# Would it look or be good for Obama to withdraw Sotomayor's nomination? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 28, 2009, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-look-or-be-good-for-obama-to-withdraw-sotomayors-nomination/497913 "2009-05-28T09:49:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-look-or-be-good-for-obama-to-withdraw-sotomayors-nomination/497913/241 "2009-06-03T21:52:41Z")
_TWEET_ Foul on **ArchiveGuy** for looking at Sotomayor’s actual judicial record. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-look-or-be-good-for-obama-to-withdraw-sotomayors-nomination/497913/242 "2009-06-03T23:05:04Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > No kidding! What’s up with that fucked up NAACP?!? Why can’t they be in favor of the Advancement of _Everyone_? :rolleyes: You think the NAACP is an organization that represents white people? Lets break down the letters: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-look-or-be-good-for-obama-to-withdraw-sotomayors-nomination/497913/243 "2009-06-03T23:06:55Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > You think the NAACP is an organization that represents white people? Lets break down the letters: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Whoosh!!! ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-look-or-be-good-for-obama-to-withdraw-sotomayors-nomination/497913/244 "2009-06-03T23:07:56Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > _TWEET_ > > Foul on **ArchiveGuy** for looking at Sotomayor’s actual judicial record. As did my reference to Marino v. Ortiz. This was a trial sponsored by a Latino group versus a race neutral legal support group. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-look-or-be-good-for-obama-to-withdraw-sotomayors-nomination/497913/245 "2009-06-03T23:10:45Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > As did my reference to Marino v. Ortiz. This was a trial sponsored by a Latino group versus a race neutral legal support group. Hmmm. 1 case…100 cases…1 case…100 cases…1 case…100 cases… ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-look-or-be-good-for-obama-to-withdraw-sotomayors-nomination/497913/246 "2009-06-03T23:13:24Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Whoosh!!! You’re position is that it’s OK to represent a particular group (as a personal mission) and still be neutral as a SC judge. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-look-or-be-good-for-obama-to-withdraw-sotomayors-nomination/497913/247 "2009-06-03T23:14:55Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Hmmm. 1 case…100 cases…1 case…100 cases…1 case…100 cases… Latino advocacy group, Latino advocacy group, Latino advocacy group… insert comment about Latino women on the SC versus white men here. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-look-or-be-good-for-obama-to-withdraw-sotomayors-nomination/497913/248 "2009-06-03T23:19:36Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > You’re position is that it’s OK to represent a particular group (as a personal mission) and still be neutral as a SC judge. By your characterization, if a judge had been a past member of, say, the NAACP (“a racially motivated advocacy group”), that would preclude them from ever being eligible from SCOTUS service because of an inherent, intrinsic bias. As a notion, that is simply idiotic. One can have a pet cause, devoted pasttime, or favorite charity and still impose a sense of neutrality on those issues when assuming ones responsibility on the bench. Plenty of judges do it, and you have yet to demonstrate (beyond marginal anecdotes, cherry-picked dissents, and out-of-context quotations) that Sotomayor is any different. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-look-or-be-good-for-obama-to-withdraw-sotomayors-nomination/497913/249 "2009-06-03T23:40:05Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > By your characterization, if a judge had been a past member of, say, the NAACP (“a racially motivated advocacy group”), that would preclude them from ever being eligible from SCOTUS service because of an inherent, intrinsic bias. yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. Having an an inherent, intrinsic bias is not a quality for a Supreme Court Judge. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-look-or-be-good-for-obama-to-withdraw-sotomayors-nomination/497913/250 "2009-06-03T23:41:24Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > So what? She was on an advocacy group? Are you saying that SC judges need to have been completely impartial on everything their whole life? Maybe we need to recruit justices from the [Neutral Planet.](http://theinfosphere.org/The_Neutral_Planet) ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-look-or-be-good-for-obama-to-withdraw-sotomayors-nomination/497913/251 "2009-06-03T23:45:15Z")
