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Sotomayor was the safer Hispanic choice

Whatever you think about Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama could have made a much more problematic choice of Hispanic jurists.

He could have announced the selection of Justice Carlos Moreno of the California Supreme Court ...

... on the same day Moreno was the "one" in the California court's 6-1 ruling upholding Prop 8.

Just last week, the New York Times wrote a glowing profile of Moreno as a "long-shot candidate" to replace David Souter.

The Times even referred to him as a "moderate."

Seriously?

Prop 8, endorsed by California voters last year, amended the state's constitution to define marriage as one man-one woman. It negated the Supreme Court's own 4-3 ruling.

The court was asked to overturn Prop 8.

Instead, the majority said no, a lawfully approved constitutional amendment is not unconstitutional.

Moreno's dissent, on the other hand, denied the obvious. The constitutional amendment approved by the voters was not a constitutional amendment at all, he wrote, but a revision to the constitution. And that can only be enacted by a two-thirds vote of the legislature.

Moreno was so determined to reach a desired result in this case that he contrived an argument from thin air. His nomination by President Obama to the Supreme Court of the United States would have crashed on takeoff.

Sotomayor will have her critics, but she was a much safer choice.

Comments (1)

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tonymo [TypeKey Profile Page] said:

Doug, this is like saying that going 90mph in a 45mph zone is "safer" than going 100mph. Obviously neither is safe.

In yesterday's back and forth no one commented on the OATH that she already sworn, and disregarded. Why do we even have an oath, or for that matter, a Constitution!

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