“Angry Old” Men Overcome By Feelings About Sotomayor
May 29, 2009
by Judy Silver
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The degree to which Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor would be an activist judge, and whether that would be a good thing, is a valid subject for public debate. However, Sotomayor skeptics are framing the issue in language that they would never apply to a man: they are discussing Sotomayor’s “feelings.” There’s even a T-Shirt.
Lawmakers Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn, Orrin Hatch, Chuck Grassley and John Thune all emoted about Sotomayor’s “personal politics, feelings, and preferences” in what one of our readers called a “parade of guys using code words for hot flashes.”
Here’s how other guys feel about that:
I’m guessing that “personal politics, feelings, and preferences” is a JUDICIAL CODE WORD for “menses.” Hopefully Kay Bailey Hutchinson can clarify and/or expand on this. — Jason Linkins at Huffington Post
Uh-oh, a damned woman with her damned feelings and opinions is gonna muck up the He-Man Supreme Court Club. Obama didn’t nominate a robot or a man, so now we have to deal with emotions and a uterus blocking the cold Constitutional calculations of the finely honed legal gland. I’m disappointed, too. The Supreme Court is no place for feelings, which you only hear about when women are nominated. — Matthew on These Bastards
Hey dudes – should we be calling you a bunch of “angry old” men?
Granted, President Obama cracked the door on this line of attack when he said he was looking for a justice with “empathy.” Yet here’s what a couple of women calmly and rationally explained about judicial empathy:
Right and left, people demand empathy from judges; they differ only in choosing its beneficiaries: Anti-abortion activists want judges to display empathy for fetuses; abortion rights advocates want empathy for young women seeking abortions who are confronted by angry protesters on their way into clinics; free speech advocates want empathy for protesters effectively silenced by buffer zones. – Wendy Kaminer of The Atlantic
Just ask conservative Justice Samuel Alito. When testifying at his own confirmation hearings, he was all about empathy. “When a case comes before me involving, let’s say, someone who is an immigrant… I can’t help but think of my own ancestors, because it wasn’t that long ago when they were in that position.” Conservatives found no objection when Alito described his own brand of empathy. — Gloria Borger on CNN
Sotomayor’s critics are hijacking expressions of empathy and driving them over the line into a sexist portrayal of irrational emotionality. This nation deserves better. Give a federal judge the respect she deserves and debate her on the issues, not her gender.
The GOP is in a bad way– they’re having a tough time coming up with things they don’t like about Sotomayor. Any nominee from a democratic president would get the “activist judge” label. The other lines of attack are so thinly disguised as anti-woman and/or anti-woman-of-color that yes, the old white men are making themselves laughable and losing support from their constituents. I especially love the “she’s not qualified” argument. Who knew that Princeton, Harvard, and almost twenty years as a federal judge made you unqualified to be, get this, a judge.
The attacks are coming from both sides. Not just the GOP. Men on both sides of the aisle are allowing their “angry hormone” (ie. testosterone) to take control and drive their opinions.
Let’s see…. do we need any more “angry hormone” on the bench? I’d say not. I am sure we can all benefit from a little bit more “empathy hormone.”
Go Judge Sotomayor!!
we have angry men and some doubtful women from both sides against Judge Sotomayor. There is a judgement on gun restriction in NY upholding the restriction which brings the gun lobby out. she has no record to insure people she would be pro abortion; and by upholding restriction of Bush government funds to international groups who are against abortion, she raised doubts.
And as usual in politics, if you can’t win on issues, personal integrity, intellect and ” emotions” will be put to play in case of a female cadidate. after all, it worked so well against then senator Clinton and governor Palin. Thanks TNA for standing up.
The continued sexism and misogyny reminds me daily of how important The New Agenda is for all of us! We have much work to do.
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Sotomayor…
I know very little about Judge Sonia Sotomayor but the Republican party seems to be on a campaign to make sure she gets confirmed without much of a problem. The sheer scale of lunacy, sexism and racism that we've seen from some of the so-called …
Enough hormones on the bench, already, I say!
http://syd4.blogspot.com/2009/.....ready.html
Those anger producing, risk taking, hormones must be brought into balance….
Great post!
I still cannot forget Obama’s infamous (coded) statement:
“Periodically, when she feels ‘down’, Hillary starts launching attacks against me to boost her appeal….”
Now, that’s a real jerk, and his name is President!
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