Republican Attacks on Sotomayor Could Alienate Women As Well as Hispanics
By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.
Message to GOP: On Sotomayor, give it up. With Judge Sotomayor's Senate confirmation hearings set to begin next week, Republicans are still peering under every pillow in Washington, seeking issues to use against her during those hearings. Most of the media attention on Judge Sotomayor's record has been on her position on civil rights. Wily GOP strategists are realizing her position on that issue is a nonstarter.
Most media reports focus on the possibility of the GOP further alienating Hispanics by going after Judge Sotomayor. Take this from the AP:
In recent days, GOP senators have faulted her for her stance on gun rights, her ruling against white firefighters who alleged reversed discrimination, and her participation in the Puerto Rican legal advocacy group. They've raised questions about her ability to be "colorblind."
Still, they've had to reach to score points against Sotomayor.
What the media don't focus on is an even larger, more important group of voters who could also see an attack on Judge Sotomayor as an attack on themselves. Women represent 50.7 percent of the U.S. population. Hispanics comprise 1 in 6 Americans or just under 47 million, versus more than 150 million women.
Not only will Judge Sotomayor be the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court—if she is confirmed—she will also be one of two women (with Ruth Bader Ginsberg), following the trail blazed by now retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, whose seat former President George W. Bush filled with a man. Republicans already have the white male vote. If they wage war on Judge Sotomayor's nomination, they reinforce their base but lose voters whose support they sorely need.
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Tags: Republicans | Sonia Sotomayor
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Reader Comments
Sotomayor and racism
In the old days, racism meant lynchings, murder and terror. But the 'new racism' practiced by judges like Sotomayor means the color of your skin is more important than qualifications.
Somewhat better perhaps, but this racism is still ugly.
Accusations of Racism?
Apparently it's just fine and dandy to promote homogeneity when it benefits the (previously) dominant political and one's own social view, but it's "racism" if one openly advocates equal treatment for all under the law. Your accusations of racism are all the evidence we need to conclude that you are, yourself, racist. You are threatened by a woman of Puerto Rican descent because you think she does not share your views. And if she does not share your views, she must be (a) wrong and (b) biased in favor of others who share her ethnicity. As a white man I find this offensive, and the nature of many of the accusations being gratuitously slung by Sotomayor's opponents is starting to look like a cat fight. Very unattractive. Sotomayor's track record, if you care to actually familiarize yourself with the facts, is solid. She is tough on crime and criminals, equally applies precendent (you know, that holy grail of Republican Supreme Court nominees Roberts and Alito, not to mention Scalia and Thomas), and maintains a healthy skepticism in the purity of corporations (like the ones that created our current ecomonic situation). I'll take an honest, intelligent, hard-working Hispanic woman any day.
SOTOMAYOR NEEDS TO GO!
Justice was intended to be blind, unfortunately Sotomayor is not. She is a racist by word and deed and has no place on the Nations highest court. Her Biased decisions will affect the entire US population including women and Hispanics and we do not all see the world like she does... The rubber stamping of Judicial nominees must be stopped and qualified “impartial” judges need to be selected. We and our children have to live with their decisions good or bad.
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