Rove claims that Sotomayor’s judicial decisions are led by ‘emotion.’
Rove claims that Sotomayor’s judicial decisions are led by ‘emotion.’
Even before President Obama announced Judge Sonia Sotomayor as his nominee to replace Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court, former Bush adviser Karl Rove began attacking her credentials. Since then, Rove has claimed that she’s “not necessarily” smart and has acted “like sort of a schoolmarm” on the 2nd court of appeals. Today, in his Wall Street Journal column, he implies that her judicial decisions are led by “emotion“:
“Empathy” is the latest code word for liberal activism, for treating the Constitution as malleable clay to be kneaded and molded in whatever form justices want. It represents an expansive view of the judiciary in which courts create policy that couldn’t pass the legislative branch or, if it did, would generate voter backlash.
There is a certain irony in a president who routinely praises America’s commitment to “the rule of law” but who picks Supreme Court nominees for their readiness to discard the rule of law whenever emotion moves them.
Rove isn’t the first conservative to use the gender-loaded “emotion” attack against Sotomayor. In a blog post for the American Enterprise Institute, torture advocate John Yoo wrote that Republicans needed “to make sure that she will not be a results-oriented voter, voting her emotions and politics rather than the law.”
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
Rove is probably a stranger to emotions and is thus afraid.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:05 pm“Empathy” is the latest code word for liberal activism, for treating the Constitution as malleable clay to be kneaded and molded in whatever form justices want.
____________
Seriously. Shame on those liberals. Don’t they know the Constitution is just a piece of paper?
May 28th, 2009 at 12:07 pmYes, women are so unreliable because they’re just do damn emotional. Same bigotry, different target.
PEACE
May 28th, 2009 at 12:08 pmExcept that Rove cannot provide a single example to back this up. He uses the Ricci case to try to make another point, and winds up getting the case hopelessly wrong.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:08 pmThe only emotion I see is the fear from Karl Rove and his cohort of bigoted white males as they see their increasing irrelevance in today’s America.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:09 pm“Code word” is a phrase that introduces a straw man.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:09 pm…who picks Supreme Court nominees for their readiness to discard the rule of law whenever emotion moves them.
Who discards a Congressional subpoena whenever he feels like avoiding testamony?
May 28th, 2009 at 12:09 pmWay to go. Now that they’ve alienated the Hispanic voters they’re going to piss off the female voters.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:10 pmRove isn’t the first conservative to use the gender-loaded “emotion” attack against Sotomayor.
I’m half-expecting one of them to ask if she’ll be allowed to make any rulings while under the influence of PMS!
May 28th, 2009 at 12:10 pmRove says…
Rove claims…
Rove explains…
Rove wants to express…
Rove reinforces…
Rove complains…
Rove announces…
Rove prattles. Rove is tiring.
But he sure knows how to get press coverage.
Who cares what Rove does,says, implies, impugns?
Did someone slip Rove and Cheney new batteries after W left?
May 28th, 2009 at 12:10 pmRove isn’t the first conservative to use the gender-loaded “emotion” attack against Sotomayor.
I’m half-expecting one of them to ask if she’ll be allowed to make any rulings while under the influence of PMS!
May 28th, 2009 at 12:10 pmWhen is Rove going to jail?
May 28th, 2009 at 12:11 pmlast time i checked rove was completely wrong about everything and quite possibly involved in war crimes.
now why would i care what he thinks?
May 28th, 2009 at 12:11 pmRove claims that Sotomayor’s judicial decisions are led by ‘emotion.’
– - Rove won’t be satisfied until the Japanese invent a Judicial Robot. They’ll name it, of course, Judge Ito.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:11 pmCriticisms about Sotomayor not following the law are so rich coming from John Yoo and the rest of the rightwingers.
They don’t have a clue what the law says. Or rather, they know but don’t give a damn.
The atrocities at Abu Ghraib and everywhere else were made possible by their
special interpretationwillful ignorance of the law.Spare me the selective, fake outrage.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:12 pmHmmm, not sure how the double post happened – sorry ’bout that!
May 28th, 2009 at 12:12 pmRove
May 28th, 2009 at 12:14 pmNewt
Cheney
“There is a certain irony in a president who routinely praises America’s commitment to ‘the rule of law’ but who picks Supreme Court nominees for their readiness to discard the rule of law whenever emotion moves them.” — Karl Rove
_____________________________________________________________
Rove is stretching a bit — on a couple of counts.
