Senate Republicans attempt to prove racism; succeed

As the Sotomayor senate confirmation hearings continue, we get to witness the continuing implosion of the Republican brand. In this case, we get to see how Republicans are willing to oppose the first Latina nominee to the SCOTUS on primarily racial grounds. They have repeatedly quoted a 2001 speech Sotomayor gave where she offered her hopes that a wise Latina woman might offer better judgments because of the richness of her experience. Sotomayor stands by that speech but has backed off of the specific wording somewhat, saying that it created the wrong impression that a particular ethnic group held an advantage in judging.

I'd like to take a stab at defending the words as she originally said them. Here in the US we have a racist culture, we breathe racist air. Obama's election goes a good way towards erasing the scars of the past, but not everything is behind us. Senators Sessions and Graham, as white male heterosexua christians and recipients of privileges thereof, get to pretend like racism doesn't exist because it never negatively impacts their lives. Of couse someone who is a minority is going to see race relations in a different light.

At the same time, the assertion is made that true objectivity is an attainable objective. Of course judges must work to be as objective as possible, but pure objectivity remains an impossible perfect goal. In a world where everyone is racist simply on the basis of living here, the way to be as objective as possible is to recognize racial biases and confront them head on. Pretending like racism doesn't exist will only distort one's worldview and lead them to make unjust decisions.

When Sessions and Graham focus on this line of questioning, and the Ricci case, and compare Sotomayor's decisions to other latino judges, and when Tom Coburn evokes Ricky Ricardo, it makes it clear who is doing the race-based thinking here. Republican support among Hispanic Americans has been dropping lately, and this sort of behavior will ensure that it stays at rock-bottom levels for a generation.