Thune: A gay Supreme Court nominee ‘would be a bridge too far right now.’
Thune: A gay Supreme Court nominee ‘would be a bridge too far right now.’
Since Justice David Souter announced that he plans to retire from the Supreme Court, speculation kicked off about whether President Obama could potentially appoint the first openly gay Justice. Though Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), the newly ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, says he would consider a gay nominee, Steve Benen points out that another GOP senator, John Thune, is adamantly opposed to the idea:
[C]onservative leaders have warned the nomination of a gay or lesbian justice could complicate Obama’s effort to confirm a replacement for Souter, and another Republican senator on Wednesday warned a gay nominee would be too polarizing.
“I know the administration is being pushed, but I think it would be a bridge too far right now,” said GOP Chief Deputy Whip John Thune. “It seems to me this first pick is going to be a kind of important one, and my hope is that he’ll play it a little more down the middle. A lot of people would react very negatively.”
Benen calls Thune’s declaration “transparent bigotry,” arguing that “Thune, as a practical matter, is establishing a litmus test — qualifications and merit are important, but homosexuality, regardless of any other factor, is more important. Why? Because Thune says so.”
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Thune: A gay Supreme Court nominee ‘would be a bridge too far right now.’
– - Which brings us to Bush’s Cleaning Lady, Harriet Miers, who has never married and has no children.
Ya know, jus’ sayin.’
May 6th, 2009 at 5:49 pmOf course that bigot Sessions would consider teh gay…….it would be the gift that keeps on giving for the right wing wackos! As a nation, we’re barely recovered from the “radical” election of a black man as president……..a gay SCOTUS pick would result in fundie rioting in the streets and Thomas and Scalia in the emergency ward with a heart attack………..Oh, wait…………
May 6th, 2009 at 5:50 pmThune = closet homophobe. :P
May 6th, 2009 at 5:52 pmTranslation: “All gay people need to vote democratic. The republican party does not want you.”
Any other groups they want to alienate?
May 6th, 2009 at 5:52 pmAny other groups they want to alienate?
They’re just gettin’ started……………
May 6th, 2009 at 5:53 pmAnd a Jewish nominee would be Torah! Torah! Torah!.
May 6th, 2009 at 5:55 pmBenen is right, Thune is placing a person’s sexuality above qualifications for the seat on the Court.
May 6th, 2009 at 5:58 pmThune can hold his homophobic views if he chooses to remain so ignorant, but he cannot prioritize the qualifications in such way for the nation.
An “out” gay, Justice, you mean?
cuz, c’mon. Souter’s a 69-year-old ?batchelor?…
May 6th, 2009 at 5:59 pmChessmaster Says:
Thune = closet homophobe. :P
May 6th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
closet sumpin, i reckon…
May 6th, 2009 at 6:00 pmI know the administration is being pushed, but I think it would be a bridge too far right now,” said GOP Chief Deputy Whip John Thune
Hmmm, I don’t recall Obama nominating ANYONE!
May 6th, 2009 at 6:04 pmKeep in mind that republicans decry what they are…
May 6th, 2009 at 6:05 pmim a supreme court justice forced to choose between teh gay and my job. the storm is coming muthaf ucka
May 6th, 2009 at 6:06 pmBarney Frank sounds like a really good idea to me.
May 6th, 2009 at 6:08 pmwhippin’ john thune!
May 6th, 2009 at 6:08 pmIt is a shame that Thune is a wingnut and so insignificant in the process.
May 6th, 2009 at 6:09 pmI was under the impression that RACISM, HOMOPHOBIA and BIGOTRY were character traits that the vast majority REJECTED in November 2008. So who is THUNE? Another typical repug who EXUDES AND EXIBITS the same traits that the vast majority of Americans REJECTED. They will NEVER learn and THEY WILL BE THEIR OWN DEMISE. They don’t even need LimpBalls to do it for them!!!
