And so it has begun.
Just as I stated in my last post celebrating President Obama’s nomination of Judge Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, the witch hunt would begin as soon as the news were out.
The usual cast of characters has shown up to lead the hunt: Gingrich & Limbaugh, your extreme right wing purists, who believe the party is one that does not include those who are different or who disagree with them. And have you noticed they are both white men?
Yet, there is one other culprit which does surprise me, and perhaps it shouldn’t, since I saw the same type of “coverage” when Hillary Clinton ran for president, and that is the media. I am not speaking about one specific channel, since it is everywhere you turn. Too often I hear them quote the famous “Wise Latina” lines out of context, ignoring the rest of that speech.
What kind of journalism is that?
No doubt, one that attracts more viewers and readers.
And it makes me wonder. Why is it so much easier to pick on the faults of female public figures, as compared to their male counterparts? And why does the media go into a frenzy, playing right into it?
I will have to give credit to CNN though, for making the effort to put the infamous quote within the context of the entire speech. I have seen Soledad O’Brien and Don Lemon actually go in the air and read the entire paragraph surrounding it. Once you hear where it comes from, you can judge for yourself.
I happen to agree that it is our experiences that shape us. It is a fact that white men who are the majority in power, heads of companies, politicians, have been running the world for centuries. So of course she chose white men as an example that even though they are in power, it did not make them necessarily better qualified. She said what she said. But can we look at her record? What do her multiple rulings say about how she handles herself as a judge? Because in truth, it doesn’t matter what you believe in if you apply the rule of law. However, it is comforting to know that she would also have a better understanding of the plight non-white males face. But if you look at her record, I doubt they will find she allowed her ability to empathize hamper her decisions as a judge. It is so easy to paint in black and white what should be treated as a complex multifaceted issue.
As of the past few days, I’m not sure who has discovered that she has not only used the “wise latina” speech once but a couple of times. And now the hunt has been revived. Gingrich, who called her a racist on Twitter last week and then retracted his statement, went on the air today to “reshape” his attacks by calling her mediocre as a judge and that because of her statements, that one single point, she should be disqualified.
There is a saying that states people in glass houses should not be throwing stones. And this guy is obviously unaware of that. Not only does he live in a glass house, but he has quite a few skeletons in his closet. Check it out by clicking here. But my words today are not about him. However, there is a point to be made about Gingrich because he is looking to run for president and therefore has appointed himself to lead the “moral” charge against judge Sotomayor. And the public needs to be reminded that this guy has no business in this issue, nor any credibility to stand and point his self righteous finger. Gingrich is a mean school yard type of bully. He is irrelevant to this nomination, yet I don’t understand why is he getting any coverage. He’s not even an elected official who’s actually going to vote for the nominee!
I am really concerned that the media is giving him a platform to spread his lies and misguided “opinions”.
The man has such little credibility? Isn’t there anyone else out there who can speak on the subject with some authority?
Besides having been Speaker of the House and being outsted in the midst of his adulterous scandal, here are some spots of this leopard:
1. Adulterous
2. Draft dodger
3. Dead beat dad
4. He doesn’t live up to his own talk of “Family values” (According to realchange.org, he pressed his first wife to sign divorce papers while she was still in the hospital recovering from cancer surgery because to quote him: “She isn’t young enough or pretty enough to be the President’s wife.”) Such model of vanity and insensitivity!
5. An elected official who bounced 22 checks during his time in congress.
Check out the sources here: http://www.realchange.org/gingrich.htm
If Sonia Sotomayor would have done one of those things, they would have had her head.
Despite her impeccable record, they had to blow something out of proportion, and have the media play along. I don’t get it why the media allows these characters with so many skeletons in their closet lead the charge against someone with such a great record. It seems that such few journalists seek to find the facts and truth. Instead, they give Gingrich so much respect, and a spot on the Sunday talk shows. Are they that desperate for ratings?
Sure! There is a first amendment guaranteeing his right to blow hot air, but seriously people, what kind of media channel would have enough credibility to have this guy on? He’s the equivalent of the tabloids. Quoting him with any credibility would be the equivalent of quoting the National Enquirer.
Let’s follow the lead of the more level-headed leaders, Democrats and Republicans alike, who are looking to review Sonia Sotomayor’s record, her decisions, her accomplishments, who anyone would agree, speak more than her own words.
So, I’d like to ask the world today, don’t listen to the hype. It’s all a distraction from Sonia Sotomayor’s actual accomplishments.
The bullies are out in full force looking to intimidate and frighten people into thinking judge Sotomayor is a “scary Latina” who is only going to rule in favor of her own. These are the same people who used to run around claiming Obama is the same as Osama. And unfortunately, there is a small segment of the population who is glib enough to believe it.
There will be a minority who will dislike her for the reasons above, or simply because they are afraid of anyone who looks or sounds different. But I hope the press is smart enough not to continue giving them a national platform, from which to continue their attacks.
After all, think about it, if that is the worst thing they can come up with, about Sonia Sotomayor, then she should be confirmed. After all, who doesn’t remember the Republican nominee Clarence Thomas, tainted by a sex scandal. They still rammed him through.
I only could hope there are more reporters like Soledad O’Brien or Don Lemon, who want to make sure all the facts are out there for people to judge for themselves, and not just the sensationalist line designed to influence and taint opinion even though it’s out of context.
But since that is not happening, I encourage you to check out the White House website, which has published all the necessary information on Judge Sotomayor and president Obama’s reasoning behind his nomination. Get the facts from the source and judge for yourself by clicking here or copy and paste into your browser the link below:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/Sotomayor/
And on that topic, here is the definition of Yellow Journalism, as found in Wikipedia. You tell me who does it remind you of.
Yellow journalism is a type of journalism that downplays legitimate news in favor of eye-catching headlines that sell more newspapers. It may feature exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, sensationalism, or unprofessional practices by news media organizations or journalists…. the practice of over-dramatizing events.
For more on this quote, click on this link, or copy and paste into your browser, the link below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_journalism
Photo Credit: NY Times – Click here for related article or copy and paste into your browser the link below:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/us/politics/03judge.html?_r=1
