Tag Archives: Sotomayor

Look to Norway

In 1942, FDR gave a speech remembered for its peroration:  “Look to Norway!”  Today, as the United States tries to right our economic wreckage, we might well heed that counsel again. Check out this piece from NPR this morning, which describes how Norway has not only survived but thrived during the current recession.  To be […]

Empathy from the Right

New Haven firefighters Frank Ricci and Ben Vargas spoke at Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation hearing Thursday. But why? Commentators across the board remarked that Ricci’s and Vargas’s statements were moving and emotional. Surely everyone could empathize with their situation — denied promotions they deserved and initially denied redress in the courts. But I thought we […]

Whoever Wins, We Lose

More from my West Wing Writers colleague David Litt: Our more cultured readers will recognize the title as the tagline from the 2004 classic, Alien vs. Predator. But it’s also what popped into my head when I thought about the public debate over Supreme Court justices. Here’s why. When George W. Bush was president, he […]

Sotomayor Hearing: Nothing to See Here

Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation hearing began today and the end of the process is about as foregone a conclusion as you’re likely to find in politics. Which is probably good. Judge Sotomayor has three crucial qualities going for her: (1) The president wants her to be the newest justice of the Supreme Court (and he […]

Obama’s Conservative Case for Sotomayor

Today, in nominating Circuit Court judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace David Souter on the Supreme Court, President Obama discussed a few qualities he seeks in a justice. The “first and foremost” — a rigorous intellect — is obvious. The third — “a common touch and sense of compassion” — has been a key messaging point […]