JCN Calls On White House Press Secretary Gibbs To Post Duke Video On White House Web Site and Let American People Judge

May 28, 2009White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs' comments yesterday that "We can all move past YouTube snippets and half sentences and actually look at the honest-to-God record" raise an important question for Mr. Gibbs. The Duke University comments by Judge Sotomayor are quite clear and unequivocal. Is Mr. Gibbs suggesting that Judge Sotomayor was lying in the tape or that she really didn't mean it?An important controversy and debate continues to brew over Judge Sotomayor's comments at Duke University in which she said that appellate courts "make policy," and in her published words tucked away in law review articles. The White House continues to say that her words caught on tape were taken out of context. It appears that whenever the press or other critics point out troubling or radical statements made by Judge Sotomayor that clearly reveal her approach to judging, the White House spin machine is dizzying itself trying to figure out how best to communicate what it is that Judge Sotomayor really meant when she uttered the appellate "courts make policy" comment or her published writings saying a "Latina woman would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who has not lived that life."President Obama promised the American people a transparent presidency. Indeed, this White House's communications machine has been vigilant in posting the President's policy agenda online and keeping folks up to speed saying they want to create dialogue and discussion. In that spirit, we are calling on White House Press Secretary Gibbs to post the Duke University video on The White House web site and let the American people judge her comments. Given the importance of a life time appointment to the Supreme Court, the American people should know the facts about this nominee, not just get the latest White House line they want the media to report and the people to hear. If Mr. Gibbs does not have time to post this video, he is welcome to link to it and other Sotomayor comments at www.aboutsoniasotomayor.com.