So Obama has nominated Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court; all I can say is: great choice! As President Obama pointed out, Ms. Sotomayor’s credentials include one of the most important decisions of my lifetime: she saved Baseball:
WASHINGTON — Federal judges are rarely famous or widely celebrated. Yet during a brief period in 1995, Judge Sonia Sotomayor became revered, at least in those cities with major league baseball teams.
She ended a long baseball strike that year, briskly ruling against the owners in favor of the players.
The owners were trying to subvert the labor system, she said, and the strike had “placed the entire concept of collective bargaining on trial.”
After play resumed, The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that by saving the season, Judge Sotomayor joined forever the ranks of Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays, Jackie Robinson and Ted Williams. The Chicago Sun-Times said she “delivered a wicked fastball” to baseball owners and emerged as one of the most inspiring figures in the history of the sport.
We all know that the right wing is going to do everything they can to trash her (or any other Obama nominee), as they’ve already told us (and Booman has written about so well):
This month, as it appeared increasingly likely that Sotomayor would be Obama’s nominee, the judge has been the target of a whisper campaign, and many leading far-right activists — including Limbaugh and Fox News personalities — started the offensive against her weeks ago.
For what it’s worth, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said earlier this month that Sotomayor would face stiff GOP opposition if she were nominated for the high court. Since that would be true of any Obama nominee, it hardly matters.
So whenever a winger starts attacking, we should immediately ask them “Why do you hate Baseball?”; and by extension America. Ask them if they also oppose ‘Mom and Apple Pie’. Maybe I’ll start a new PAC: “Baseball fans for Sotomayor”. Who’s with me?
(Cross posted from http://pygalgia.blogspot.com/)
