Democrat Empathy

By George Joyce

Credit Kimberly Strassel of the Wall Street Journal for knocking the wind out of Barack Obama and his cohort of empathetic Democrats. In probably the most damaging essay to appear regarding the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the high court, Strassel reminds Americans that Obama and the Democrats opposed Bush judicial appointments for the same reasons they are now supporting Sotomayor.

For example, Democrats like Chuck Schumer recently warned that Republicans opposing the Hispanic Sotomayor would do it “at their peril.” Chuck Schumer, however, vilified Miguel Estrada, President Bush’s 2002 nomination to the D.C. Circuit court, and called him "a Stealth missile -- with a nose cone -- coming out of the right wing's deepest silo." Schumer’s shameless attacks on Estrada should never be forgotten by Hispanics. Indeed, Strassel reminds us of the true nature of Democratic empathy:

“That would be the same Mr. Schumer who sat on the Judiciary Committee, where leaked memos later showed that Democrats feared Mr. Estrada would use a position on the D.C. Circuit as a launching pad to become the nation's . . . first Hispanic Supreme Court judge. Two tortured years later, Mr. Estrada withdrew, after the Democrats waged seven filibusters against a confirmation vote.”

In other words, Democrats were worried that a Hispanic would eventually be nominated to the Supreme Court.

Read Strassel’s essay – it’s brilliant.