May 6th, 2009 at 6:14 pmDo it Obama. We need to stop pandering to this kind of thought:”people aren’t ready yet for that.” if its the right thing to do, do it goddammit.
May 6th, 2009 at 6:15 pmI thought you couldn’t discriminate based on sexual orientation??
May 6th, 2009 at 6:16 pmI wonder if Thune would change his mind if Obama nominated Larry Craig…
Just sayin’…
May 6th, 2009 at 6:17 pm“I know the administration is being pushed, but I think it would be a bridge too far right now,” said GOP Chief Deputy Whip John Thune. “It seems to me this first pick is going to be a kind of important one, and my hope is that he’ll play it a little more down the middle. A lot of people would react very negatively.”
You mean like the “moderates” Bush nominated , jackass ?
May 6th, 2009 at 6:19 pmLet’s see how Freedom rings in the USA:
“Acceptable Speech In America”
[C]onservative leaders have warned the nomination of a (gay or lesbian) justice could complicate Obama’s effort to confirm a replacement for Souter, and another Republican senator on Wednesday warned a gay nominee would be too polarizing.
“Unacceptable Speech in America”
[C]onservative leaders have warned the nomination of a (ASIAN) justice could complicate Obama’s effort to confirm a replacement for Souter, and another Republican senator on Wednesday warned a nominee would be too polarizing.
or
[C]onservative leaders have warned the nomination of a (BLACK) justice could complicate Obama’s effort to confirm a replacement for Souter, and another Republican senator on Wednesday warned a nominee would be too polarizing.
or
[C]onservative leaders have warned the nomination of a (HISPANIC) justice could complicate Obama’s effort to confirm a replacement for Souter, and another Republican senator on Wednesday warned a nominee would be too polarizing.
Now, let’s see if Obama is a President for all the people or not? We know he’s soft on crime (or torture) so let’s see if he approves of letting the GOP making his decisions for him?
May 6th, 2009 at 6:23 pmwell, brace yourselves to be pissed off… i’d bet money – but i don’t bet – that his choice will NOT make us happy… just a gut feeling i have… darnit.
May 6th, 2009 at 6:24 pmIn the mid 80’s, working in a hospital in a major city, when the AIDS patients/partners bean making their appearance, I will never forget the shock and reset of my mind set when I saw just who the gay community were. As compared to the straight community, I saw no differences in appearance, occupation, personality types… and to the homophobes – yes, they are teaching your children in school.
What a great idea to have a gay supreme court judge… but only if he/she was not a gnop.
May 6th, 2009 at 6:27 pmOkay, I have to ask: Just how much sex are these justices engaging in behind closed doors or under those robes that the new member’s sexuality would ever come into play?
I’m no legal scholar and don’t profess to know all the inner workings of SCOTUS but this is the first I’ve heard of sexual acceptability being a part of the equation.
PEACE
May 6th, 2009 at 6:28 pma jewish nominee would be like, show me the money!
May 6th, 2009 at 6:33 pmObama will face criticism from the right wing if he appoints anyone other than the standard old white Christian guy. If his nominee is too young, thy will complain about inexperience. If the nominee is black they will claim that is why he was nominated. If the nominee is Hispanic they will whine about illegal aliens. If the nominee is Muslim, they will go absolutely ballistic. And even if he appoints an old white Christian guy, they will find some point where the judge wasn’t pushing for more oil drilling or trying to ban abortion, and they will use that to say he is too liberal. They will whine no matter what.
The GOP is not the “party of no”. They are the party of “waaa”
May 6th, 2009 at 6:37 pmA Bridge Too Far was a war picture in the 70’s and I was riffing on that meme for my Torah! Torah Torah! joke on the war picture Tora! Tora! Tora!. –I don’t want to be in concert with neo’s crack.
May 6th, 2009 at 6:41 pmWhile an openly gay nominee would be borked to the fullest extent of Congress…Sullivan has something else against her: she failed the California bar exam in 2005. Passed it in ‘06, but that’s just giving the blatant homophobes on the right (and closet homophobes on the left) unnecessary ammunition.