First, Sotomayor herself is committed to ‘the rule of law’ — a fact both she and President Obama mentioned in the press conference.
Second — “picks Supreme Court nominees”??? Just how many Supreme Court justices does Rove think Obama’s appointed so far?
Third, why do people still listen to this has-been?
May 28th, 2009 at 12:16 pmMy parents are immigrants and professionally, I’m a woman with a prominent job in a male dominated field. Growing up, I had people call me names because of where my family was from. As an adult, I’ve had male colleagues attempt to compliment my work by chalking it up to intuition, and other stupid stuff like that. I take it in stride, but sometimes, it sure does suck.
I just have to say that I’ve learned so much about handle that kind of dumb stuff with class and confidence. Its been really enlightening. On the one hand it kills me to hear how people talked about Obama and now Sotomayor because I know first hand how much that sucks (this idea that you can’t possibly succeed because of X and then when you do succeed, it is only because of X), but on the other hand I’ve never had such public role models on this type of issue.
Rove is a nobody. He isn’t even a footnote in the heroic stories of this country. Obama and Sotomayor will be timeless inspirations for every kid looking to climb that next hill.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:18 pmIn a blog post for the American Enterprise Institute, torture advocate John Yoo wrote that Republicans needed “to make sure that she will not be a results-oriented voter, voting her emotions and politics rather than the law.”
Fcuking John Yoo? Quoting this moron is laughable in any context. Who gives a rat’s ass what this evil torturer has to say about anything!!
May 28th, 2009 at 12:18 pmEmotion is Karls keyword for weakness.
Empathy is and has always been shown by science to be a key characteristic in more highly evolved brains.
The more intelligent a person is the more empathy and compassion they are likely to demonstrate. Einstein was a prime example of that, as are the finest scientists and minds around the world both past and present.
Cruelty and a lack of empathy has always been a characteristic of the duller minds, lower intelligence and often reflects pathology, as any good anthropologist or psychiatrist will readily point out.
The larger the brain, the more empathy and compassion. The smaller the brain, the lower the level of empathy and compassion.
Meaning Rove’s is likely somewhere between a peanut and an olive seed.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:18 pmAnd the rightwingers’ new-found opposition to following one’s emotions when making a decision flies in the face of their support (for eight long bloody years!) for a president who claimed, repeatedly, to rely on his gut-feeling & instincts when making decisions.
Once again,, rightwingers are throwing everything they can think of, hoping something will stick -even if they contradict themselves in the process.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:18 pmI have to agree with the RoverBoy on this one. Empathy? Who needs no stinkin’ empathy. Why, would you confirm a SCOTUS nominee who said something like this during his confirmation hearings?
“[W]hen a case comes before me involving, let’s say, someone who is an immigrant — and we get an awful lot of immigration cases and naturalization cases — I can’t help but think of my own ancestors, because it wasn’t that long ago when they were in that position.
“And so it’s my job to apply the law. It’s not my job to change the law or to bend the law to achieve any result. But when I look at those cases, I have to say to myself, and I do say to myself, ‘You know, this could be your grandfather, this could be your grandmother. They were not citizens at one time, and they were people who came to this country.’ …
“When I get a case about discrimination, I have to think about people in my own family who suffered discrimination because of their ethnic background or because of religion or because of gender. And I do take that into account.”
Oh, oh. Wait a minute. That was Sam Alito and he was nominated by GDumbya!
Check your fly, KKKarl. Your zipper is down and your hypocrisy is showing!
May 28th, 2009 at 12:19 pmThought it was
Rush
Newt
Cheney!!!
But seriously – all I’ve heard is the reactionary response to the “Latina woman making a better decision than a white man” comment by the Judge…
Can anyone here tell me what the context was that she was saying it? Taken as the “downstream” news media have portrayed it and the reactionary “racist” claims… well, that’s all I’ve heard…
So, what’s the reality about that statement?
May 28th, 2009 at 12:19 pmCould someone please explain to me why it is bad for a judge to be influenced by emotion?
Judges are human beings. Humans are animals, with glands and neurochemicals and stuff that produces emotions. Therefore, judges must have emotions.
The law is not carved in stone. It is not black and white. If it were, we wouldn’t need judges – legal decisions could be made by robots or computers. All we’d have to do is input the evidence and the JudgeBot-9000 would crunch the data and spit out a decision.
Thankfully, that’s not how the law works.
The reason we have judges in the first place is precisely because the law is malleable, and the Constitution is malleable. It requires human interpretation, and reinterpretation. The founding fathers knew this, which is why they created the Supreme Court in the first place.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:20 pmmisscoleopteramolly Says:
Third, why do people still listen to this has-been?
