GOP Stressed Gonzales' Hispanic Roots In 2005

One of the more provocative critiques to come from conservatives concerning the appointment of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court has been the charge that her nomination is racial politics at its most cynical. But in the past, Republicans were eager to play up the diversity of their own nominees.

She is "an affirmative action pick," declared Pat Buchanan on MSNBC's Hardball. "Clearly the president was down to four choices, all of them woman, and he picked the Hispanic." Earlier in the day, Rush Limbaugh ramped up the rhetoric even further, proclaiming Sotomayor "a reverse racist" who was appointed by "the greatest living example of a reverse racist" -- Obama.

There are, of course, dangers in proclaiming that a racial-political calculus drove Obama's hand. For starters, such claims deeply offend members of the Hispanic community who rightfully deem Sotomayor more than qualified. In addition, they lend themselves to charges of hypocrisy. Chris Matthews interrupted Buchanan to point out that the Clarence Thomas nomination seemed influenced by racial politics. And a reader notes that when Orrin Hatch took to the Senate floor to push the nomination of Alberto Gonzales for Attorney General, he elevated the nominee's Hispanic roots and accused opponents of racial insensitivity.

"Look, this is not just any nomination," Hatch, then Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman declared on February 1, 2005. "This is a nomination for the Attorney General of the United States of America. This is the first Hispanic ever nominated for that position, or for any of the big four positions in the Cabinet of any President. ... We work with Hispanic people all over America who are every bit as devoted to our country as any citizen who has ever been in this country. I personally love Hispanic people. Frankly, I know my friends in the Hispanic community, and Hispanic people all over America, are watching this debate, and they are sensing something very unfair going on here."

"And to have this man come from the most humble of circumstances, which typifies the struggle every immigrant family in this country has gone through, and to not give him this opportunity when he is fully qualified for it, I think, would be a travesty.

"When I talk to people around the country, I sometimes tell them that within the Hispanic community there is a shared hope for an opportunity to succeed. Just give me a chance to prove myself -- that is a common prayer for those in my community. I ask my colleagues to do exactly that -- give Judge Gonzales a chance to prove himself. He will not let you down."

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Comments

[sarabono]

Headline is not quite correct. Gonzales never said he would make better decisions because of his "life experiences" being a Hispanic. Sotomayor said that she would make better decisions just because of her Hispanic background when compared to "white men".

Gender, Ethnicity and Social Status should have absolutely no impact on legal decisions, especially on the Supreme Court. That is exactly why the Statue of Ms Justice has a blindfold over her eyes. "Equal Opportunity for All Under the Law regardless of race, creed, status, gender or ethnicity

[ignoranceequalsfear]

He alway s had that same deer-in-th­e-headligh­ts look as Bush when they asked him an intelligent question.

Also, his suits looked like he bought them off the rack at K-mart.

[KarateKid]

He's like Clarence Thomas, a political stooge.

[flossophy]

Wait a sec... I thought Rethugs were anti-H|spanic? How did this one sneak into a Rethuglican administration... he should be tarred and feathered...

Oh, he was.

Simply for being a brownish conservative... Dontcha love this country? Dontcha just love the 'tolerant' pr0gressives?

[Badfickle]

Who tarred and feathered him for being "a brownish conservative?" I guess I didn't get the memo about that. I thought he was a poor AG because he didn't seem interested in upholding the constitution.

[donbrown]

He was ejected because he was an incompetent FOG (Friend of George)...just like "Brownie" at FEMA. Both died ignominious professional deaths because they were unqualified for their positions and ultimately failed at them.

The same cannot be said for Sotomayor.

Unlike conservatives, progressives do not tolerate promotion of incompetents just because of ideology...no Clarence Thomas, no Michael Steele, no Harriet Meiers, no Alberto Gonzales, and no "Brownie"...

[afgail]

It is a total waste of time to rebut the right wing nuts. Just ignore them and maybe they will go away. The GOP traffics in lies, hate speech and slander. They don't deserve anything more than a civil cold shoulder until they have something intelligent to say.

[Applecheeks]

Someone should send this to Roosh and change the names. He would go ape$hit attacking the comments, then we break the news to him...priceless.

[Digeeedad]

The GOP is opened armed for non-whites who sell their souls and denounce all ties to their "previous" ethnicity/culture as a price for their "admission" !

I'm a 57 year old white guy who hopes I'll still be around for many of the years leading to 2042 when it is fairly certain that caucasians will be one of the minority races in the USA. The fun is already beginning, as those who will be bothered by this grapple to maintain their illusion of control.

As Rev. Wright so eloquently stated..... "The chickens have come home to roost"!

[Applecheeks]

What?

[Digeeedad]

Or... "what comes around goes around" or any other variation of the same basic philosophy. The shift in power has simply taken place earlier than anticipated.

[Layman23]

And all he could say was "I dont recall"... Now the GOP is calling Sotomayer not intelligent enough ? Atleast she can say a few more words than "I dont recall"...

