Republican Reaction to Sotomayor

Steve Stack

In an article in the Chicago Tribune the flip-flopping of Republicans concerning the tactics taken towards the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court was brought into light. Many Republicans, early on, were slow to criticize Sotomayor and call her a racist as many ultra-conservatives have already done. Now as the nomination process continues on, many are back tracking and are justifying the playing of the "race card". I think this is going to be a painful mistake by Republicans. Though they are in a tough spot to begin with in challenging Obama's pick, they are only digging themselves a bigger grave by following in the minds and footsteps of Gingrich and Limbaugh. What the Republican Party does not need any more attacks on minorities and to play a race card against a minority. It blows my mind that they openly charge her with potentially being a racist and not being able to be a "fair" judge because her life experiences influence her decision. The article makes a great point in that Justices Scalia and Alito have already admitted that their Italian backgrounds influence their decisions as judges. I also find it disturbing that the Republican Party is not for diverse life experiences in the Supreme Court when diversity would only benefit the decision making process of the nation's leading legal decion makers. In the end I believe playing a race card here, especially with such limited and unsubstantial evidence is just going to help Democrats and Independents build stronger coalitions against the Republican Party.