It appears that, after tonight, Arkansas will no longer be the Land of Lincoln. U.S. Senator Blanche Lambert Lincoln, a Democrat who's undoubtedly one of Stephen Colbert's favorite Republicans, is running scared and running scarred in her runoff primary against Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter, whose insurgent campaign has been fueled by anger against Senator Lincoln for opposing the public health insurance option in the new health care reform law. Although she is an establishment Democrat running as a moderate in a rightward-leaning state with the backing of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, the left has had enough of her and is ready to send Halter to the Senate so he can deliver the change we can believe in.
But he has to get past Republican nominee John Boozman in November first. On November second. ;-)
Speaking of liberal leanings, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is proving to be a reliable liberal vote on the Court. She supported requiring police to obtain a waiver in relation to reading a suspect his Miranda rights, where she was on the losing side of a 5-4 decision, and she was on the winning side of a 5-4 opinion holding that it is cruel and unusual punishment to impose a life prison term without possible parole on an juvenile offender who did not commit murder. these are just two examples. More are available in this article from the Los Angeles Times.
While Sotomayor is making her presence felt on the Court, she can only go so far with a conservative majority to deal with. I noted with interest Sotomayor's recent return to the Bronx, where she visited her old Catholic elementary school, visited a housing project renamed in her honor (wouldn't it have been better to name a courthouse for her?), and spoke at the commencement ceremonies of Hostos Community College, fresh from dissenting against the Supreme Court decision that gutted Miranda rights.
But he has to get past Republican nominee John Boozman in November first. On November second. ;-)
Speaking of liberal leanings, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is proving to be a reliable liberal vote on the Court. She supported requiring police to obtain a waiver in relation to reading a suspect his Miranda rights, where she was on the losing side of a 5-4 decision, and she was on the winning side of a 5-4 opinion holding that it is cruel and unusual punishment to impose a life prison term without possible parole on an juvenile offender who did not commit murder. these are just two examples. More are available in this article from the Los Angeles Times.
While Sotomayor is making her presence felt on the Court, she can only go so far with a conservative majority to deal with. I noted with interest Sotomayor's recent return to the Bronx, where she visited her old Catholic elementary school, visited a housing project renamed in her honor (wouldn't it have been better to name a courthouse for her?), and spoke at the commencement ceremonies of Hostos Community College, fresh from dissenting against the Supreme Court decision that gutted Miranda rights.
"We celebrate with you today," Sotomayor said to the Hostos graduates, "with a full understanding of what you have achieved and we are filled with joy in your success. You will breathe life into the dreams of the next generation. You're the generation that followed me and your children will follow us. And together we're going to make this a better world."
Make a better world? Not going to happen, so long as this wise Latina has to deal with those dumb goombahs from Jersey.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment