Anthony Dick, current Stanford Law School student and President of the Federalist Society, has a well-written piece on National Review online about potential Supreme COurt Justice Sotomayor. Dick is a former writer/editor at the National Review.
In his piece, Dick argues that, outside of the novelty of her race and personal story, Sotomayor is a disappointment to the Left. Instead, she is another example of the of Obama taking the safe route:
No one can deny her career has been impressive, if somewhat workmanlike. But she’s not the firebrand, the agitator, the towering hero they wanted. She will not galvanize future generations of law students to man the barricades in a new revolution of liberal jurisprudence. Her appeals-court opinions are on file for the world to see, and they do not inspire.
The nomination, then, is a split for both liberals and conservatives. Liberals like her because she is a liberal with a diverse background. They are a bit disappointed, however, by her relative moderation. Dick has an excellent point about how conservatives should view her:
Conservatives should see Obama’s attitude about the Court as both welcome and terrifying. Welcome because it might lead (over time) to some abatement in constitutional debauchery, as liberals begin to feel less constantly compelled to distort the document’s meaning to serve their parochial visions of justice. Terrifying because it might mean that Obama really is making the Left more tactically wise.