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[...] someone who is of Latin background, personally, I understand what she is trying to say," Martinez said after meeting with Sotomayor today. "Which is, the richness of her experience forms who she is. It [...]

It will be a dark day for America if this far lefter is confirmed.

It's amusing at best to hear Republicans complain and accuse Sotomayor of being a racist.

They sound like SS collaborators complaining about being 'mistreated' after Liberation.

"Please don't hit us, we're people too!"

To all who think that Republicans who vote against her will not be re-elected remember this. 46% of americans voted Republican. Many who voted democratic did so not as a vote for the democratic nominee but against Bush and the republican nominee. There are a HUGE number of voters just waiting for the republicans to make a stand for American values, put politics on the back burner and vote for whats right. If that happens, the majority in congress will not only switch to the right but Obama can be guaranteed to be a one and done.

The Republicans, certainly pretty dumb, are not stupid! They will not dare fight the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court. They are too hungry for votes to not confirm her.
They are already running for the Presidency in 2012 and if they fight too hard on her confirmation they face loosing minority votes. The Republicans are all about power and to hell with the American people.

""For someone who is of Latin background, personally, I understand what she is trying to say. Which is, the richness of her experience forms who she is. It forms who I am," Martinez said."

Uh, oh. I suspect Lush, and the rest of the GOP will call Martinez a racist for agreeing with Sotomayor on this. The question is, will he apologize for it?

But....but...but, but, she's racist! Listen to me, she's racist! Why does no one pay attention to my ranting?? Oh well, I guess I'll just have to wait for Newt, Palin, and Rush to tell me what to believe next.

I really don't get the racism complaint from the right. I've read her speeches and though I'm only a high school graduate I fail to see this huge racism problem.. Seems to me most of the racism in our country comes from the right.......Is it ignorance or just stupidity that causes the right to not understand what a person says..

Steve-Mich

She will and should be confirmed. She is a bit hung up on the identity politics stuff but her judicial record is solid. She is not a raving liberal activist like some conservatives claim. She is tough on crime and oftens follows legal precedant.

@ James, who said "We have a dictatorship in America now. No choice for the people."

Coming from anyone who supports the policies of the Bush administration and/or the GOP from the past 8 years during the single largest expansion of Executive Branch power and their current positions of supporting the continuation of Bush admin policies like Gitmo and torture, attempting to use fear of terrorism, misleading McCarthyistic blabber about socialism, using language borrowed from the American Revolutionary War to spark threats of secession and cater to right-wing extremists' nightmares, etc., that statement above wins the all-time award for hypocrisy.

A voice of reason from within the Republican Party!?!

Yea, coming from somone of color. Repubicans will kill their party if they don't confirm Sonia SotoMayor. Repubicans will lose all their minority voters if they aint al ready have.

Dems love a liberal racist.

We have become so blatantly politically correct! Dare not disagree or vote against a minority; you will be labeled racist, fear-monger and the like.

The argument made so many times during the last few weeks: had a white man made supremacy statements, like Sotomayor, he would be hung up to dry and banned to a remote island!

Well, of course she will be confirmed, ya nut!!

No. She has to answer the questions first. She has shown that she is a racist. perhaps she wants to make our nation a latina nation. Hypocrite.

It's a beautiful thing to have a wise Latino man in the Republican Party and the Senate...wait, was that a racist comment?

Ironically, this actually proves Sotomayor's point because the Latino Republican and the female Republicans have been handling this issue better than many(not all) of their Republican Colleagues who happen to be white and male.

Must be "Obvious Day" at camp stupid.

It aggrevates me to no end the racial tone taking to the nomination of Sotomayor...she is extremely qualified....she had the gumption for the role...she is one of the best in her field...give the woman the respect she has earned..it's not about race, or even politics (well, shouldn't be).she is simply qualified.

Of course she will.

We have a dictatorship in America now. No choice for the people.

With her comment about wise Latinas with rich experiences vs white males, she makes it clear that she believes that no white male has ever been on the receiving end of racism. What about a gay white male? What about Jewish white males? What about gay Jewish white males? Racism is rooted in ignorance, and Her Honor has shouted her ignorance loud and clear.

Um...Not much of a prediction. Not exactly the "long-shot" horse. LOL

Walk with a limp, Would Obama be a hypocrit as well considering he states he is pro-civil rights, but yet is against gay marriage?

Don't bother answering, you only want to generalize all Republicans as Rush lovers, I happen to hate his guts, but then you couldn't take your Keith Olbermann/Rahm Emmanuel talking orders to paint all of us as Rush lovers.

By the way, "selfish interests", funny, another Liberal talking point that has been debunked by independent study after study, Conservatives/Republicans give FAR, FAR more time, money and effort to charities than Liberals/Dumocrats and it isn't even close.

Keep up the talking points, you just got schooled by your better.

Yup, she will be confirmed. No stopping the Democrats when they are driving the bus into the wall, with their leader Obama at the wheel. Gotta get a Latina woman at any expense, doesn't have to be the best person for the job. So, she's a little racist, does that really matter?