> [@Tyrrell\_McAllister](#): > > Wait, why are you waiting for right-wingers to denounce your own post? I had a scathing rebuttal all typed up… Got me. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-look-or-be-good-for-obama-to-withdraw-sotomayors-nomination/497913/252 "2009-06-03T23:57:43Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. Having an an inherent, intrinsic bias is not a quality for a Supreme Court Judge. But being a part of an advocacy group doesn’t automatically equate an inherent, intrinsic bias–no more so than having a religious affiliation or being registered with a political party does. Your assumption that anyone with passions can’t also be objective when necessary is specious and untenable. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-look-or-be-good-for-obama-to-withdraw-sotomayors-nomination/497913/253 "2009-06-04T00:08:26Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. Having an an inherent, intrinsic bias is not a quality for a Supreme Court Judge. Then I assume you were opposed to the appointments of Scalia, Roberts, and Alito, all past members of the [Federalist Society](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalist_Society) (a conservative legal advocacy group). Or is it only when skin color’s involved that “advocacy”-associations becomes a deal-breaker? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-look-or-be-good-for-obama-to-withdraw-sotomayors-nomination/497913/254 "2009-06-04T00:33:35Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > [Quote=Gangster Octopus] > Foul on ArchiveGuy for looking at Sotomayor’s actual judicial record. As did my reference to Marino v. Ortiz. This was a trial sponsored by a Latino group versus a race neutral legal support group. [/QUOTE] False. Martino v Ortiz was not undertaken while she was a jurist in any capacity. She was a lawyer at the time, not a judge. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-look-or-be-good-for-obama-to-withdraw-sotomayors-nomination/497913/255 "2009-06-04T00:40:05Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > False. Martino v Ortiz was not undertaken while she was a jurist in any capacity. She was a lawyer at the time, not a judge. He knows this–but the mere whiff of association with a _ **Latino Advocacy Group** _ (booga-booga-booga)\* puts the permanent prejudicial stink on her, even while doing (gulp) her job! :eek: Isn’t it obvious? \*At least we now know who it is that the righties tell their kids are hiding under their beds at night. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-look-or-be-good-for-obama-to-withdraw-sotomayors-nomination/497913/256 "2009-06-04T01:04:20Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > False. Martino v Ortiz was not undertaken while she was a jurist in any capacity. She was a lawyer at the time, not a judge. I never said she was a jurist. I said she was a prosecuter who was on the board that pushed the lawsuit in the first place (post 238). what you have is a Judge from a Latino advocacy group making statements that she thinks a Latino women would make better decisions then a white man. Combine that with a mindset that the court of appeals is where policy is made and that bias becomes law. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-look-or-be-good-for-obama-to-withdraw-sotomayors-nomination/497913/257 "2009-06-04T01:10:48Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Combine that with a mindset that the court of appeals is where policy is made and that bias becomes law. And yet you continue to ignore the fact that, in an 11-year career with dozens upon dozens of decisions with race-related components to them, no evidence of a recurring bias can be found. But I guess you alleging it is enough, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-look-or-be-good-for-obama-to-withdraw-sotomayors-nomination/497913/258 "2009-06-04T01:22:31Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Then I assume you were opposed to the appointments of Scalia, Roberts, and Alito, all past members of the [Federalist Society](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalist_Society) (a conservative legal advocacy group). I don’t think you understand what a Federalist is. They believe in judicial restraint and not legislation from the bench: **The Society looks to Federalist Paper Number 78[3] for an articulation of the virtue of judicial restraint, as written by Alexander Hamilton: "It can be of no weight to say that the courts, on the pretense of a repugnancy, may substitute their own pleasure to the constitutional intentions of the legislature…** If she were a Federalist and stood up for the little guy I would be behind her. Her actions and statements, made in full view of the public, suggest otherwise. > [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Or is it only when skin color’s involved that “advocacy”-associations becomes a deal-breaker? I don’t know what makes you think this is appropriate but I don’t appreciate racial cheap shots. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-look-or-be-good-for-obama-to-withdraw-sotomayors-nomination/497913/259 "2009-06-04T01:24:06Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > And yet you continue to ignore the fact that, in an 11-year career with dozens upon dozens of decisions with race-related components to them, no evidence of a recurring bias can be found. > > But I guess you alleging it is enough, eh? Including her tenure as a district court judge, a bit shy of 17 years, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-look-or-be-good-for-obama-to-withdraw-sotomayors-nomination/497913/260 "2009-06-04T01:33:35Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > If she were a Federalist and stood up for the little guy I would be behind her. So you oppose Roberts? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-look-or-be-good-for-obama-to-withdraw-sotomayors-nomination/497913.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-look-or-be-good-for-obama-to-withdraw-sotomayors-nomination/497913.md?page=14)