Supreme Court Starts Term With its Most Diverse Bench

Obama's Statement on SCOTUS Decision

With its ruling today, the Supreme Court has given a green light to a new stampede of special interest money in our politics. It is a major victory for big oil, Wall Street banks, health insurance companies and the other powerful interests that marshal their power every day in Washington to drown out the voices of everyday Americans. This ruling gives the special interests and their lobbyists even more power in Washington--while undermining the influence of average Americans who make small contributions to support their preferred candidates. That's why I am instructing my Administration to get to work immediately with Congress on this issue. We are going to talk with bipartisan Congressional leaders to develop a forceful response to this decision. The public interest requires nothing less.

Sen. Olympia Snowe has also come out against the ruling, which will generally be a good thing for republican candidates, according to NPR:

In his dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens lamented the decision and called the majority "profoundly misguided." He said, "The court’s ruling threatens to undermine the integrity of elected institutions around the nation." Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor joined Stevens' dissent, parts of which he read aloud in the courtroom. NPR

Get a Look at Our Supreme Court Justices

Faces to names: Our Justices. Sonia Sotomayor is beaming.

Bios

Sotomayor Answers Firefighter Case

It seems to me that a week's worth of hearings is a colossal waste of time and taxpayer money. I understand the need to question nominees, but Sotomayor keeps getting the same question over and over and most of the questioning seems to be for show. They could get this done in 2 days max and move on to priorities, such as healthcare. But we're learning that Sotomayor is smart, capable, even tempered and unflappable. She's going to make a great justice.

Sotomayor gets a question on whether people have the right to defend themselves in their home:

More on "wise Latina:" "My words failed. They didn't work," Sotomayor said. But the message of the speech was the same as what Samuel Alito tried to convey:

Rush Turns Fuzzball for Sotomayor

Rush Limbaugh, who refers to himself as a fuzzball, manages to eke out some decent words for Sonia Sotomayor today. I wonder how his audience is taking this. It seems head spinning.

Newt Apologizes For Calling Sotomayor Racist

It's not a hearty apology, and he chooses to do it at an Obama hate site, but it's a recognition of foolishness nonetheless. It's good to know Newt Gingrich has a little sense. 

My initial reaction was strong and direct -- perhaps too strong and too direct. The sentiment struck me as racist and I said so. Since then, some who want to have an open and honest consideration of Judge Sotomayor’s fitness to serve on the nation’s highest court have been critical of my word choice.

With these critics who want to have an honest conversation, I agree. The word “racist” should not have been applied to Judge Sotomayor as a person, even if her words themselves are unacceptable (a fact which both President Obama and his Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, have since admitted).

Obama didn't admit that her words were unacceptable. Obama said that the sentence taken out of context could've been worded better.
But fear not, with Newt's apology out of the way, he gets back to what he really meant to say:

So it is to her words -- the ones quoted above and others -- to which we should turn, for they show that the issue here is not racial identity politics. Sotomayor’s words reveal a betrayal of a fundamental principle of the American system -- that everyone is equal before the law.
The Central Question: Is American Justice No Longer Blindfolded? HE

You see Newt, there is no such thing as "blind justice." That's the ideal. But the hope for blind justice only improves when there is a more diverse group of judges making decisions. That's tough for a party that's largely white to understand.