Identical Except For The Major Difference

No Spin Too Far for Greg Sargent of The Plum Line, who will say anything to promote the Dem agenda.  His latest laugher concerns a speech Sonia Sotomayor gave in 1994, which she revised slightly for the controversial 2001 version.

Over to Sargent:

Breaking: Sotomayor Made Same “Wise Woman” Speech In 1990s — And No One Objected

I’ve just obtained a speech that Sonia Sotomayor gave in 1994, in which she made a comment virtually identical to the “wise Latina” one from 2001 that has generated so much controversy.

And though the 1994 speech was disclosed to Republican Senators as part of her confirmation for Court of Appeals in 1998, there’s no sign that anyone objected to it in any way.

And the "virtually identical" speech excerpt:

“Justice O’Connor has often been cited as saying that “a wise old man and a wise old woman reach the same conclusion in dueling cases. I am not so sure Justice O’Connor is the author of that line since Professor Resnik attributes the line to Supreme Court Justice Coyle. I am not so sure that I agree with the statement. First, if Prof. Martha Minnow is correct, there can never be a universal definition of ‘wise.’ Second, I would hope that a wise woman with the richness of her experience would, more often than not, reach a better conclusion.”

A wise "woman"?  Wait, what happened to a wise "Latina"?  My goodness, Newt Gingrich caused a stir when he accused Sotomayor of racism, not sexism.  Obama, in backpedaling from the "wise Latina" comment, understood the problem was racism, not sexism.  The controversial Ricci firefighters case is about affirmative action as it relates to race, not sex.  Who in the world does Sargent think he is kidding with the notion that "woman" and "Latina" are interchangeable in this context?

Moving on, the defense that Sotomayor simply misspoke in 2001 is now inoperative.  She wrote what she wrote for the 1994 speech on women in the judiciary, revised it slightly for her 2001 effort on Latins in the judiciary, and here we are, wondering about the extent of Sotomayor's group solidarity.

A more complete excerpt from the 1994 speech may create even more problems for Ms. Sotomayor.  Here we go from 1994 (my emphasis on the lines dropped from the 2001 speech):

I would hope that a wise woman with the richness of her experience would, more often than not, reach a better conclusion.”

What is better?  I, like Professor Resnick, hope that better will mean a more compassionate and caring conclusion.  Justice O'Connor and my colleague Miriam Cedarbaum would likely say that in their definition of wise these qualities are present.  Let us not forget, however, that wise men like Oliver Wendell Holmes and Cardozo voted on cases upholding both race and sex discrimination.

And here is the revised 2001 version:

Justice O'Connor has often been cited as saying that a wise old man and wise old woman will reach the same conclusion in deciding cases. I am not so sure Justice O'Connor is the author of that line since Professor Resnik attributes that line to Supreme Court Justice Coyle. I am also not so sure that I agree with the statement. First, as Professor Martha Minnow has noted, there can never be a universal definition of wise. Second, I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.

Let us not forget that wise men like Oliver Wendell Holmes and Justice Cardozo voted on cases which upheld both sex and race discrimination in our society.

So in 1994 women trumped men in Obama's vaunted empathy factor, but by 2001, "wise Latinas" did not.  That may depict a helpful progression - maybe Ms. Sotomayor was comfortable explaining why women judges could outperform their male counterparts but was as baffled as the rest of us as to why Latins made superior judges to whites.

My hazy impression is that the controversial affirmative action cases hinge on race rather than gender, so the sexism of the "wise woman" remark will be far less consequential than the racism of the "wise Latina" variant. 

And it is a heck of a defense - Sotomayor is in great shape since her remarks were sexist, not racist. 

Comments

[ben]

Sotomayor is in great shape because The Allpowerful is President and there are 59 democrats in the Senate.

Meanwhile, in the why we are so screwed category, here is a headline in yahoo news...

OBAMA SEEKS SAUDI KING'S ADVICE BEFORE CAIRO SPEECH

[bad]

Sexism is kewl as long as the sexismator is female and not male.

Everybody knows that....