Actually, there isn’t any real evidence that anyone does, outside the outraged liberal blogosphere and the inbred conservative punditry.
Oh, and “conservative” trolls, of course. Comments like Rove’s will pingpong around the wingnuts so that a pundit can say that “some people believe that . . . “
May 28th, 2009 at 12:20 pmWhy the Hell is Karl on TV anyway? What’s his job? It reminds me of Liz Cheney. Who cares what the think. Why should we be sujected to these morons half-baked ideas? Unreal.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:20 pmIt’s not.
In fact as I stated above, it’s the sign of a more highly evolved brain. It’s a sign of higher intelligence.
That’s not my opinion. That’s scientific fact proven over centuries of study.
The more compassionate a person is, the more likely they are to be of superior intelligence.
And the more a person shows a lack of empathy and compassion, the more likely they are to be of below average intelligence.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:24 pmThis isn’t a sexist dog-whistle, it’s a klaxon.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:25 pmRove’s words are like unto Turds Blossoming.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:25 pmMyself, I’d rather have someone with judicial decisions that are led by “emoticon”.
I don’t think “empathy” is the word that the RNC is looking for, since George H.W. Bush used it to describe Clarence Thomas. So the next step for Rove is to turn that word into “emotion”, in which “empathy” is ONE emotion. Now the pundits are going to go crazy by figuring that she decides all of her cases with her heart and not with her intellect.
Well-played, Turdblossom.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:26 pmWASHINGTON (CNN) — Karl Rove was nearly overcome with emotion Friday as colleagues privately paid tribute to the political adviser as he leaves the White House, senior officials say.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:27 pmFrom Rove’s smear piece, I mean column:
Mr. Obama also hopes to score political points as GOP senators oppose a Latina. Being able to jam opponents is a favorite Chicago political pastime.
He pulled out all the stops for that column.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:28 pmIn science and the study of the brain, Empathy is tied directly to “Cognitive Ability”.
:|
Which shows why the Bush administration including their “Little Goebell’s”, Mr Rove, were generally aloof to all that was going on around them, and were unable to predict the results of their decisions.
Lack of cognizance.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:29 pmjaimymoore Says:
“Code word” is a phrase that introduces a straw man.
Actually, Rove knows a lot about code words. And lying about them. For example, “hard working American” means “rural white male” (in the Reagan era, they also used “law abiding American” for that one). Also, “judicial activism” is code for “I want Jim Crow back.”
.
Exit Stage Left Says:
Fcuking John Yoo? Quoting this moron is laughable in any context. Who gives a rat’s ass what this evil torturer has to say about anything!!
Mr. Unitary Executive Theory couldn’t pass Schoolhouse Rock, much less the bar.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:30 pmIs the dog catcher been laid off? I would have sworn somebody would have caught Rover by now and had him euthanized.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:32 pmMay 28th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
This just in…due to Karl Rove being a regular on Fox News, they’ve decided to change their name to fit the game.
Hereafter, Fox News will proudly bear the network name of…
WTF TV
May 28th, 2009 at 12:32 pmWhen will Turdsandwich have HIS day in court?
May 28th, 2009 at 12:35 pmNEWS FLASH TO THE MSM:
The only claim to fame Rove has is he managed to lie cheat and steal his way to getting a buffoon elected twice.
Beyond that, he has presided over the literal elimination of republican political viability.
So much for the permanent republican majority, huh?
Tell me again why this man is still on TV? Oh yeah, the greedy corporate interests who own the media.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:35 pmAnd sorry to over post on the topic, but here’s the rub.
When talking about “emotion” what Rove really means is “Compassion”.
Because the truth is Rove has RELIED on “emotions” to move his base constantly. The only difference is is in the type of emotions being employed. The emotions the right wing uses are as follows.
Fear
Avarice
Anger
Spite
Greed
So to say she makes her decisions based on “emotions” is disingenuous. What Rove really means is she has compassion, and he and his clan do not. Which brings us right back to the intelligence factor.
And I hope someone out there (Keith Olberman, Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews, SOMEONE!, ANYONE…anyone at all…Buhler…)addresses this critical factor in this current debate on Sotomayer’s or any Judges ability to display empathy.
Rove and the right wing are currently mocking the human ability to display empathy, which we know from science is a key factor in those possessing higher intelligence.
So what Rove and the right wing are currently mocking, is higher intelligence.