Way to go out on a limb. The dems blindly follow each other and unfortunately they have the majority.

Obama and his cronies make me sick. Is it 2012 yet so we can get this nut out of office.

Why weren't all these liberals supporting Miguel Estrada when he was nominated by Bush? You hypocrites pretend you want a hispanic judge, but in reality you just want to pretend that the Democrats are the party of Hispanics. Every democrat in the senate filibustered Estrada because they were afraid of Republicans getting hispanic support

Do as Martinez...LOOK AT HER RECORD!
A fair & honorable jurist; thanks, Mr. President!

Of course she will be confirmed the dems have the votes. This AIN'T rocket science people! Like i said before, a liberal replacing a liberal, no gain, no loss. She has been very quiet on abortion though! Any of you libs nervous about that??

Maybe she broke her leg kicking an old white man. lol.

I have an idea how about we find the first hispanic female supreme court justice who is not racist. I'd vote for her!

"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." ?

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

Nope that sure does not sound racist.

In 50 years, whites will be the minority and can get away with remarks like Sotomayor's. What goes around, comes around.

"Martinez, the only Hispanic Republican " predicts that Sotomajor will be easily confirmed. If the GOP looks at all negative during her questioning before the Senate, the GOP can kiss the next few elections a fond farewell.

Question is, can the Repubs actually think in terms of something positive to say or will they continue to follow the right-wing extremists down the toilet of history? The struggle will be worth watching.

Yep; birds of a feather!

Bravo Sen. Martinez!! George Bush Sr. obviously felt Justice Sotomayor would do fine on the federal bench, and I feel that she will make a fine replacement for Justice Souter.

Yes, rightfully so-SHE SHOULD BE CONFIRMED!!!!

Woa, she's going out on a limb with that statement!! Yeah, right, considering the Democrats are free to do whatever they want.

She will do and say anything to become one of the judges on the supreme court.That way anytime a decision is made concerning any white person she will vote againt them.

It has nothing to do with her sex or race but of course the Democrats are the first ones to jump on that band wagon.
She herself admitted that she made a bad statement.
She has never denied the statement.
First everyone denied it.
Second they said it was taken out of text.
Now it is that she should be excused for saying it.
That was not even her worst statement although she is racist.
The statement that matters most is that she said she believes in making law from the bench. That is against what she was sworn to do. And of course no one has a problem with her making up the law as she goes along.
Nice impartial person for a judge. Pretty bad.

I think that true acceptance is treating everyone as equals and holding everyone accountable for their actions.

Liberals strapped with their “white guilt” have a hard time faulting anyone who happens to be a minority. It is a card they play to confirm their status as the "elitist non racist" population against the conservatibe "brown shirts" as they say.

We are all the same- our environment may influence us but our skin color doesn’t. We are less diverse then most of you think!

Oh boy, racism.... Well the white man feared the the Native Americans because they were different and they were much wiser than the ones who invaded the shores of the United States.

Racism, is when the white man is too lazy to tend to his fields, thus the slave trades...

And when a woman feels her richness of being a Latino woman could make a better judgment that a white man, they call it reverse racism.

It always takes a racist to know a racist...

For those conservatives who fear that Sotomayor will move the bench to the left, rejoice! For, much to my dismay, if you actually study her rulings, chances are far greater that she will nudge the court to the right. At least know what you are supposedly fighting against before getting all bent out of shape . . .

This is Affirmative Action at work. Quality and character don't matter. What color are you?

Amazing the continuing assaults from the GOPers. And now, Martinez predicting that she will be confirmed! YA think?!

The GOP clearly has nothing, they are doing what they can with their hateful racist comments, but when......... 2 in 1 Americans supports Sotomayor......... and ONLY 21% claim to be GOP...... the GOP knows they are in deep trouble! Funny.

She is a bad judge with bad arguments and writings.
She does not follow the law and does not believe in the US Constitution.
It is a grave day in history that a person with such malice towards the United States of America, its Constitution, and its Bill of Rights would be put into such a seat of Power.
Barack chose someone who does not believe in the law as he does not believe. He will change law with her and force precedent. America will lose her freedoms, her liberty, and her rights.

Look, weather she's a racist or not is more of an opinion than fact. The fact is that 60% of her rulings have been overturned. Is that the kind of person we want on the Supreme Court? Absolutly not. I think that some pepole want her on the court because she is latino. That my friends is racism.

Hey Anna,
I believe it would be racism if we treated Obama differently because of his skin color not because of his horrid policies. If we didn't voice opinions about Obama because of his skin color, that would be racism. I did read her whole speach and even read in context it is an inappropriate remark for a judge.

With Democratic control that is a heck of a prediction. Do something productive Martinez like being fiscally responsible and getting some non softball questions ready for Sotomayor's confirmation hearings.

I guess a wise Latino man like Martinez knows better than the white men in the Senate.

So to the person who said we should listen to all her words and not just parts of it? “I say well a good many parts make a whole does it not“?

When you view all her words these parts stand out as whom she is and what she believes.

