Media Alert: Reactions to Charmaine's Interviews on Sotomayor

Yes, yes, the nomination is important, but we’ve got the real news — our new SWAG just arrived. We just got the new AUL baseball caps and golf shirts. Branding lives!

If you want to know how to get one, give us a tweet on Twitter @JackYoest @CharmaineYoest

On the CBS News Political HotSheet, Sotomayor Nomination Renews Roe V. Wade Debate, Posted by Declan McCullagh,

Americans United for Life said she would “impose her personal policy and beliefs onto others from the bench,” and pointed to a YouTube video saying that courts of appeal are where “policy is made.”

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FrontPage Magazine, By John Perazzo reports, Sonia Sotomayor – Obama’s New Activist Judge,

A number of notable conservatives, meanwhile, have taken a different view of the nomination. For instance, Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life, called Sotomayor “an avowed judicial activist” who “believes the role of the Court is to set policy,” and who will likely “impose her personal policy and beliefs onto others from the bench.”

Dahlia Lithwick at Slate writes Republicans won’t beat Sonia Sotomayor,

The case against Sotomayor–to the extent it’s being made, is that her life is such a tumultuous blend of personal hardship and deep feeling that she cannot separate the law from her own agenda. In short, she feels too much….[Goodness!] Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life, rushed to describe her as “a radical pick” who “believes the role of the court is to set policy which is exactly the philosophy that led to the Supreme Court turning into the National Abortion Control Board.”

Our liberal friends at Media Matters write, Media uncritically repeat claim that New Haven firefighters case shows Sotomayor is an activist.

The Guardian has Sotomayor: closet moderate

Pro Ecclesia does not quite understand the separation of powers and the work and role of the Court, Sotomayor Blurs Lines in Abortion War [UPDATED],

“She is a radical pick that divides America,” [ED.: Really? She seems like a fairly safe and conventional (albeit clearly liberal) pick to my “untrained” eyes.] Americans United for Life said this morning. “She believes the role of the court is to set policy, which is exactly the philosophy that led to the Supreme Court turning into the ‘National Abortion Control Board.'” [ED.: NEWS FLASH!!! The Supreme Court, like it or not, DOES set policy. They have ever since a little case back in the early 1800s called Marbury v. Madison.]

The anti-science women who run Choice Matters, not only don’t know when life begins — also do not know that Americans United for Life believes that the Sotomayor nomination divides America.

RaceWire claims to be color blind. Or maybe just blind, She rests her case.

Michael Sean Winters at America writes Sonia Sotomayor: A Different Pro-Life Angle

It took just about an hour for Americans United for Life, a pro-life lobbying outfit, to denounce the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. “Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s judicial philosophy undermines common ground,” the group said in a press release. “She is a radical pick that divides America.”

The Plum LineGreg Sargent’s blog writes, Steele: I Really Don’t Know Whether Sotomayor Is An “Activist” Judge,

Steele’s fellow Republicans and conservatives, however, say those Sotomayor comments prove she is an activist judge. Senator Orrin Hatch told MSNBC yesterday that Sotomayor’s 2005 claim “means you’re going to get an activist justice on the Supreme Court.” Americans United for Life denounced her as an “avowed judicial activist.”

Steele doesn’t agree. Yet.

David Brody, CBN News White House Correspondent, reports at CBN News, Conservatives Down on ‘Policy Maker’ Sotomayor

“This is a judge who has gone on the record in defense of the idea of judicial activism so it’s pretty certain that she’s going to approach the bench with an intention of imposing her own personal political preferences into the process,” said Charmaine Yoest with Americans United for Life.

Campus Progress has talking points…that are actually quite good. Maybe not what the liberal Obama-lamas intended, Meet Judge Sotomayor.

Thank you (foot)notes:

Read the latest email from AUL at the jump.

We’ve been working hard in the lead-up to the Supreme Court nomination to prepare . . . and today was the day. As you know, the President nominated Second Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

We’ve spent the day responding to requests for a response from a pro-life perspective — running from the Associated Press to the BBC to FOX Radio and more.

The Washington Post gave AUL credit for leading the way in researching Sotomayor’s record and being one of the first pro-life groups to comment on her nomination. We want to keep you informed as this nomination process goes forward, so please stop by AUL.org for more background on Judge Sotomayor.

So what do we think? Frankly, this is a very troubling nomination. In listing his requirements for a Supreme Court pick, President Obama highlighted “empathy” rather than loyalty to Constitutional principles. Now, we see what that means — a judge who makes it clear she decides cases on feelings, not facts. She is a radical judicial activist who readily admits that she applies her personal political agenda when deciding cases.

