Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who was of course President Obama’s Republican rival in the 2008 general election, has announced that he will vote against Sonia Sotomayor, Obama’s first nominee to the Supreme Court.
In his floor statement, McCain harshly criticized Sotomayor as an activist judge who does not respect the legislative branch, the written law, or the will of the people — and who is now trying to hide from that record:
I know of no more profoundly anti-democratic attitude than that expressed by those who want judges to discover and enforce the ever-changing boundaries of a so-called ‘living Constitution.’ It demonstrates a lack of respect for the popular will that is at fundamental odds with our republican system of government. And regardless of one’s success in academics and government service, an individual who does not appreciate the common sense limitations on judicial power in our democratic system of government ultimately lacks a key qualification for a lifetime appointment to the bench.
Though she attempted to walk back from her long public record of judicial activism during her confirmation hearings, Judge Sotomayor cannot change her record.