To not take them into account then you want to close your eyes to the truth. But I don’t need to point out about you Liberals wanting to hide from the truth since you been doing that since Obama got elected.

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...

Judge Sotomayor is not racist. Those of you who insult her are just suffering from reverse racism. The worst kind.

of course she'll be confirmed.... why would she NOT?

GOP should just shut the hell up

It is so funny how every liberal democrat in this forum believes if a Republican agrees with their views then that person is a voice of reason in the Republican Party.

So if any one wants to be seen as a voice of reason then one must agree with your enemy in order for them to believe you are a better person then those who do not agree with their whacked out crazy ignorant views of how this country should be ran.

I am so proud not to be a voice of reason to these whacked out crazy ignorant Democrat Liberals.

B.H. - How is it that she is the right persone, at the right time?

She will be easily be confirmed. She is a woman and she is Hispanic, who will dare vote against her? She may be competent, she may not be. I don't think anyone really cares. The liberals can rejoice in another "first" and the conservatives will have gained a new enemy to hate. Everybody wins!!!

Not only will she be confirmed but every republican who votes against her will loose his senate seat next time around. Hispanics are the fastest growing minority in America and they will make those senators pay with their vote for dissing one of their own. Lots are already mad that the RNC treated her this bad, calling her racist and incompetent just because she also happens to be a woman.

VIVA SONIA SOTOMAYOR !!!

She will easily get in and crush the hopes of the roe vs. wade tools.Forward crushers,we will crush the rightwing,one bug at a time,like beetles on the American rose.

American Judiciary is full of Jews.

If you have a Jewish Lawyer, in front of a Jewish Judge, you win.

We need diversity for better Justice.

It is AMAZING how "liberal" a ranting, raving Republican can be when they can personally "identify" with a defining characteristic of of Democratic policy or iniative.

In this case, Martinez is a Latino .... he can find understanding in his heart and head for a Latino woman despite the diatribes from Gingrich and others.

In the case of acceptance of Gays and gay marriage .... Darth Vader .... err, I mean Dick Cheney, can find understanding in his heart and head for Homosexuals despite diatribes from the Christian right because his child is gay.

If only these "conservatives" where not such flaming hypocrits ... maybe I could get behind them. Unfortunately, they typically lack PRINCIPLES that align with reality until their own selfish interests come into play.

I forgot to mention: all of you Conservatives who have suddenly discovered racism (in one Puerto Rican woman) and are shocked and horrified...

If eliminating racism is such a passion for you, you can find plenty of it in southern states, around Native American reservations, along the US-Mexico border, in corporate hiring practices, in your town, in your schools, and plenty of other places. I know that stopping racism is so important to all Conservatives, so I just thought I'd suggest that you might look around your town and deal with it there.

YOU HATERS NEED TO LISTEN TO HER WHOLE SPEECH INSTEAD OF LISTENING TO JUST A FEW WORDS.....

IT'S ALRIGHT THOUGH THAT THE HATE FILLED REPUBS CAN TRASH OBAMA....ISN'T THAT RACIST TOO?

Take a very good look at her because that is the new face of Racists!

People can talk about this until they are blue in the face but the facts are she said it.

The words came out of her own mouth and no matter how hard you try to spin it you cannot get around that it was indeed a racist remark.

Only liberals believe they have the right to say racist words and get away with it. Maybe that is because most liberals don’t want to hear the truth about their own kind.

"A voice of reason from within the Republican Party!?!"

Yeah, and it's pretty funny that between this guy and Crist, the GOPers who seem to be edging towards rational thought are coming out of FL of all places.

Here's what no one is saying.
Conservatives are afraid that Sotomayor will support regulations and constraints on corporate behavior. They are afraid their magnificent incomes might become merely fabulous.

Fundamentalists are afraid that she will be pro-choice (pro-abortion as they say).

She probably will be a leftish judge, which is why I support her. We need more Liberals in all levels of government. We need to eliminate Conservatism root and branch. It has damaged the country too much.

A voice of reason from within the Republican Party!?!

It is SO refreshing to hear one.

Particularly the comment about how there is nothing in her judicial decisions that indicate any racial bias. EXACTLY! That is the point! Instead of screaming about one sentence that was uttered several years ago, Martinez examined her actual record.

If he is correct about her being easily confirmed, we might actually have an example of bipartisanship. What a great thing that would be.

Translation: The fix is in, all bribes have been paid and all deals have been sealed.

When she turns out to be as dumb as Alberto Gonzalez, don't come crying to us, Democrats.

Wow, what a bold prediction.

She could show up in a hooded white robe and still be confirmed.

Boy, Mel Martinez is really going out on a limb with this prediction.

Mel, care to predict the 2009 winner of the Kentucky Derby?

She will be confirmed, and is the right person at the right time.

I wonder if she chose a wise latina doctor to look at her broken ankle?

I would imagine that a wise latina doctor with her rich experiences in broken latina ankles would reach a better diagnosis than the typical old white male doctor on staff.

Yep, racism sounds equally as ugly when I say it, too.