[Original MikeS]

Sure enlarges the context. I am disappointed that Senators like Lugar, Snowe, and Specter voted for her confirmation then without condemning that remark. There's no way she could be the President of Harvard after making such a statement.

[PeterUK]

"I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."

So too would a wise Belgian with the richness of his experience,but what has that got to do with the price of radishes?

[narciso]

No, it just "enbiggens it, it's a perfectly cromulent word" yes the Simpsons joins Spinal Tap and Princess Bride to explain this zany world we live in today.

[clarice]

Don't miss Taranto today smacking Herbert re the wise Latina woman.

[MayBee]

I think "wise woman" is bad enough, but we were in the midst of the girl power movement in 1998. Maybe one more "girlz rule" speech didn't stick out to the Senators at the time.

[Porchlight]

bad, in the left's view it is literally not possible for a woman to be sexist or a black person to be racist. Their designated victim groups are the only victim groups. I was taught this in college.

[matt]

what about wise guys? What Would Tony Do?

[Neo]

inoperative - a Nixonian adjective

[gus]

But she's the most qualified nominee in 100 years. It's true. Barbara Boxer said so.
Here's how I roll. If you are dishonest. I do not trust nor respect you.

[Every D, in every W, is gettin' beter and beter.]

Big day manana under the Big Top Taqiyah. That hiss you hear is not Parsel Tongued Persiflager Prompto, but the alarm of a high pressure leak. He's not the Teflon President, but the Mylar one. Echoes sputter nicodemonicly down the ages. Why is such a destructive ideology such a seductive one?

[Topsecretk9]

Moving on, the defense that Sotomayor simply misspoke in 2001 is now inoperative. She wrote what she wrote for the 1994 speech on women in the judiciary, revised it slightly for her 2001 effort on Latins in the judiciary, and here we are, wondering about the extent of Sotomayor's group solidarity.

I'd say she's not very diverse in thought if she just recycles one liners which doesn't seem all that great for a SCJ, but that's just me.

[Topsecretk9]

No Spin Too Far for Greg Sargent of The Plum Line,

No kidding. I can't believe WAPO picked him (recall the left wet their pants when the WAPO was going to hire a conservative blogger, those were the days), but Sergent is like constant DNC TV commercial. Like his sole purpose in life is scream and yell DNC Journolist talking points first and the loudest. I always feel like I am reading a media matters action alert whenever I read Sergent.

[Sue]

Is this a step-up? Recycling your speeches? I mean, at least she didn't plagiarize someone else.

[daddy]

Well here's another wise female with a richness of experience who just successfully beat her 15th bogus and expensive ethics">http://www.adn.com/palin/story/818069.html">ethics complaint. Guess who?

[Extraneus]

Yeah, Clarice, I read Taranto after you mentioned it this morning. Excellent, but it's kind of a fish-in-a-barrell or taking-candy-from-a-baby thing to smack down Herbert. But he's kind of black, so it's not as cool to smack him down as it is other people. If it were, Taranto's effort would have been even better.

There's so need to really attack Sotomayor, if any Republicans on the Judiciary Committee are smart. (I hope that's not asking too much.) Just educate the American people on who the woman really is, and by extension who the man who appointed her is. This should be doable with great deference, respect and even awe of her great and rich personal story, which is pretty obviously the story of an ungrateful AA beneficiary. Her Wiki entry is a good place to start. The subtlties in that College and Education section won't be missed by many parents with non-"minority" kids getting ready to apply for college.

As far as I'm concerned, these are people who hate us. If that comes through, it'll be for the good.

[PeterUK]

"what about wise guys? What Would Tony Do?"

Tony Castrato ain't bin de same since feminism.

[Extraneus]

Everyone knows by now that she had a hard time referring to the United States in her Princeton senior thesis, right?

[daddy]

P'UK, or anyone who knows,

Just a question about Guy Fawkes, the guy who I think tried to blow up Parliament hundreds of years back. Is he considered a villain, or does he flip-flop back and forth between villain and hero, sort of like Brutus or Cromwell or Robin Hood, due to whatever the heck Parliament is doing? Saw a recent bad Natally Portman movie (Vendetta) indicating he was quasi-good which surprised me.

