Sotomayor

When attempting to find an article on the newly appointed Sonia Sotomayor, I immediately went to Fox News. This is because Fox is known to favor the conservative political scene over the liberal, so, I thought to myself, it would be interesting to see if there are hints of aggression in the articles written about her.

Reading the article, I get the feeling that the author is attempting to portray her in a negative light, while understanding and heeding the invariable caveat which comes with bashing Sotomayor. The author him/herself states that "any Republican effort to block Sotomayor's confirmation could be risky for a party still reeling from last year's elections and struggling to gain back lost ground with Hispanics, the fastest-growing part of the population. Republicans don't want to be seen as insensitive to the historic significance of Sotomayor's nomination." The video of the announcement of Sotomayor as the pick for the justice position, on the other hand, is a perpetual stream of praise regarding her immaculate academic credentials, her experience in the U.S. court system, and even her personal life.

The article is much less enthusiastic about her meritous works, saying that "though Sotomayor's personal story and her academic and legal credentials earn her respect from all quarters, conservatives see plenty to criticize in her rulings and statements." It seems as though the author was very cautious with the beginning of the article; however, when you get in the middle and towards the end you can sense a distinct distaste for the appointment of Sotomayor. Furthermore, however, the author does do an excellent job of portraying her Hispanic hertiage as a positive factor in the eyes of the conservatives. An obvious sentiment of "no, no... it's HER we don't like, not the fact that she is Hispanic" is being radiated.

Overall, it appears as though the Republicans are cornered yet don't want to admit it. They keep "...promising a thorough and perhaps lengthy hearing process that delves into her record and judicial philosophy." However, it seems almost an idle threat since there appears to be no interest in fillabustering her nomination, and the Democrats are in more than enough of a position to confirm her on their own. The article does not fully come out and say "hey, she's a liberal!" but the careful beat-around-the-bush wording certainly screams it. The author really seems to believe that she will be a hit with the Hispanic population (for obvious reasons) and the Democrats (again, even though Obama and other sources say she is moderate, she has a perceived liberal persona).

It will be very interesting to see her true colors once she begins ruling on cases.