HATCH, SOTOMAYOR AND THE SENATE CAMPAIGN OF 2012

Here is a copy of my letter to the public forum in the Salt Lake Tribune, which some comments:

Latina instead of Hatch

Public Forum Letter
Updated: 07/30/2009 05:07:13 PM MDT

Sen. Orrin Hatch will not vote for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor ("Hatch explains Sotomayor vote," Tribune , July 28). He voted yea for the Supreme Court nominations of Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, and it is hard to imagine how Sotomayor can possibly evolve into a justice more liberal than they.

Sotomayor has years of experience in law and in the courts. She certainly comes with more experience than Justice Clarence Thomas had in 1991, not to mention Justice Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts. Hatch enthusiastically voted in favor of all of them.

Hatch complains that Sotomayor is soft on the Second Amendment. How useful is that amendment? Yet all one has to say is [ a candidate does ] not support the right to kill and that ends the nomination discussion. Never mind her other qualifications.

[ Conservatives complained about her comment that a wise experienced Latina would make sounder decisions than your typical white professional male. ] The time has come for Utah voters to find a good, wise, experienced, Latina woman and elect her to the Senate in 2012 instead of Orrin Hatch.