[PeterUK]

Daddy,
Old Guido doesn't have much significance now,there used to be a Guy Fawkes Bonfire night,but 'elfn' safety is doing for that.
Personally,whilst having no objection to this miserable lot being blown up,I wouldn't like to see a beautiful old listed building destroyed.

In response to your Hazel Blears question.She challenged Brown in a letter to the newspapers a few week back,her days were numbered.Little Hazel has picked the worst time to resign for the Prim Minister.
His life support has 30 million eager fingers ready to switch it off tomorrow.

[daddy]

"Prim Minister"

Don't know if it's a typo, but even if it is you're responses are hilarious. Thanks P'UK.

[Janet]

Off topic, but I feel so sad for our country. The Wash. Post didn't even have an article on Pvt. Long today. With education, the MSM, and the entertainment industry so in the tank for secular leftist ideologies...it "feels" hopeless. The internet and radio are not enough...we're preaching to the choir in those places.

[sbw]

Sotomayor disqualifies herself for the sheer stupidity of telescoping time to make it appear as if Holmes and Cardozo had all the experiences built up between their time and ours.

What a maroon.

[Original MikeS]

I'm concerned that Judge Sotomayor seems to regard the offensive riff as some of her best stuff, something that bears repeating.

She knew she was in disagreement with some pretty bright people who had already expressed admiration for the idea that men and women were equals on the bench. I would expect that she would present the best argument she could muster for her dissent.

Members of the bench do disagree at times, and those disagreements may result from the different experiences of those Judges outside of the court. Who could disagree with that?

Judge Sotomayor argues that better experiences for an appellate judge are those had by female Hispanics, rather than white males.

I hope that's wrong. I don't know any evidence indicating that is true. I'm concerned that Judge Sotomayor doesn't offer any. I would hope she came to her conclusion based on some evidence.

[clarice]

Everything about her life is owed to the Balkanizing unfair affirmative action programs in place. Is it any wonder that she has bought the notion that somehow their wasn't a giant thumb on the scale but some innate wonderfulness in her and her bakground made her worthy of all she received?

[clarice]

***theRE wasn't a giant thumb***

[clarice]

You might say the same of Obama and his bride though he hides it better than Michelle or Sonia do.

How could you face yourself and your colleagues if you thought you truly didn't deserve what you got?

[Janet]

I just sat through our daughter's end-of-the-year awards ceremony, and it was depressing to hear all the exclusive minority scholarships offered. We're not the right color, and we have too much savings to be poor...and not enough savings to be "connected". Ah well...

[Extraneus]

True, and that's why they have to convince themselves that the system itself sucks. Otherwise, the system is what gave them what they have, and that has to smart a little.

[Original MikeS]

...some innate wonderfulness in her and her background made her worthy...

I can sit through the innate wonderfulness argument from a high school valedictorian, but Sotomayor is a judge. Shouldn't we expect a teensy bit of evidence?

[narciso]

Comrade Ogilvy on the Malabar front, well it's not quite that bad, but to the MSM it might as well be; than again there's no crisis they can exploit with this, can
they. Now the news of the Gitmo detainee Muhammed Salih, who committed suicide, that will be a cause celebre, like the three previous ones including an Uteibi from Yemen.

[clarice]

My daughter in law is Japanese American. her father's family lost everything when they were wrongfully interned.

I remember sitting at her UCLA law school graduation where we were harangued by a black graduate who claimed the law school was admitting enough blacks. The audience was full of very poor parents--many of whom seemed to be recent immigrants from truly dreadful places.

I walked out.

[clarice]

**wasN'T admitting enough blacks****

[Extraneus]

Good for you. I'd bet Japanese-Americans are far less represented in law schools than blacks are. Not saying anything about their qualifications, but you would think that a fair-minded black graduate would agree that a person from a less-represented group should be accepted before a black applicant, after all.

AA is a cancer on the body politic.

[Semanticleo]

Maguire and his Minions don't seem satisfied with being the twenty=five percenters, they aspire to the Cheney objective of 1 percent.

