Sen. Sessions’ own racist record
July 15th, 2009 by John Grooms in Boomer with an Attitude
Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama is leading the Republican charge against the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. To hear him and other Republicans tell it, Sotomayor is a racist and practically an anarchist who will single-handedly destroy the American justice system; in actuality, she’s been a very respected, center-left judge who has often disappointed the liberals she is supposedly leading in her march toward some kind of communist judicial revolution.
What hasn’t received nearly enough attention, however, is Sessions’ own history. Sotomayor may not be a racist, but Sessions certainly seems to be. Sessions was nominated for a federal judgeship in the 1980s by Pres. Reagan, but he was rejected by the Senate Judiciary Committee for “a pattern of racial insensitivity.” And that was putting it mildly. During testimony at Sessions’ hearing, it was revealed that he believed the NAACP was “Communist-inspired” and had “forced civil rights down the throats of people.” Other choice Sessions quotes include the time he said he “used to think they [the Klan] were OK until I found out some of them were pot smokers”; and he called a white civil rights lawyer “a disgrace to his race.” In the past decade, Sessions has become known as the Senate’s most staunch advocate for restricting Latino immigration to the U.S., which political insiders have said makes him an odd choice – and a particularly dangerous one for the GOP – to head the opposition to Sotomayor. Sessions’ past statements may be water under the bridge, but they’re real nonetheless. It would pay to keep this man’s own racist past in mind this week as he tries to tear down the character of someone who happens to disagree with him politically.
July 15th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
[...] keep bringing the rightwing crazies out of the shadows and into the light of day. Earlier, we told you about Sen. Jeff Sessions, who has the gall to imply that Sotomayor is a racist when his own racist [...]
July 15th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Its typical for the left to ignore the topic by tryping to focus on someone elses supposed failures.
“he tries to tear down the character of someone who happens to disagree with him politically.”
This sounds exactly like what Grooms just did doesnt it?
“Sotomayor may not be a racist, but Sessions certainly seems to be”
I at the moment I would say it is the other way around.
July 15th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
[...] keep bringing the rightwing crazies out of the shadows and into the light of day. Earlier, we told you about Sen. Jeff Sessions, who has the gall to imply that Sotomayor is a racist when his own racist [...]
July 16th, 2009 at 1:30 am
If you bothered to do your research you would know that Sen. Sessions talked about his past and that is why he IS NOT calling her RACIST. Judge Sotomayor did make the comment about being smarter than old white men.She also said if it wasn’t for affirmative action she wouldn’t be where she is now because her grades weren’t good enough. You know it is sad that she didn’t get where she is because she is a good judge but because of affirmative action. Sad…..so very sad.
July 16th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Sen. Sessions race-baiting is one that we all should take note of and condemn. As it seems in his case, water always returns to its level. Session will never change”and thank God he never succeeded in getting to the bench. The problem with those who shout bias against others is that they are unable to see the “plank” in their own eyes. Sessions is informed by racial prejudice. How can he as “Ranking Member” of the Senate Judiacy Committee resist not allowing his ideological and cultural experiences to influence his questioning of Judge Sotomayor? When he says he wants judges who are “neutral,” what he really means is that he wants judges who would agree with his world view that views women, ethnics and other minorities as less equal than others no matter their accomplishments and even not desirable. His attacks have focused on a narrow frame, ignoring empirical evidence of balance that can easily be derived from Judge Sotomayor’s actual decisions in court. He chose to forget or ignore what other sitting US Supreme Court justices (Scalia, Alitio, for example) appointed by Republican Presidents said about the influence of culture and experience during their confirmation hearings. Republicans must be reminded that on the issue of “empathy” President George H.W. Bush said about the same thing as Obama-referencing its relevance. Wisdom tells us that it is; ideological demagogoury says otherwise. On this, we must be continously reminded of the famous adage that “justice must be tempered with mercy.”
July 16th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
The good doctor is an example of how someone can be bright in one area of study and a fool in all the rest. Justice is supposed to be blind or havent you ever seen the statues before? Empathy is not a good replacement for JUSTICE. Empathy creates favored groups that can defy the law. Empathy is acceptable in the sentencing phase of criminal individuals but it should not get in the way of actual verdicts or non criminal cases. If we get a situation like the Ricci case Soto’s empathy for minorities created an unfair situation the hurt people that played the game by the rules and studied hard. You cant just throw out results because not enough people of the right color passed a test. Favoring one group over another is an incredible failure of our political system and liberals like the Dr want to include that failure into our court system.
If Sessions is so bad maybe we should think along the lines of “it takes one to know one”. Dont fall for the diversion guys. No matter how bad Sessions or anyone else was or is does not change what Sotomayor is. Stop being a Democrat and falling for the diversion tactic of the liberal left. Use your brain.