On Sonia Sotomayor, Intelligence and Partisanship

Ahhh, Let the games begin. The confirmation process for Supreme Court justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor is already heading into overdrive. Many Democrats (and, sadly, some Republicans) not so subtly suggest that any criticism of Sotomayor will be portrayed as racism. Conservatives are digging through her background and coming up with some interesting nuggets, some fairly benign but others that demonstrate she is a Leftwing activist who uses a black robe to usurp legislative powers.

Some Conservative columnists and bloggers have belittled Sonia Sotomayor's intelligence, which has drawn angry rebukes from the Left who expect a coronation rather than a confirmation. Look, I assume the woman is likely intelligent in the conventional sense. She achieved advanced academic degrees and has worked in the field of law for nearly 30 years. I seriously doubt she is a dumb woman. She is a serious socialist and knows exactly what she is doing when she advances extra-constitutional or unconstitutional ideas.

However, isn't it interesting that the Moonbats in the media are soiling themselves and referring to a "southern strategy" concerning attacks on Ms. Sotomayor's intellect? These same people just spent eight years advancing the notion that a U.S. President with an Ivy League education was mentally retarded. This same media has never questioned the Left's attacks on the intelligence of Clarence Thomas. In fact, Nevada Senator Harry Reid launched a vicious attack on Justice Thomas on "Meet the Press" in 2004 that he never apologized for. I have always found it interesting that the "diversity party" always cedes to the intelligence of Scalia, Roberts, and Alito, but attacks Thomas as lacking smarts. Gee, it couldn't be his race could it. The Left's outrage over the cerebral agility issue is beyond hypocritical.

As for the Ivy League education and the perception of superior intellect, whether from the Left or from the Right, my response is, who cares? C-Span shows us bumbling fools on a daily basis who possess degrees from the "finest" universities. They are still imbeciles. In fact, in my profession I know plenty of folks with advanced degrees who can't tell their butt from a hot rock. I also know folks of minimal educational pedigree who just plain get it. They may not know the intricacies of calculus or know the difference between Keats and Yeats, but they know there is something wrong when the various levels of government are sucking up half of their paycheck.

Faithfully upholding the United States Constitution is not rocket surgery. In fact, I feel qualified. I'm not qualified to build a house, investigate a homicide, run a dairy farm, administer physical therapy, cook at a five-star restaurant (maybe a two-star), or cut hair. These jobs all require special skills and training. The Constitution is a simple document that you can read three times in an hour. It is much easier to know intricately the Constitution than any one of the Harry Potter novels. Even if you argue that our citizen jurists should also read the Federalist papers and an assortment of writings by the Founders, a significant number of folks could be up to speed in short order.

These judicial arguments always remind what a snake oil business the law has become. The Constitution is simple. Constitutional principles are what they are. Those who wish to make it a mysterious puzzle that only a select few can solve do so for one simple reason: they wish to follow a path that is contrary to the natural law. People are made to feel that they are too simple and uninformed to understand, so they must wait for the "damn dirty apes" from Washington to tell us what the sacred scrolls say about any matter. Balderdash! When justices start telling us what is hiding in the Constitution's "emanations" and "penumbras" they are really saying, "we have no legitimate Constitutional reason for our decision, so just choke on it!"

Honestly, I do not care if a potential justice went to Yale, Harvard, or Hamburger University. In any other profession, after you pass the entry level, your achievements and abilities are all that matter. If you want Sotomayor, Dubya, and Justice Thomas to square off in a Celebrity Jeopardy tournament for charity, have at it. However, for a serious job like a Supreme Court justice we need a serious person who seriously understands what her job is and what her job is not. That is there Ms. Sotomayor is severely lacking.