Breaking In: The Rise of Sonia Sotomayor (37 page)

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Authors: Joan Biskupic

Tags: #Biography & Autobiography, #Legal, #Nonfiction, #Supreme Court

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9. THE PRESIDENT’S CHOICE

10. STANDING OUT

1
. Justice O’Connor was a conservative centrist who navigated the middle of the Court and resisted being called a “feminist” and being identified with such causes as abortion rights. Justice Thomas separated himself from the African American identity Justice Marshall fostered. In a 2001 appearance before the conservative Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, Thomas noted that early in his career he was regarded as a heretic for questioning the value of affirmative action, welfare, and school busing. “It became clear in rather short order that on the very difficult issues such as race there was no real debate or honest discussion,” he said. “Those who raised questions that suggested doubt about popular policies were subjected to intimidation. Debate was not permitted. Orthodoxy was enforced. When whites questioned the conventional wisdom on these issues, it was considered bad form; when blacks did so, it was treason.”

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