and is expected to overturn her again. 3) SOTOMAYOR: FAVORS INTERNATIONAL LAW OVER AMERICAN LAW Opposing a U.S. Congressional bill that would forbid activist judges from citing international law (instead of applying American law) in their decisions, Sotomayor wrote the controversial introduction for The International Judge, a book that promotes, in her words, "developing an international rule of law and institution-building" and idealizes the "pioneers who work tirelessly to bring these institutions from their incipience to their maturity." No doubt she will vote with Justice Ginsberg, who believes American judges should sometimes look toward international law rather than the U.S. Constitution. PLEASE SELECT HERE TO SIGN, AND WE'LL AUTOMATICALLY FAX YOUR PERSONALIZED PETITION TO ALL 99 SENATORS, TO OPPOSE AND FILIBUSTER JUDGE SONIA SOTOMAYOR. (SAVING YOU HOURS OF LABOR!) 2) SOTOMAYOR: EVEN THE LIBERALS CALL HER A BULLY Her own former clerk, liberal Jeffrey Rosen, now legal affairs editor for The New Republic, said she has "has an inflated opinion of herself" and is "kind of a bully on the bench." Another clerk who worked on the 2nd Circuit said she's: "not that smart and kind of a bully on the bench . . .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." 1) SOTOMAYOR: BASEBALL BIAS FOR NEW YORK YANKEES! As a native of South Bronx, Sotomayor's hidden home-town bias became manifest in her love for the New York Yankees, judicially favoring her "Bronx Bombers" over teams from all other cities. No kidding! When ruling to end the 1995 baseball strike, she sided with the player's union against team owners (who sought parity among all teams with an talent-sharing salary cap). Instead Sotomayor created bias in favor of rich teams who can afford to buy up all the good free agents. So when the New York Yankees hogged 4 titles and 6 pennants in the 8 years after her ruling, with payrolls averaging three times most other team salaries, you can blame Sotomayor for creating that competitive imbalance. I understand why Yankees fans might celebrate her promotion to the Supreme Court, but baseball fans from all other cities should complain loudly against her confirmation! WHY DID SEVEN REPUBLICANS VOTE FOR HER? In 1991, President George H.W. Bush was forced to pick Sotomayor, in a back-room deal manipulated by powerful New York Senator Patrick Moynihan, but Bush Sr. likely regrets this just like he later regretted nominating Justice Souter. In 1998, Sotomayor was barely confirmed to the 2nd Circuit Court under Bill Clinton, but only seven current 2009 Republicans voted for Sotomayor then: Susan Collins (R-Maine), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Robert Bennett (R-Utah). They were misled into joining all Democrats to push Sotomayor through by a vote of 68-28. Perhaps you might call these 7 Republicans (and all Southern Democrats, and both Penn. Democrats Specter and Casey, and Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb.) at 202-225-3121 and ask them to OPPOSE AND FILIBUSTER Judge Sotomayor. But remember, 100 emails = 10 phone calls = 1 fax in political capital, since the Senate staffers must handle each paper and usually write a reply. So please join our automated fax campaign first! PLEASE SELECT HERE TO SIGN, AND WE'LL AUTOMATICALLY FAX YOUR PERSONALIZED PETITION TO ALL 99 SENATORS, TO OPPOSE AND FILIBUSTER JUDGE SONIA SOTOMAYOR. (SAVING YOU HOURS OF LABOR!) ALL TRUE CONSERVATIVES WILL VOTE AGAINST HER In 1998, twenty-eight conservative Senators united against Sotomayor, but now we need 40 to uphold a filibuster. Two leading conservative Senators have already questioned her credentials: "The role of a jurist in our democracy is to apply the law evenhandedly, despite their own feelings or personal or political preferences," said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "We must determine if Ms. Sotomayor understands that the proper role of a judge is to act as a neutral umpire of the law, calling balls and strikes fairly without regard to one's own personal preferences or political views," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee. Let's support Leader McConnell and Ranking Member Sessions by encouraging them to stand firm, and get more Senators to OPPOSE AND FILIBUSTER Sotomayor's nomination. God Bless you, in Jesus' name, Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt |
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05-30-2009, 10:44 AM
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RE: Obama's First U.S. Supreme Court Pick
GREAT info, everyone!!
http://www.WeWantLiberty.com |
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05-30-2009, 04:24 PM
Post: #10
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RE: Obama's First U.S. Supreme Court Pick
"ALL TRUE CONSERVATIVES WILL VOTE AGAINST HER"
But there are just not many "true conservatives" left in the Republican party. This is like saying Democrats are all pro-union, and yet Obama an his henchmen bankers are sprinting toward doing away with the US auto manufacturers! With the '08 election they no longer need to pander to union members anymore. They own the media, and the International Bankers own them. Democrats are now union busters. So if Dems will turn their back on union members with the flip of a coin, what makes us think Republicans will fight Sotomayor's appointment? As for me? I choose NOT to trust any career politician. This is how we got into this fix in the first place is trusting them. If Republicans will go along with "Global Warming" in an attempt to seem politically compliant, who knows? |
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