I for one wish them all success on their race to the bottom. Marginalize yerselves into the bliss of the lunatic fringe, stalwart warriors. Keep yer principles intact. then get the freak out of the way.

History beckons y'all to join Whig destiny.

[clarice]

Ah, Semantic --I'd bet if the Reps ran a credible campaign on reducing taxes and govt spending and eliminating AA even ACORN couldn't steal enough votes to beat them.

[Semanticleo]

'steal enough votes...'

Rich..

[DrJ]

Hey! The narcisolator missed one! Time for a quick edit...

[Stephanie]

They are trying though... you did see that the Justice Dept just said that Georgia can't use documentation to ensure that only legal residents are voting even though the courts have ruled they can... who is the final arbiter of these decisions now? O and his minions, of course...

[clarice]

Dems making voter fraud easier and easier:

http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=328920251728142

[Melinda Romanoff]

Aaah. The gopher raises its head.

Leopold, you need to learn that the problem of vote fraud is a tool of your compatriots. The lesson of Milwaukee made that fairly obvious to even the poorest users of arithmetic. Individuals make their own choices, not lemmings, whom need the approval of the herd.

I believe your mirror still has dust on it.

[hit and run]

Right.

Cheney's approval rating is at 37% ... up 8 points since January.

Hell, Cheney is more popular than...

The stimulus (just 31% say stimulus helped economy)
GM bailout (21%)
Closing Gitmo (32%)
The idea that Gitmo has made us less safe (18%)

[hit and run]

Cheney's more popular than...

Congress generally (23%)

And he's in a virtual dead heat with...

Pelosi specifically (39%)

And the much vaunted congressional "generic Democrat" (38%)

[Semanticleo]

"learn that the problem of vote fraud is a tool of your compatriots."

Okay, Rasputin. Don't be jealous of skills that escape yer acumen. it's not your fault
yer Whig Party has reached it's evolutionary cul-de-sac, and has a shallow learning curve.

Or maybe it is yer fault...............

[Semanticleo]

"Cheney's more popular than..."

Mebbe you can convince him to run for office?

He could register as an InDEPENDSent....

[MayBee]

I LOVE those stats, hit!

[hit and run]

Mebbe you can convince him to run for office?

No need. He's already in his third term as Shadow President.

Gay marriage was his first foray into domestic politics in this term, dragging Obama around on a leash like he has on all his foreign policies so far.

[Semanticleo]

"He's already in his third term as Shadow President."

I'm glad you have a Hero. Everybody needs ONE.

[Melinda Romanoff]

Leopold-

You,again, mistakenly presume that I belong to a party, and proving, once again, you've assumed something and put a label on it for your own mental laziness. An admission from you that theft is a necessary tool of your compatriots merely shows the rot you attempt to project onto others that you seem so joyous in wallowing.

An individual can see those around them, respect them, and argue with them. You are not an individual. Your shallowness in the study of those you so desperately wish to place back in their perceived history reflects well on the absorption of copperhead beliefs and tactics of you, and your compatriots.

I said your mirror has dust on it because you've been taught by your parents too well to judge others due to your own perfection.

Clean your mirror.

We will resume this at a later date. I work for a living. Try to learn something about yourself, in the mean time.

Night all.

[Semanticleo]

"Night all."

When you return, mayhaps you will have worked out the kinks in the previous comment while in REM state. Meanwhile, we shall all wait with bated breath for yer breathless and enigmatic clarification.

[Captain Hate]

you did see that the Justice Dept just said that Georgia can't use documentation to ensure that only legal residents are voting even though the courts have ruled they can...

I wonder if the chinless coward is willing to discuss this.

[Dick Cheney]

Shhh, Hit, you weren't supposed to let the secret out.

[MeTooThen]

Um, for reasons known and unknown, I have decided to decloak and chime in.

What the hell is with the JOM resident troll (who shall not be named.)

I mean really, what's the point?

Everything that George Walker Bush did was Evil and Wrong.

Everything that those who claim themselves Republican, conservative, not-Democrats, or who has any disagreement with Barack Hussein Obama II is Evil and Wrong.

OK, I get it.