[dessertsfirst]

Same ole GOP double standard: Whatever we do is ok. Whenever you do the same thing, it is wrong and not to be tolerated, and is subject to scorn.

[Prakosh]

And his compelling life story too!!!

[zenaby56]

It is appalling that with her long judicial record, Repubs have the nerve to call it affirmative action.

Judge Sotomayor is extremely qualified and the resistance to her nomination is clear racism. Repubs cannot believe that a Latina woman at that can be so smart and experienced.

She will bring a brilliant voice of deep judicial experience to the Supreme Court. Far more than Roberts could have dreamed of bringing.

[LeftLeanWing]

She was 2nd in her class at Princeton for pete's sake.

[Jaxy]

Do you know why "Repubs" claim that Judge Sotomayor is an affirmative action nominee?

Because they are loathesome, intellectu­ally-void, obnoxious, loud, hypocritical cows. Each day presents a new opportunity for them to display what xenophobic, ignorant buffoons they are.

Word on the street is, their "base" likes them that way. I say they deserve each other.

[Digeeedad]

"Do you know why "Repubs" claim that Judge Sotomayor is an affirmative action nominee"?

BECAUSE with the ever dwindling demographic % of whites in the USA, those that would be bothered by this are scared to death, by the VERY SAME PROPAGANDA that they have been spewing for years, apparently even believing their OWN fear and hate based nonsense.

By all accounts whites will be a minority in this nation by 2042. The "fun" in seeing fear based bigoted people panic even now is delightful, if it also wasn't filled with their intent to hold on to power by harming others! As a white male, this bothers me greatly!

The GOP and many conservatives believe they have much to gain by having their ranks continue to believe that people like the Obamas and Judge Sotomayor, couldn't possibly be successful on their own without caucasian help!

EVERYDAY the Obamas demolish centuries old racial/cultural stereotypes, through their eloquence, intelligence and actions. Judge Sotomayor is and has done this as well, and many are obviously terrified by their successes!

As Rev. Wright stated... "The chickens have come home to roost"!

[lmvd3]

Thank you for that headline, HuffPo.

[PC Contrarian]

Is anyone seriously contending that Sotomayor is Obama's nominee because she is an Hispanic woman? That this pick is about politics first and competency second? Of course it is.
Have the Republicans done the same in the past? Of course they have. Surprise, surprise!

What is different and what conservative news sources are focusing on is not that she is a proud, Hispanic woman; but that she thinks her back ground makes her more qualified to be a U.S. Justice than a white guy. I'm sure by now most of you have seen the quote,
Imagine if a white guy said that his background made him more qualified than an Hispanic woman? Would not every liberal media outlet be crying "Racist!, Sexist!""?
That's the point.

[pthesmith]

Here's the real point: Think about the meaning of what Sotomayor actually said. One cannot simply replace words in Sotomayor's statement and expect it to have the same meaning. In other words, the statement would not make historical sense if we replace "Hispanic" with "white." Besides, any arguement that begins with "If a white person said it" is inadequate for engaging in a meaninful discussion about race and power in America.

[Digeeedad]

Read the WHOLE speech and not simply a few sentence excerpt, intentionally taken out of context, by those obviously far more bigoted themselves to do Judge Sotomayor harm!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/us/politics/15judge.text.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all

IF after reading the whole speech, people who "judged" Sotomayor as being "racist" or "bigoted" aren't ashamed, then there is no hope of their understanding or trying to comprehend anything except their own reality.... which is bigoted behavior itself, no?

[pghnappyrhino]

you miss the point because you don't know the context the remarks were made under.

but why let facts get in the way?

http://www.casavaria.com/cafesentido/2009/05/27/2843/what-sonia-sotomayor-actually-said-in-2001-lecture/

[OhComeOnNow]

But, But, But, but that's different. He's one of us!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!

[BushBites]

No wonder Hispanics are voting Dem in record numbers.

The Repubs really seem to hate them.

[PC Contrarian]

Actually, the Republicans have been pandering to the Hispanic vote just as much as the Dems; but with a different approach. The GOP has been divided on how strongly to enforce our immigration laws; while the Dems say, "Nay forget about it. Come on in!"

BTW, Cuban Americans have overwhelmingly voted Republican because of the Dems ignoring their claims against Castro.

[StillIRise]

"Cuban Americans have overwhelmingly voted Republican ..."

This was true, until the 2008 Presidential election. For the first time in many many years, there was a notable shift in the Cuban-American vote. The older Cubans voted Republican as usual, but the vast number of younger Cuban-Americans voted for the Democratic ticket.

This is commiserate with the voting behavior of the general electorate. Older white voters are still voting Republican, whereas more and more younger voters of all racial and ethnic backgrounds are voting Democrat. Inevitably, the older voters are going to die out - and the GOP is going to be in a world of trouble.

Perception is 99% reality! The Hispanic community rightly or wrongly perceives the GOP as anti-Hispanic, just as many in the black community - rightly or wrongly - perceive the GOP as anti-black. But these are perceptions that the GOP created all by themselves.