May 29, 2009 4:35 PM

White House: Sotomayor Would Change "Wise Latina" Comments

By
Stephanie Condon
Topics
Sonia Sotomayor
(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Conservatives have expressed concern about comments from Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor regarding her perspective as a Latina woman, but a White House spokesperson is now saying Sotomayor would change those comments if she could.

While some conservative pundits have assailed Sotomayor for being a "racist," Republicans in the senate have voiced more subdued concerns that the nominee values her ethnic perspective too strongly.

At issue is a statement she made in a speech delivered in 2001: "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."

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs in his daily press briefing on Friday said that Sotomayor would now consider her choice of words for the 2001 speech "poor."

"I think if she had the speech to do all over again, I think she'd change that word," Gibbs said, referring specifically to Sotomayor's remark that a Latina should reach a "better" conclusion than a white male.

Gibbs said he had not spoken to Sotomayor specifically about those remarks and was basing his comments on discussions he has had with other people.

"She was simply making the point that personal experiences are relevant to the process of judging," he added.

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by earlysaid June 1, 2009 1:27 PM EDT
Sonia Sotomayer is very qualified to be on the Supreme Court. She has years of experience that far exceed any other Supreme Court Judge. Let all the liars start lying and spewing their bile of hate. It will not change the fact that President Obama will get his nominee confirmed. She will be on the Supreme Court very soon. It is wonderful that we have a worthy President who hopefully will be able to appoint more worthy people to the Supreme Court during the next eight years.
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by earlysaid June 1, 2009 1:20 PM EDT
Every word out of Liz Cheney's mouth is very troubling. Every word from republican base has been hateful and much more than troubling. Cheney made sure brutal and indecent torture was done and now it is so horrible that President Obama is forced to keep it from the world. It was absolute brutality very like Nazi torture. That is what the Cheneys are running around championing as so great. These people make me sick.
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by vinylogy May 31, 2009 10:51 PM EDT
Of course she would "change her statement" now! The statement helped her when she made it, now it is a hindrance. Just like Obama she'll flip-flop whenever it's to her immediate benefit.
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by vinylogy May 31, 2009 10:41 PM EDT
Sotomayor is stating fairly clearly that it's okay to discriminate as long as you discriminate against "Whitey".

It's pretty funny to see groups that have always complained about discrimination now striving to practice it.

Personally , I think it is wrong to elicit projected opinions from judicial nominees during confirmation. In so doing, Congress usurps power from the Judiciary. It imposes it's will on the Court by making compliance with Congress's wishes a prerequisite to joining the Court. The ideal, Justice would harbor no bias, preferring rather to judge each case on it's legal merits, not on individual philosophy. The whole notion of nominees trying to buy off Congress by telling them what they want to hear is a bad thing.

Sotomayor will be confirmed precisely because she will kowtow to the wishes of Congress.
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by jodyrae4 May 31, 2009 7:19 AM EDT
I understand what she was trying to say but...She needs to learn how to speak to All people not just to Latinos and women.
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by alanrobisch May 30, 2009 9:54 PM EDT
White males do have a greater tendency to fail to consider the possibility that they may be wrong placing them at a disadvantage in making unbiased judgments.
Posted by r1jcataldo at 2:52 PM : May 30, 2009

Join the bigot parade. You are making a general statement about a large number of people and this is called stereotyping. when you use this standard to judge individuals its called bigotry
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by r1jcataldo May 30, 2009 5:52 PM EDT
White males do have a greater tendency to fail to consider the possibility that they may be wrong placing them at a disadvantage in making unbiased judgments.
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by nycsense May 30, 2009 2:59 PM EDT
"If historical backbround is any guide, Anglo-Saxon heritage is more likely to guide a person to follow the concept of constituional government than non-Anglo-Saxons. Even non-Anglo-Saxons that have risen in our society have accepted Anglo-Saxon values and ways of thinking.

Latin "thinking" has no history of constituional government. Just because a society or racial grouping has a long history does not mean they have any tradition of constitutional government or the type of thinking necessary to foster constitutional government.

Sotomayer is a third world thinker. She does not belong on the US Supreme Court."

Posted by joe1022joe

joe1022joe, so Sotomayor shouldn't be a supreme court judge because she exhibits "Latina Thinking"? What you're basically saying is that Anglo-Saxons are the only ones capable of grasping democratic ideals. Unfortunately, you are drastically misinformed because the democratic ideals were not invented by Anglo-Saxons. The Ancient Greeks thought of the ideals of democracy at a time when Anglo-Saxons (people from France, Germany, England ...otherwise known as Barbarians) were too busy fighting each other. Then Rome adopted those ideals as their own after conquering the Greeks. Then the Romans proceeded to beat those ideals into the skulls of barbarians, until the barbarians themselves were forced to use them too.

Contrary to your beliefs, Puerto Rico is not a third world country, its a common wealth of the US. They have a governor like a state of the US without being a state yet. So, I'm not sure where you're getting your history lessons from, but if I were you, I would be terribly upset from walking around being completely wrong about everything all the time.
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by pepperwood2 May 30, 2009 2:33 PM EDT
At issue is a statement she made in a speech delivered in 2001: "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."

Thank God for our Democratic Led Congress "hate crimes law " that they have had the courage to pass. This Woman makes no reservations as she spews out her deep rooted hatred attacking White Anglo Saxon Males, Even implying that they are mentally disabled and second class citizens.

It is time to put this hate, bias, bigoted & gender based mentally & attacks behind us and find an individual that has a True Heart & Spirit to Serve All The American People. We don't need any more of this. Glad that this Woman was exposed for what she really is & what she really believes. So Sad! Perhaps she should enroll in a good therapy program. I wish her the best.
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by vagabundocosmico May 30, 2009 2:25 PM EDT
"<People and companies want to hire employees that will help them. To say in this day and time that people will hire a less qualified white person is stupid and completely not true. I guarantee you do not know of any examples in the real world. Only what was fed to you by some liberal message board "writer".

But most of us have seen first hand, including many of the black folks who may write here even though they won't admit, the forced hiring and subsequent WASTE that resulted from hiring a unqualified minority candidate. ">

Posted by jonesjep

Jonesjep I don't know what's worse, your ignorance or your arrogance.

Either way, both are appalling and childish.

Just because someone presents a different point of view than yours is no cause for alarm or to start assuming.

Assumptions always end-up causing more confusion than clarity.

It astounds me that you have the nerve to even go as far as stating that I don't have no examples to back my claims.

Now I don't know if you are just plain dumb or just pretend.

How do we know if any of the things that people post here are true?

I mean come on dude.

Everyone that writes here, we take it with a grain of salt.

In your view, I have to state my examples, send you a copy, certify and await your response after you have done a throughough background check of the facts.

Do you see how ridiculous your statements are?

Ha ha ha ha

It doesn't really make a difference what I write, because in your mind you already have made an opinion about me and my thoughts.

That is presumptous and a very dangerous way to think, specially on cyberspace, because suffice to say, there is no way we can verify our beliefs.

If I tell you that I have personally seen cases where whites of less qualifications were promoted over minorities, you can either believe me or not. That is your choice.

If I tell you for example, I used to work for a German International corporation and saw white ass kissers get ahead of qualified minorities(because they didn't kiss ass), to you that is not a valid reason, and most of my memories are fantasy.

Jonesjep, do me a favor and next time you try to present an argument, don't make assumptions and pretend to speak for all levels of business and corporations as if you were the only source of knowledge.

Cases of discrimination go in every facet of the business world, and just because you have never heard of it, it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
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