We all get it.

So go away already. You are Right and Good. We, are Evil and Wrong. Point made.

It's been, what? Like 3 years of this shit?

It's over. You win. Obama won. We lose.

Great.

Now go away.

Really.

!@#$%!

Just sayin'.

[Danube of Thought]

In a stunning blow to the ACLU and its allies, Judge Vaughn Walker of the Northern District of CA just dismissed the lawsuits against the telecom companies for their cooperation with the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program. He did so on the basis of the retroactive immunity enacted by the congress last year.

Many will recall that Obama campaigned against such immunity, and said he would join in a filibuster of the legislation, but then ended up voting for it. In the proceedings leading up to today's decision, the Obama administration had vigorously asserted the same arguments made by Bush. This is sweet indeed.

What is far sweeter is the enormous amount of time and energy wasted by the plaintiffs' lawyers, who had been salivating over the potential for billions of dollars in statutory damages for their clients, who suffered no actual harm but could nevertheless have enriched themselves mightily. And now it's all for naught. Oh, how I rub my hands together with glee over this one. I know exactly how bad those lawyers feel tonight, and that makes me very, very happy. They're bottom-feeding rent-seekers, and now they've gotten exactly what they deserved.

[PD]

"Cheney's more popular than..."

The media, which loves to cite these disapproval poll, conveniently ignoring those about themselves.

[Barry Dauphin]

We could take bets for the date which "Cheney is more popular than...Obama" happens.

June 15, 2010

[hit and run]

"Cheney's more popular than..."

The media,

Oh, good one.

Journalists (25%)
Labor Union Leaders (16%)

(these are honesty/ethics ratings, not approval ratings per se)

[hit and run]

Oh, and speaking of heroes...from Greg Pollowitz at NRO, a story about the Modern Day Edward R. Murrow Captain Lou Albano:

TV Newser quotes President Obama talking to Brian Williams on cable news:

I generally don't. Mainly because I don't find most of the cable chatter very persuasive. I've used this analogy before, it feels like WWF wrestling. Everybody's got their role to play. I know a lot of these guys. And if Pat Buchanan is having a conversation with Chris Matthews or talking to Keith Olbermann, everybody's got their set pieces and, so, I don't feel as if I'm learning anything from the debate.

In other* words, Keith Olbermann is as fake as WWF wrestling?

---------
*In Obama's words.

[Elliott]

No need. He's already in his third term as Shadow President.

He got his cousin in. Putin couldn't manage that.

[Semanticleo]

"It's been, what? Like 3 years of this shit?"

Born Yesterday............

[Semanticleo]

"so, I don't feel as if I'm learning anything from the debate."

There's a curious absence of mirrors at JOM

[Topsecretk9]

There's a curious absence of mirrors at JOM

Cleo

Since you spend so much time here, DITTO - you closet neo con.

[PeterUK]

"It's been, what? Like 3 years of this shit?"

Seems like it doesn't it,it's only been since the 20th of January.
Got to go and help depose our Marxist Prim Minister.

[narciso]

Revolting, at least Carter had a small degree of integrity; for a while anyways.
Going to Egypt, one of the world's worst
corrupt and torturous oligarchies, and really saying nothing, except that democracy
should not be imposed. Mentioning Al Azhar but leaving out prominent alumni like Sheik
Rahman, Quaradawi, and that Hamas honcho. Talking about student exchange programs that brought the likes of Mohammed Atta to our fair shores. Basically telling the Taliban, we won't linger, so you can wait us out. Yes, I'm in a particularlyfoul
mood today.

[matt]

DoT, you make my heart smile.....the ACLU and the plaintiff's bar all at once....that's a home run in my book.

[PeterUK]

"Cleo

Since you spend so much time here, DITTO - you closet neo con."

Nah Cleo just likes arguing with lots of people,Cleo is a mass debater.

[clarice]

Dot:"They're bottom-feeding rent-seekers, and now they've gotten exactly what they deserved."

Indeed, the very notion that these companies should suffer for trying to help save us from another attack was ridiculous.

[clarice]

But he's not a master debater,PUK.