Sonia Sotomayor

Have attitudes toward women gotten worse?

Amanda Fortini — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:26:00 PDT

On Sunday in a New York Times editorial titled "The Mismeasure of Woman," former Portfolio editor in chief Joanne Lipman -- whose magazine folded six months ago, almost to the day -- argued that women have been toiling under the collective delusion of progress. We have fooled ourselves by defining our gains "too narrowly." We have focused on the "numbers at the expense of attitudes." Lately, there has been a lot of noise about the Shriver Report, with its cheerful pronouncement that, in 40 percent of families, women are the primary breadwinners; about the "He-cession" that has hit men harder than women (hardly positive news, but certainly thought-provoking); about Pelosi and Clinton and Sotomayor and the 17 female senators and 74 women in the House. But none of that is indicative of the actual state of the female union, not when (as Lipman points out) Hillary Clinton can still be mocked for her "cankles" and Keith Olbermann can call Michelle Malkin "a big mashed-up bag of meat with lipstick on it." "In recent years," writes Lipman, "progress for women has stalled. And attitudes have taken a giant leap backward."

White voters and Obama's slide in the polls

Gabriel Winant — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 03:30:00 PDT

Barack Obama made his name by telling us that there aren't two separate Americas, black and white, but just one United States. Still, knowing the color of a voter's skin offers a fair amount of information about how that voter feels about the president. Among white voters, it's been dropping since this spring. Joan Walsh discusses some of the likely reasons, and some of the possible inflection points, in her blog; here, we're simply going to look at the numbers, and then look at what was happening in the political world while those numbers were being collected. Using Gallup polling data, the following charts show how President Obama's approval rating broke down among white, nonwhite, black and Hispanic poll respondents, and how those figures changed as specific key events occurred.

Happy Wise Latina Day!

Lynn Harris — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:13:00 PDT

Clunk, clunk, clunk. Say what you will about the perticklers of health care reform or the New Haven firefighters' test. What I hear today is the sound of yet another barrier falling. And today, I especially like the sound of this: "It is this nation's faith in a more perfect union that allows a Puerto Rican girl from the Bronx to stand here now.''

She's in

Thomas Schaller — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:10:00 PDT

The newest member of the Supreme Court was welcomed to the bench today by the man who appointed her. President Barack Obama held a brief ceremony in the East Room of the White House to congratulate Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Conservative PAC: Sotomayor vote means "rowdy" immigrants

Mike Madden — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:07:00 PDT

WASHINGTON -- A conservative group wants its members to be alert -- Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation to the Supreme Court could lead to very dangerous things.

Obama thanks Senate for confirming Sotomayor

Alex Koppelman — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:10:00 PDT

Shortly after the Senate voted 68-31 to confirm Judge Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, President Obama made a brief statement on the vote, thanking the Senate and praising Sotomayor. It was, as is typical for these kinds of remarks, fairly perfunctory and filled mainly with warm generalities. But part of what Obama had to say was notable, as was one thing he left out.

Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court justice

Alex Koppelman — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:15:00 PDT

The Senate has just voted 68-31 to confirm Justice Sonia Sotomayor to fill retiring Justice David Souter's seat on the Supreme Court.

GOP Sens. Voinovich, Gregg will vote for Sotomayor

Alex Koppelman — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 09:07:00 PDT

The Senate is scheduled to vote on the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court Thursday afternoon. When the vote does happen, there'll be a fair amount of Republicans saying "aye."

Will Sotomayor add to SCOTUS' pro-business supermajority?

Gabriel Winant — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:30:00 PDT

When it comes to evaluating how a Supreme Court nominee will vote if confirmed, the country tends to apply a pretty simple rule: For Roe, or against?

Nancy Drew, now and forever

Mary Elizabeth Williams — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 09:21:00 PDT

Perhaps the unlikeliest beneficiary of Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination has been a motherless Midwestern teenager. Nancy Drew, the fictional girl detective who's pushing 80 but still doesn't look a day over 16, has been riding a career boost following the revelation that Sotomayor was an avid fan. Ever since, other female achievers who owe a debt to Drew have come forward, including Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sandra Day O'Connor. A New York Times story on Sunday featured such luminaries as Nancy Pelosi and crime writer Sarah Peretsky weighing in on the influence of the titian-haired sleuth. It's all well and good to pay nostalgic boomer homage, but what's been largely missing from the spate of Drewmania has been Nancy's relevance to younger women. It's not as if she stopped being important to girls somewhere around the early era of second-wave feminism.

What if they gave a culture war and no one came?

Mike Madden — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:19:00 PDT

The surest sign the White House isn't worried at all about whether Sonia Sotomayor will win confirmation to the Supreme Court came on Thursday afternoon, a few hours after Sotomayor had finished enduring three days of mind-numbingly repetitive questions from the 19 members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Tom Coburn: third-rate Civil War buff

Gabriel Winant — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:45:00 PDT

If there’s one thing that our politicians could really use more of, it’s a sense of historical context. Remember that congressman who blamed President Roosevelt for the Great Depression, which preceded his presidency? Time to hit the books, politicians.

Is it sexist to question Sotomayor's temper?

Lynn Harris — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:16:00 PDT

Here's one thing feminists are asking about the Sotomayor hearings: Would the judge's "temperament" be called into question if she were a man?

When old white guys attack

Mike Madden — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:15:00 PDT

Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III can see the future.

Conservative group compares Sotomayor to Ayers

Alex Koppelman — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:45:00 PDT

If you thought that President Obama's election last fall meant that we'd stop hearing about Bill Ayers for a while, you were, sadly, mistaken. A conservative group that opposes the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court has released a television ad comparing her to Ayers, and suggesting that she -- like the old Weather Underground member -- supports terrorism.

Graham goes on the warpath against Sotomayor

Alex Koppelman — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:20:00 PDT

It's funny: Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., says he likes Judge Sonia Sotomayor, "for whatever that matters." And, he said, he might even vote for her. But Graham was also Sotomayor's fiercest opponent on Tuesday.

No, Sotomayor does not want your testicles

Mike Madden — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:15:00 PDT

WASHINGTON -- Some conservatives, apparently, are willing to believe anything about Sonia Sotomayor. And by anything, I mean anything.

Quote of the day (ninja edition)

Mike Madden — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:15:00 PDT

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Orrin Hatch may be a conservative Republican from Utah, but don't let anyone tell you he doesn't know his ninja gear.

Sotomayor clarifies "wise Latina" comment

Alex Koppelman — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 08:20:00 PDT

Those Democrats and Republicans who serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee each have their assigned roles during this week's hearings, and they all know how to play them.

Live: Watch and comment on the Sotomayor hearings

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 07:40:00 PDT

Watch the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearings on the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court live here: