From Sonia Sotomayor to Susan Boyle and Back Again

I don't usually get weepy for the Supreme Court or any of its Justices (especially Scalia), but today I watched videos of Susan Boyle and thought of Sonia Sotomayor. (Yeah, I'm strange that way, but please bear with me).

Last night I posted the remarks of some pretty vicious neocons who are trying desperately to make people hate Judge Sotomayor. Desperately trying to denigrate her, one pundit even attacked her hairstyle. Charges of racism have, ironically, come from the biggest racists (mostly white). They're screaming that she only got the nomination because she's a Latina, a female Hispanic. And during this orgy of mudslinging, no one mentions Alberto Gonzales, his ancestry, or his qualifications. If there was any affirmative action going on in the Bush administration, it was the appointment of Gonzales in hopes to achieve more credibility among Hispanics.

To me, these attacks are quite like the people who snickered and sneered before Susan Boyle began to sing. Sean Hannity has already labeled her a "hot-blooded" Latina. Newt Gingrich more than intimated that she isn't very intelligent. The charges of racism, however, are a new low considering the people they've come from:

Pat Robertson. We knew he would do it because his father, Absolom Willis Robertson was a Dixiecrat Senator who changed parties because he didn't want to have anything to do with civil rights bills. And yes, like father, like son: 12 years ago, Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network faced a law suit involving racial segregation of his employees.

Rush Limbaugh. The Boss's bloviating has now achieved new heights or lows) on the "I-hope-he/she-fails -o-meter." He challenges and sneers at all "liberals," and is one of the chief architects of the "Sotomayor is racist" screed. He capitalizes his stance as a white, Anglo-Saxen protestant: "As you know, clichés exist about conservatives: racist, sexist, bigot, homophobe. Now, those are all false."

Then there's Michell Malkin on race:

No minority who embraces liberal ideas is ever attacked for being a “race traitor” or a “sellout.” These ad hominem attacks are leveled only by the Left, and only against minority conservatives. For the unhinged Left, race-baiting has become an expedient substitute for substantive argument.

Malkin also argues against the legal doctrine of birthright citizenship, asserting that

"the custom of granting automatic citizenship at birth to children of tourists and temporary workers... tourists, and to countless 'anchor babies' delivered by illegal aliens on American soil, undermines the integrity of citizenship—not to mention national security".

From wikipedia:

Michelle Malkin was born Michelle Maglalang on October 20, 1970 in Philadelphia to Filipino parents, Rafaela and Dr. Apolo Maglalang, while they were in the United States on student visas.

Back to Susan Boyle: she proved the sneering audience wrong. Her singing was a defiance, a triumphant defiance against stereotyping. So it's just possible that Sonia Sotomayor will prove to be the shining star of the Supreme Court. She'll need the determination to step over the Malkins, Limbaughs, Robertsons, Becks and Coulters while proving that "empathy" can coexist peacefully with the rule of law.

Here's a video of Fox News' campaign against Sotomayor. Think of them as that cynical audience Susan Boyle faced.

Because the YouTube postings of Susan Boyle's performances have been too numerous (over 4 million), they cannot be embedded, so click HERE for her first performance.

Now watch Sonia Sotomayor at her heartfelt acceptance speech. Ask yourself if you get the same feeling.


Here's Susan Boyle's second performance. Click HERE.
Susan is headed for the finals. And, in a way, so is Sonia. I'm hoping both will win.