Posted by
David Van Edema on Thursday, July 30, 2009 9:34:37 PM
July has been a busy month for accusations of perceived racism.
We’ve had the story of minority children being banned from a swimming club because the president of the club, and the members, were “racist”, a charge that the club and its members deny.
We have a “distinguished” black Harvard professor (Henry Louis Gates Jr. who, by the way, just happens to be buddies with President Obama. Isn’t it funny how all of Obama’s friends seem to be loud, obnoxious radicals? ) accusing Sgt. James Crowley, a white police officer who arrested him for disorderly conduct, of “racial profiling”, though I challenge anyone to actually explain where the profiling took place on the part of the white officer. The two men are supposedly sharing a beer with Obama tonight at the White House. Or, they could be throwing them at each other for all I know. The "beer summit" is probably going on now as I write this.
This morning I read yet another story of perceived racism. This time, the accusation is being thrown by the Democrats in reference to the GOP, who they claim have refused to nominate Sotomayor on the basis that she is Latina. On top of this, they have also given the GOP dire warnings that failure to nominate Sotomayor will create a Latino voter backlash against them in their respective districts.
Here are the plain facts…
First, Sotomayor is going to be nominated, period. It doesn’t matter if every single Republican voted against her; she still has the full backing of the Democratic majority. The deal is as good as done. I suspect that since she’s going to be nominated anyway, the GOP feels that they may as well go ahead and vote their conscience. Why do the Democrats need their vote anyway? I guess so they can say, in the event Sotomayor screws up; “See? Republicans voted for her too, it’s not all our fault!”
Seems to be the same scenario as the GOP’s refusal to vote for the current health care bill, but I digress.
Second, the fact that she is Latina has nothing to do with the GOP’s concerns about her. It’s her policies that disturb them, not her race. She has made disturbing comments in the past that have made the Republicans wonder if she could be a true defender of the Constitution of the United States, and not make her rulings based on her personal beliefs or feelings. That is, after all, the judge’s job; to make their rulings based on the law, not personal empathy. Besides, anyone remember Justice Clarence Thomas? Guess who his biggest supporters are? That's right, the Republicans.
It's interesting to note that the Democrats weren’t this protective of another former Latino Supreme Court Justice nominee, Miguel Estrada, during President George H.W. Bush’s term. Don’t know who Miguel Estrada is? Look him up in your favorite search engine. I think you’ll find the Democrat’s attitude towards Mr. Estrada quite enlightening, and that’s as far as I’ll go with that.
So, you tell me… who’s really throwing the race cards around now?
Sources:
When Democrats Derailed a GOP Latino Nominee: Byron York, Washington Examiner.com, 05/28/09
Dems Warn GOP of Backlash for Opposing Sotomayor: Julie Hirshfeld Davis, Associated Press, 07/29/09