In a speech at Duke Law School at 2005, Sotomayor said that her own Court of Appeals — not the democratically elected legislature — is “where policy is made.” Taking such “judicial action,” she said in a 2004 speech, is part of the “heroics of judges today; it may dwell in protecting our own turf and ensuring that it is we who interpret the law.”

Sotomayor’s philosophy of radical judicial activism is exactly the thinking that led to the Supreme Court turning into the “National Abortion Control Board,” denying the American people the right to be heard on this critical issue. She will further entrench the Court’s self-appointed role as the sole arbiter of abortion policy. Based on her judicial philosophy, we expect her to elevate unrestricted, unregulated, and taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand to a fundamental constitutional right by reading the sweeping Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) into the Constitution.

Pro-abortion groups are already lining up to endorse Obama’s choice. NARAL praised her “distinguished record of professional accomplishments,” while the National Organization for Women (NOW) said it would “celebrate” the nomination with a “Confirm Her” ad campaign.

That’s why it’s so important we get out the truth about Sotomayor’s radical judicial activism. Our recent polling data shows 69% of the American people believe that “some federal judges have gone too far by doing more than just interpreting the law and instead are making new law.” Mainstream America will not tolerate the choice of a Supreme Court nominee who, instead of following her duty to uphold the Constitution, chooses instead to dictate her own personal political agenda.

We need your help to make sure the next Supreme Court justice rules on facts, not feelings. Will you send a generous gift today? We want to send a loud and clear message that the American people will not tolerate a judge who believes in setting her own policy and “protecting [her] own turf.” But we need your help to keep pounding the message home during the confirmation process. Let’s show our politicians and the American people that a vote to confirm her would be a vote to strip Americans of the ability to choose for themselves how to regulate abortion. Thank you for standing with us!

For Life,

Charmaine Yoest, Ph.D.

President & CEO

Americans United for Life

Press Release:

Americans United for Life: Obama Nominates Avowed Judicial Activist Judge Who Undermines Common Ground

Sotomayor Wants to Set Policy, Will Perpetuate Role of Supreme Court as “National Abortion Control Board”

WASHINGTON, May 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Americans United for Life (AUL) President & CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest reacted to President Barack Obama nominating Sonia Sotomayor to replace Justice Souter on the United States Supreme Court, stating:

“For all the President’s talk of finding ‘common ground,’ this appointment completely contradicts that hollow promise. Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s judicial philosophy undermines common ground. She is a radical pick that divides America. She believes the role of the Court is to set policy which is exactly the philosophy that led to the Supreme Court turning into the National Abortion Control Board denying the American people to right to be heard on this critical issue. This appointment would provide a pedestal for an avowed judicial activist to impose her personal policy and beliefs onto others from the bench, at a time when the Courts are at a crossroad and critical abortion regulations — supported by the vast majority of Americans — like partial-birth abortion and informed consent laws lie in the balance.

“A vote to confirm Judge Sotomayor as the next Supreme Court Justice is a vote to strip Americans of the ability to choose for themselves how to regulate abortion. Our recent polling data speaks to this point of judicial activism: 69% of the American people believe that ‘some federal judges have gone too far by doing more than just interpreting the law and instead are making new law.’

The Supreme Court took on the role of the ‘National Abortion Control Board’ in 1973 with Roe vs. Wade, and Judge Sotomayor will further entrench the Court’s self-appointed role as the sole arbiter of abortion policy. Based on her judicial philosophy, we expect her to elevate unrestricted, unregulated, and taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand to a fundamental constitutional right by reading the sweeping Freedom of Choice Act – also known as FOCA – into the Constitution.

“The American people want the right to implement common-sense regulations on abortion. American parents want parental involvement laws to protect their daughters from having abortions without their knowledge or consent. They want prohibitions on late-term abortions and the use of taxpayer dollars to fund abortion-on-demand. And women have rallied for informed consent laws, ensuring that they receive all medically-appropriate information about abortion, its complications, and its consequences.”

About Americans United for Life

Americans United for Life (AUL) is a nonprofit, public-interest law and policy organization whose vision is a nation in which everyone is welcomed in life and protected in law. The first national pro-life organization in America, AUL has been committed to defending human life through vigorous judicial, legislative, and educational efforts at both the federal and state levels since 1971. The Wall Street Journal has profiled AUL, and PBS’ Frontline program chronicled AUL’s successful efforts in Mississippi.

SOURCE Americans United for Life