In a letter to the Senate Judiciary, Judge Sotomayor explained “I believe the Belizean Grove does not practice invidious discrimination and my membership did not violate the Judicial Code of Ethics, but I do not want questions about this to distract anyone from my qualifications and record.” It is the type of Beltway statement that leaves me cold. Before this nominee, liberals fought any nominee who belonged to an exclusive club confined to men or whites. Here, Sotomayor does not regret joining or oppose the exclusivity of the club — only regrets that it has proven controversial. If she likes discriminatory clubs, I would have much preferred her to regain a member and defend her decision. This announcement would only seem normal in Washington: abandoning the association for the express purpose of avoiding any personal repercussions.
Sotomayor was often suggested as a nominee for George W. Bush and has a fairly conservative voting record in some areas like free speech, police abuse, and student rights.
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