Racial ruling looms large for Sotomayor

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE55112V20090602?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

Sotomayor's 2001 comment that a Latina judge "would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life" has also given ammunition to conservatives hoping to use race to derail her nomination.

The firefighters' case stems from a 2004 lawsuit filed by 19 white firefighters and one Hispanic firefighter who said they would have been promoted had the city of New Haven not thrown out the results because no blacks had scored high enough to qualify.

The city argued that if it had gone ahead with the promotions based on the test results, it would have risked a lawsuit claiming that the exam hurt minorities in violation of the 1964 federal civil rights law.

Sotomayor sat on a three-judge panel that heard an appeal of the case and sided with the city, affirming a lower court's opinion.

The panel expressed sympathy for the plaintiffs but did not explain its reasoning behind the decision, prompting a fellow appeals court judge to criticize the decision as "perfunctory."

My questions for Judge Sotomayor:  If a wise Latina woman and her family were trapped in burning building, would she rather have the most qualified firefighters leading the rescue effort or affirmative action appointees who failed their exams?  Would you feel better about your loved ones dying in a fire if the unqualified firefighters were people of color?

The point is that it was not just the firefighters who were unfairly passed over for promotion who were hurt.  The whole community loses when unqualified people are promoted unjustly.  When it comes to government services, the poor are especially hurt by bad governmental decisions.