Karlan, however, is an excellent choice. Graduate of Yale Law, clerked for Harry Blackmum, argued before the Court, and Prof at Stanford.
Still, it’s just not gonna happen.
May 6th, 2009 at 6:49 pmGOP senator Thune: A gay nominee “would be a bridge too far right now,” said GOP Chief Deputy Whip John Thune.
Why, Mr. Thune? Please explain in detail, with facts, not just hysterical opinion.
May 6th, 2009 at 7:04 pmIt’s not unreasonable to expect Supreme Court Justices to be mature enough not to be affected by the sexual orientation of another justice.
Why does the right pretend that any group that advocates for itself has an agenda that includes “taking over America” and that every member of that group is in on it? That’s paranoid lunacy.
May 6th, 2009 at 7:45 pmThune should just STFU! These GOPers are anti-everything. At first I hoped Obama would choose another woman of any nationality for SCOTUS. But now that Thune made this ugly comment, I hope Obama chooses a gay or lesbian for SCOTUS. In fact, choose a lesbian of Cuban descent.
May 6th, 2009 at 7:48 pmJOB LISTINGS
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
The Obama administration is currently seeking applicants for
the position of:
SUPREME COURT JUSTICE
The individual we are seeking should be (in no particular order
of importance):
1 – Black or Hispanic
2 – Female
3 – Single mom
4 – A faithful follower of the Prophet Mohamad
5 – Between 30 and 37 years of age
6 – Someone who has previously had an abortion
7 – a college graduate who can speak in intelligible sentences
8 – bi-sexual or gay a plus
May 6th, 2009 at 8:21 pmIs that supposed to be funny, Robert? For stacking the courts with activist judges see “Bush administration”.
May 6th, 2009 at 8:33 pmRobert M Says:
I don’t like the implication that a non-white judge couldn’t possibly be as smart as or as qualified as a white male. If Obama chooses a woman who is not white, it’ll be said that Obama only picked her because she was a Latina or an African-American. Some white men have what I call “entitlement syndrome.” They think that just because they’re white they’re entitled to the BEST of everything first before anyone else. They’ll be damned if anyone else should get ahead before they do.
May 6th, 2009 at 8:54 pmneoparody @#26, flagged.
May 6th, 2009 at 9:06 pm“a lot of people would react very negatively”
Doesn’t matter WHO Obama selects. The GOP will overreact and hyperventilate right out of the gate.
May 6th, 2009 at 10:20 pmIts a straw man argument. Now we’re wasting time acting as if Obama were about to nominate a gay justice.
I agree that Thune’s statement is bigoted, but he got a bunch of folks to talk about a gay justice, which is all he wanted to happen.
Ignore him. Stay on message. Move on.
(and, as someone who is as pro-gay as it gets, I’m keeping my eye on the real prize in urging this…)
May 7th, 2009 at 12:08 amUh… I think if Obama nominated Bush and Jesus as a team the Republicans would cry foul!
May 7th, 2009 at 1:13 amSo with Thune and other Republicans it is not about qualifications after all. Instead, it is all about social issue litmus tests, period. In this case the litmus test is based on pure hate. No wonder people are abandoning the Republican Party in droves. South Dakota deserves better.
May 7th, 2009 at 7:48 amShe would have been the perfect, for what they were looking for..lol GMTA *snap*
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Robert M.
I get what you were trying to say there, but if one were a faithful follower of the Islam, they wouldn’t be bi or gay, because homosexuality is considered abhorrent to people of Islamic faith.
Also, I want a qualified progressive on the court, and if they happened to be a black atheist lesbian, that would be perfect, but as long as they are qualified and of a progressive or liberal political stance, that’s good enough for me.
May 7th, 2009 at 9:36 amWithout bigotry, there would be no Republicans.
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