It’s time the media started to point that out in this debate.
It’s not like it’s a secret.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:41 pmRove “I know alot of dumbasses who went to Ivy league schools. Hell I helped get one elected”.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:41 pmRove admits Republic’s most used tool for votes is FEAR.
Fear is an emotion.
KKKarl admits using emotions to get votes.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:48 pmPretzel logic; it’s what’s for dinner!
There’s no pint debating or arguing against Rove. There’s only one response to anything he says, ala Code Pink: “War criminal! Arrest this man. Torturer!”
May 28th, 2009 at 12:54 pmWith all of the talk about the MSM, I think it is time to coin a new phrase for the channel that features the likes of Rove, Gingrich, Cheney, Bolton, et. al. 24/7. Of course, I am speaking here of FoxSnooze.
I think we should henceforth refer to them as the DSM — that is, the Down-Stream Media. It fits. They exist in the sewer of opinion where all that is ever covered is gleaned from the putrid, decaying droppings of failed, disgraced, out-of-power republicans.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:59 pmGood idea, Tom @ 45…
I coined WTF TV this morning, for starters.
May 28th, 2009 at 1:02 pmGum flapping for what purpose? Why are the likes of Rove, Gingrich, Sessions and Limbaugh so stupidly/destructively contributing to the ongoing dismemberment and rejection of all things Republican? HOW is the image of the REPUBLICAN PARTY benefiting from the obstructionism, hated, lies and obvious obfuscation coming out of the mouths of such HIGHLY and THOROUGHLY unpopular, discredited and outrageously self-serving hypocrites? What legitimate issues or policy differences are these “gentlemen” attempting to advance by repeatedly demonstrating their dysfunctional alienation from mainstream American values? Are they all stupid enough to believe that the majority of voters share their extremism?
May 28th, 2009 at 1:09 pmEmotionless rationality is a fetish of the Randian underpinnings, as well as the excuse for acting like a predator.They call it ‘objectivism’ and shout “A=A!” (which is not a truth.) They set up a logical structure based on unwarranted assumptions and shaky thinking, the end result is ‘Geniuses are the princes and heros of this world, and they should be above laws made by others.” And of course they come to the ancillary conclusion that they are geniuses.
Predators will any excuse to gab all they can: whether “It’s a dog eat dog world”(which some folks would say is an argument that it is all the more important that humans don’t act like dogs), the miracle of the free market, the Divine Right of Kings, the Will to Power, or the dictatorship of the proletariat. Anything to justify cruelty and injustice, legitimize their spoils, and make themselves beautiful and wise in their own eyes.
Of Course any conclusion other than the Survival of the Fittest is sheer emotionalism. Anything other than the right of the powerful to do as thy please is bad thinking.Conservatives are Smart! They are the Party of Ideas! Liberals are touchy-feely fuzzy thinking kumbaya singing emotional morons!
It’s all dishonest whacking off. But when you’re going to argue for injustice, cruelty and misery for everyone but your masters, faux rationality is all you’ve got.
May 28th, 2009 at 1:12 pmI am disgusted by this attack on empathy. First or all, empathy is NOT an emotion. It is a cognitive ability, combining perspective taking and understanding of another’s emotions. Second, it is a positive quality and without it a person is very much at risk for being antisocial/criminal. Third, the attack on this trait is a guerilla tactic against females in politics.
May 28th, 2009 at 1:13 pmWAYNEBRO Says:
Because the truth is Rove has RELIED on “emotions” to move his base constantly.
Good point – the teabaggers are hardly in a position currently to pretend to be the standard-bearers for calm, rational reasoning.
May 28th, 2009 at 1:16 pmWill the just STFU. I am sick and tired of these liar/hypocrites. Why is it that the MSM is only giving a seat at the table to the conservative hypocrites who oppose her but don’t give a seat to those who do? When is this going to end.
It’s no wonder more and more people turn to the internet for their news/opinion. Hopefully the internet puts the MSM out of business.
May 28th, 2009 at 1:19 pmmean old white males
newer souls
play the emotion button
works often
some truth to it but we need some emotion sometimes
too few women on supreme court now
white war mongering males have destroyed this country
just look around
May 28th, 2009 at 1:19 pmKaneJeeves Says:
There’s no pint debating or arguing against Rove.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
_____________
I must disagree with this. Arguing with Rovian illogic has driven me to many pints over the years, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.
May 28th, 2009 at 1:32 pmRepublicans should just come out and declare they are the party of “isms”.
