|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
How’s this for “diversity and inclusion?” Liberal U.S. supreme court justice Sonia Sotomayor is facing pressure from the far left to retire this year so that aging Democratic president Joe Biden can nominate a “young and reliably liberal judge” to replace her.
Earlier this week, The Atlantic – a decidedly left-of-center media outlet – published a column entitled ‘Sonia Sotomayor Should Retire Now.’ According to its author, Josh Barro, those on the left who are wringing their hands over his “gauche” suggestion are “incredibly gutless.”
“You’re worried about putting control of the court completely out of reach for more than a generation, but because she is Latina, you can’t hurry along an official who’s putting your entire policy project at risk?” Barro mused.
Sotomayor, 69, was nominated by former president Barack Obama and confirmed to the high court in August of 2009. She is the third-oldest justice on the bench and is a diabetic who has experienced some health problems in recent years. It has been reported those health problems have, upon occasion, compelled her to travel with a medic.
***
***
In addition to his suggestion that time is not on Sotomayor’s side, Barro challenged the prevailing liberal Identitypolitik – claiming “Democratic party actions regarding diversity tend to be taken for the benefit of officials rather than demographic groups.”
“If this is how the Democratic party operates, it deserves to lose,” he wrote.
The paper publishing Barro’s piece amplified the author’s concerns …
***
“Why aren’t (Democrats) demanding Sonia Sotomayor’s retirement?”
***
“Democrats talk a lot about the damage done to the Supreme Court since it has swung in a more conservative direction,” a message on the publication’s X account noted. “So … why aren’t they demanding justice Sonia Sotomayor’s retirement?”
For those of you keeping score at home, Sotomayor’s predecessor – former justice David Souter – was 69 when he stepped down from the bench in 2009. However his early retirement has bucked recent trends. Justice Stephen Breyer, who stepped down in 2022, was 83. Anthony Kennedy, the last justice to resign during the term of a GOP president, was 82.
Kennedy’s replacement, Brett Kavanaugh, was one of three supreme court justices nominated by former president Donald Trump. So far, Biden has nominated only one justice – Kentaji Brown Jackson.
***
Biden spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre was asked this week whether her boss wanted Sotomayor to step down.
“That’s a personal decision for her to make,” Jean-Pierre replied. “That is something that, that she has to make.”
The obvious irony? Biden, 81, continues to serve as the poster president for staying in office past one’s due date.
“A 69-year-old justice retiring would actually lead to yet another round of questioning as to why the 81-year-old president doesn’t do the same,” noted James Joyner, a former Army officer and professor at the Marine Corps University.
Why not, indeed?
One final note: The conversation regarding Sotomayor’s status comes on the heels of a recent New York Times/ Siena College poll showing Trump beating Biden among Hispanic voters – drawing 46 percent to the incumbent’s 40 percent among this rapidly expanding demographic.
“Trump has continued to make remarkable inroads with Hispanic voters,” Times reporter Jennifer Medina noted.
***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina and before that he was a bass guitarist and dive bar bouncer. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven (soon to be eight) children.
***
WANNA SOUND OFF?
Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to proactively address? We have an open microphone policy here at FITSNews! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.
7 comments
““A 69-year-old justice retiring would actually lead to yet another round of questioning as to why the 81-year-old president doesn’t do the same,” noted James Joyner, a former Army officer and professor at the Marine Corps University.”
Well, Professor Dimwit, if Biden is unable to finish his term(s) there is a VP that takes over without having to be nominated and get the stamp of approval from whoever controls the Senate.
JFC, people are getting dumber every day.
Thank you for your service?
I don’t think Republicans can handle having another President that’s a person of color. They’d have a nervous breakdown.
On the other hand, Harris is no Obama though, that’s for sure.
I don’t think the left can handle anything. You’re correct that Kama Harris is no Obama. Both are snake oil hucksters but Obama did it with charm.
“Woke” is when Hispanics can’t retire
You hear Ben Shapiro? They don’t want anyone to retire.
Retirement is a Marxist plot. You guys need to work forever, your feudal lords demand it.
Darth Soto will follow in the steps of Darth Bader: cravenly cling to power and all the sycophantic trappings of the office until Death relieves you of duty at 85+. And I love how the cards fall out when they stick to this blunt-headed tactic. Of course, we still have to consider the problem of Lord Valdemort McConnell.
I so enjoy triggered leftie comments. And before you trigger-happy TDSers begin your verbal attacks, just lettin’ you know I’m definitely not a Trumpie, so have at it!