Karl Rove is just one of several Republicans that have chosen to call Sonia Sotomayor stoopid in a transparent effort to make her selection look like an affirmative action pick.
This morning on Fox News, Karl Rove questioned whether she was smart enough to be on the Supreme Court. “I’m not really certain how intellectually strong she would be, she has not been very strong on the second circuit,” he said.
Let’s take a look at Karl Rove’s academic accomplishments:
In the fall of 1969, Rove entered the University of Utah, on a $1,000 scholarship, as a political science major and joined the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity…
…In December 1969, the Selective Service System held its first lottery drawing. Those born on December 25, like Rove, received number 84. That number placed him in the middle of those (with numbers 1 [first priority] through 195) who would eventually be drafted. On February 17, 1970, Rove was reclassified as 2-S, a deferment from the draft because of his enrollment at the University of Utah in the fall of 1969. He maintained this deferment until December 14, 1971, despite being only a part-time student in the autumn and spring quarters of 1971 (registered for between six and 12 credit hours) and dropping out of the university in June 1971. Rove was a student at the University of Maryland, College Park in the fall of 1971; as such, he would have been eligible for 2-S status, but registrar’s records show that he withdrew from classes during the first half of the semester. In December 1971 he was reclassified as 1-A. On April 27, 1972, he was reclassified as 1-H, or “not currently subject to processing for induction”. The draft ended on June 30, 1973.
Sonia Sotomayor’s academic accomplishments appear to suggest a more robust intellect (not to mention, superior character):
She earned her A.B. from Princeton University, summa cum laude, in 1976, where she won the Pyne Prize, the highest general award given to Princeton undergraduates. Sotomayor obtained her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1979, where she was an editor of the Yale Law Journal.
Any questions?
The sad reality is that “smart enough to be on the Supreme Court” is a very low bar. Witness Thomas, O’Connor, Kennedy, and Scalia for starters.
That said, given Rove’s concern for assuring intellect in high places, you’d think he would have worried about “smart enough to be President” before it was too late.
So, a criminal douchebag without even a bachelor’s degree who only attended college part-time to avoid the draft is criticizing the intellectual achievements of Sonia Sotomayor?
How typical. I’m sure the Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber fans will agree with his criticism…oh, wait. They’ll find her too intellectual, rather than not intellectual enough.
No – see, that’s where Karl has it right. C students think C students are A students, and that A students are C students. 😉
Oh so Karl Rove is saying Latina/o’s aren’t smart enough to be on the Supreme Court. Even if they went to Princeton and Yale. And this is the losing argument that will keep the Republicans in the minority.
Sotomayor is qualified and her nomination should be confirmed as soon as possible. Otherwise the electoral map in 2012 will include Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Florida.
Wonder if he got that from Jonathan Turley, who has been saying just that all morning on MSNBC. I’m starting not to like that guy very much.
I will certainly be more interested in hearing details about Turley’s misgivings than any which Karl Rove might have. Rove is playing it strictly for politics. Turley, on the other hand, should be able to explain in a logical fashion why he has doubts. On his blog he writes, “My main concern is the lack of intellectual depth in her past opinions. I have read about 30 of the opinions and they do not support the view that she is a natural pick for the Court.” I look forward to hearing a more detailed explanation on why he feels this way.
As for Rove’s take, color me shocked that he has a negative opinion. Who could have predicted that, huh?
But Karl is still smart enough to be pontificating on Faux News.
I bet she’s smarter than Harriet Meiers.
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Judge Sonia Sotomayor is an obviously serious candidate to serve on the Supreme Court. We have been struck by how the amount of commentary about Judge Sotomayor has ignored the most accessible and valuable source of information: her opinions as an appellate judge. Last year, I directed a project in which a team of Akin Gump summer associates extensively reviewed Judge Sotomayor’s opinions.
CIVIL LITIGATION
Since joining the Second Circuit in 1998, Sotomayor has authored over 150 opinions, addressing a wide range of issues, in civil cases. To date, two of these decisions have been overturned by the Supreme Court; a third is under review and likely to be reversed. In those two cases (and likely the third), Sotomayor’s opinion was rejected by the Supreme Court’s more conservative majority and adopted by its more liberal dissenters (including Justice Souter). Those outcomes suggest that Sotomayor’s views would in many respects be similar to those of Justice Souter.
Read more …
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."The amazing thing is that Karl Rove can still manage to get anyone to pay attention to his bloviations. If this were a civil and decent society, he would be marginalized already.
How smart of Obama to select an obviously stoopid person as the Dems usual crime in GOP eyes is to be too smart. Is Rove concerned Sotomayor might cut into the GOPs near monopoly of the Stooopid vote?
Why does no one complain about affirmative action when stoopid old white males are appointed?
Are people forgetting that in the bizarro world of Republican politics, smart is stupid and stupid is smart? Come on now: Palin, Joe the non-plumber, Miers, Gonzales, Bush, the Clown, Cheney, the Sith Lord, where else can you find such an assortment of misfits and nut jobs? And, to think that we entrusted them with national power and for two terms, no less.
My our American democracy is incredibly strong to survive such an onslaught of premeditated ignorance for almost a decade. Time now, though, for a return to reason and reality. Three cheers for the new court nominee and the president who selected her.