Circum Spective

Sotomayor or Judge John Doe ... It Won't Make Any Difference

Here's the bottom line on Supreme Court Justice-to-be, Sonia Sotomayor: She will be replacing a Justice who voted primarily with the liberal bunch on the court, so her appointment and confirmation will change nothing about the way the court votes now. So, chill out and choose your battles more wisely. This one is not "winnable", right-wingers. Even if Obama was forced to nominate someone else, it still wouldn't change anything, because he would simply nominate (and the Senate would ultimately confirm) someone who will vote with the "liberal" wing of the court.

Whether she votes the way she does based on empathy or prejudice, bias or arrogance, legal principle or social activism, it doesn't really matter in the end. She is still going to vote the way she's going to vote. A good lawyer or judge (or law clerk, which is who will be researching and writing for Sotomayor) can find or fabricate a plausible legal argument to support any position on any issue. Conservative Justices (strict constructionists of the Constitution) find precedent and legal arguments to support their predilections and liberal Justices find law and precedent to support theirs.

It’s not the liberal or conservative Justices that make the difference. It’s the moderate swing vote Justice. It has almost always been that way on the Supreme Court and it probably always will be. Sotomayor will not be the "swing vote", so calm down and save your energy for a more important fight. This one is just not particularly important in light of the various predilections of the current members of the court.