A cheeky and accurate (in my opinion) editorial in our weekly paper...
Republicans have gone from controlling everything to just saying “no.” So, it is of course no surprise that they are saying “no” to President Obama’s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. They know Judge Sotomayor will be confirmed, unless they can find out that she hasn’t paid her taxes or is romantically involved with her illegal-immigrant maid and not withholding Social Security on her, either. And of course they may find it, given the track record of Obama nominees so far. Failing some killer detail like that, though, the Republicans have got to find another way to say “no.” Right now they’re basically saying she’s unfit for the Court because she’s got “empathy,” which allows them to attack her for being an Hispanic woman without attacking her because she’s an Hispanic woman.
So far, President Obama is playing the Republicans the same way President Clinton did, kind of like the Roadrunner with Wile E. Coyote, helping them blow themselves up. They don’t like Judge Sotomayor because she’ll bring her Latina experience to bear on the Court, but they love Justice Alito and Justice Thomas because they bring their ethnic experience to bear on the Court, as does Chief Justice Roberts his WASP ethnicity.
Meanwhile, of course, the Republicans just look increasingly sexist and racist—two traits they already own. Why don’t they show some creativity and go after Sotomayor where she’s really vulnerable? They’ve proven time and again they don’t mind getting ugly. Why not rip off the gloves and hit her in the pancreas? Can we afford to have a woman sitting on the highest court in the land who is, you know, diabetic?
