LETTER FROM WASHINGTON
Sonia Sotomayor is a dream incarnate for the American left. The first judge of Hispanic origin on the Supreme Court of the United States, she symbolizes emancipation and social ascension. Born in the Bronx, New York, to parents from Puerto Rico, she had a difficult childhood marked by poverty. His father, an alcoholic, died quickly. At the age of 7, she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, which would force her to take daily insulin injections throughout her life.
His passion for books and his exemplary student career will allow him to stand out. In 1997, President Bill Clinton appointed her a judge to the Federal Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In May 2009, another Democratic president, Barack Obama, nominated her for one of nine seats on the Supreme Court.
This biographical reminder is necessary when considering the calls, certainly isolated, which have been rising in progressive ranks for several weeks in favor of his resignation. Is Sonia Sotomayor at the heart of an ethics scandal, like the leader of the conservatives on the Court, Clarence Thomas? Point. Are his cognitive skills diminished due to advanced age? Absolutely not. Sonia Sotomayor may be the eldest of the three liberal judges, but she is only 69 years old.
Frequent listeners of the oral debates before the Court in recent months confirm its acuity. She remains a rigorous and empathetic magistrate, concerned with the translation into real life of the decisions taken by the highest judicial body in the country.
And yet, a strange, disorderly campaign has broken out in the progressive ranks. It started with anonymous rumors, in specialized letters. It continued on March 18 in the journal The Atlantic, by an article by journalist Josh Barro. The latter called on Sonia Sotomayor to step down so that the current president, Joe Biden, could appoint another judge, also liberal, younger, who would be confirmed by the Senate, controlled by the Democrats .
Little tact
Time is running out: the presidential and parliamentary elections will be held in November, and the total uncertainty surrounding them does not allow us to rule out the scenario of a return of Donald Trump to the White House, as well as that of a Republican majority in the Senate. From then on, Josh Barro called for playing defense “in a clever and prudent manner”, taking advantage of the moment for a changing of the guard. According to him, the public taboo on this issue “is part of a larger madness, the way the Democratic Party thinks in terms of diversity and representation.”
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