Regarding Sotomayor, I believe their disgusting tactics have been as follows:
1) “You know them Mexicans (I know, she’s not Mexican, but that dosen’t matter to racist right wingers) are dumb and lazy.
2) “You know them broads, especially them Spanish (I know, she’s not Spanish) broads, they get all worked up and start PMS’ing and everything, poor little things can’t think straight.”
Bigots and sociopaths, especially of the right-wing type, resort to anything to justify their overprivilege at the expense of the oppressed. What a bunch of depraved animals.
May 28th, 2009 at 1:36 pmThrow-away, never-have-beens need to stop appearing on my TV screen. The dime-a-dozen Bush-bots don’t get to decide their own legacy by coming across as worthy of dishing out criticism.
May 28th, 2009 at 1:41 pmYeah, and for a week every month her opinions turn completely ¡kra-zy! ¡Ay carumba!
This stuff is killing these guys. They will drive away even more women and Latinos, all for a judge that the Senate will probably approve without a struggle. Then the next time Obama appoints a justice, they will have made such fools of themselves that their cries of wolf will be downright comical.
The Dems could not do a better job of writing the scripts of their opponents these days. These guys are cementing the permanent majority they always dreamed of with their purified incompetence. How fitting.
May 28th, 2009 at 1:43 pmThese arguments against Sotomayor are getting ridiculous.
This clip and subsequent post prove that those who are most vocal, are the ones who really have no idea what they are talking about.
http://progressnotcongress.org/blog/?p=1416
May 28th, 2009 at 1:45 pmYes, Karl, the preferred Supreme Court justice would be one who leaves his (men being more likely to have this characteristic) emotions and passion in the cloakroom. A judge who seeks truth via cold analysis focused solely on the application of fact to law. I don’t think it would be a leap to believe that you would consider Justice Scalia to be such a practitioner of this philosophy.
Of course, it would be silly to recall Scalia’s minority opinion in BOUMEDIENE. You remember, Karl, the case which addressed the jurisdiction of the Constitution in relation to Guantanamo. As you know (being a constitutional scholar in your own mind), Scalia provided the unemotional, passionless reasoning that “Americans will most certainly die as a result of the majority opinion”. Setting aside the fact that Scalia’s reckless comment was based on facts proven to be wrong, Scalia used emotive reasoning to call into question the viability of the Court itself when he made this comment. Karl, you are a mockery of a sham of a mockery.
May 28th, 2009 at 2:18 pmSo NOW isn’t A-OK legislating with the gut?
May 28th, 2009 at 3:25 pmThat’s funny. From what I hear, the conservative Supreme Court judge Alioto who was put in by a Republican, also said his ethnic back ground made him sensitive to people of his origins. And he also said his decisions sometimes came with that in mind. But he is a Republican and that’s different. It is only bad if a Democrat says something similar, and then it’s bad.
These right wing nut jobs should do some research before they spread the verbal abusive crap they are so fond of.
May 28th, 2009 at 3:32 pmEmotion is based in lower centers of the brain that we share with other mammals. Logic and reason are located in the higher centers of cerebral cortex and are what distinguish human beings from animals. Ask any neurologist.
Very few of the people commenting on this site appear to be using their grey matter, all I find here is ignorance, racism and hate.
May 28th, 2009 at 6:51 pmTime to log off and go in search of an intelligent discussion.
Maybe because she does NOT abuse the Constitution makes her a threat to the Roves, Cheneys and Bushes !!! Of course all of Roves thought processes come out of HIS Ass so his remarks are expected…Why doesn’t HE, Cheney, Limburger and Bush go crawl in a hole and die from shame (hopefully altogether and at the same time!!!) ? For shame what you OLED our great country too and you STILL have nerve enough to stand up in public and give advice…If you are making any money Dirtbag…why don’t you send some of it to the families you all are reponsible for killing with your illegal war?
May 28th, 2009 at 8:44 pmtjm47 Says:
Maybe because she does NOT abuse the Constitution makes her a threat to the Roves, Cheneys and Bushes !
That’s precisely it. See the “Ricci case” coming up to the SCOTUS before her nom is over – you’ll be hearing more about it. All the 3-judge panel she was on was decline to overturn a ruling which merely enforced Title VII of the Civil Rights act. But the wingnuts are already trying to make it sound like “reverse racism” and pin the entire decision on her personally to boot.
May 28th, 2009 at 9:11 pmdivx film
Seslisohbet
Seslisohbet
thank you..
May 29th, 2009 at 6:29 am