Felicitaciones to U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor - YEA!!!

I am so proud of her my heart is going to burst!! I am proud of the fact that she is a Woman!! I am proud that she is a Latina!! I am proud that she is “more qualified than any other Supreme Court Justice at their time of their confirmation”!! I am really proud that Pres. Obama is brave enough to take a chance.

Now…let’s get to brass tacks (as my Constitutional law professor would say). Is she the right one? Well if you look at her record she is consistent, she is fair, she is a scholar of the law. She is also someone both parties have moved up the legal food chain (the first Pres. Bush then Pres. Clinton). She should be a good pick to make ‘most’ happy. Right?

Some will feel that she is too much a moderate, others will wonder her stance on Roe v. Wade, yet others will say that her problem is that she is empathetic and that’s not what the supreme court needs. They will say that the law rulings should be based on the law and not feeling. Maybe that’s what’s wrong with the law. Maybe your personal experiences should come into play.

Let’s face it…the law wasn’t written for people who were African American, Gay, or Women. It was written for men, by men because at the time, women were worth just a bit more than cattle. African Americans/Blacks at the time were slaves so they definitely didn’t count. I can’t recall if there were Gay men even though some would say that there were, just without the name.

I hear the GOP belly-aching Pres. Obama nominated her because she is a woman – but didn’t you do the same thing with Gov. Palin? There is no way you’re going to tell me that you didn’t pick Palin AFTER Pres. Obama passed on now Secretary of State Clinton, because you thought you would get the woman vote. The difference, Judge Sotomayor IS a woman AND qualified.

This judge is not the answer to every Hispanic’s (or women or minority) prayer, but she is someone who has experience that pertains to a certain population that the other justices don’t. Justices Thurgood Marshall, Stephen Breyer and Sandra Day O’Connor are among my favorite Justices. I want to something here about Justice Clarence Thomas – not my favorite Justice. I have met him before and frankly, I don’t think he reflect the African-American population at all. Then again, given his own remarks, Clarence Thomas shouldn’t have any problem with her. Isn’t he the first one to say “people of color shouldn’t expect things to be handed to them, but pull themselves up by their boot-straps like I did and go after the American dream.” Well Justice Thomas, that’s what Judge Sotomayor has done and continues to do. While I’m a bit sad Gov. Deval Patrick, of Boston didn’t get the nod, there is always hope that one day there will be another African-American male justice to balance Justice Thomas factor. Can we remember that the law is supposed to be a reflection of our peers? While it’s still missing a few members (Native American, Asian, Gay and others), I think this is a good first step.

I look forward to the confirmation hearings, I want to hear how the GOP will try to take her down, I look forward to hearing a woman who will remain composed and factual take them all on. More than that, I look forward to seeing another woman on the bench. She has said that few things have not changed: her feeling of herself as “not completely a part of the worlds I inhabit,” as she said in one speech; her drive and ambition; and her willingness to speak up about her own identity as a Latina and a woman. In many ways, she is walking through a door she pushed open herself. On the bench, Judge Sotomayor may be a careful deliberator, but off it she is a tireless advocate for Latinos.

All the best Judge Sotomayor and from one Yankee Fan to another – HIT IT OUT OF THE PARK GIRLFRIEND!!!