There's a reason we caution those who live in glass houses about throwing stones.
Republicans calling Supreme Court nominee, Judge Sonia Sotomayor "racist" should look in the mirrors of their brittle glass house. If they choose to open their eyes, they can readily see decades of Republican racism, and denial. "Race" has been a central pillar of Republican political strategy; clearly it continues to be. Go back to Ronald Reagan declaring his bid for President in, God help us, Philadelphia, Mississippi ... how deeply and self-consciously offensive then and now. Why? To appeal to racists. The Nixon "Southern Strategy". What was that about? Racism, plane and simple. And on and on and on and on.
Not that Dems can be let off the hook, starting with faux history. Look no further than John F. Kennedy's signal failure as President. Despite all the latter-day and utterly imaginary hype to the contrary, he emphatically distanced himself from the Civil Rights Movement. Why? He feared the power of Richard B. Russell, the longtime segregationist Democratic Senator from Georgia for whom (we should all be deeply ashamed) the U.S. government's "Russell Senate Building" is named.
Shame on Gingrich and his screaming cohort. Shame. There's a reason we didn't hear this nuttiness from the radical reactionaries when Thomas or Alito or Roberts were nominated -- each ready, willing and eager to trifle with the truth to get confirmed. Standard Republican Issue Old Boys Club. Caucasian (or wanna-be) Old Boys Club.
We must not allow the hysterics of extremists on the far right end of this struggling nation to contaminate the confirmation of a worthy individual who will serve the nation well. Why the media persist in treating these people as responsible participants in the political discussion is an enduring mystery. They should be monitored not attended.
Evaluate Judge Sonia Sotomayor on her skills and character, not on bogus race-baiting rhetoric. Based on what we now know, her confirmation will be one more step in getting on, late-in-the-day though it be, with the weaning of this nation from its appalling and enduring racist, sexist history, past and present.
Thank you for your piece. However, you assume that your readers know more than they do. They do not. Most Americans, including the readers of the Huffington Post, are embarassingly ignorant about our racial history in this country. Accordingly, please write another piece where you clearly spell out the instances of institutionalized racism that you have witnessed in your life. This will be very valuable to most everyone, particularly coming from a woman that has been racialized as "white" in our society. Speak the whole truth so that others may see as well. Unfortunately the cognitive dissonance is so great that we will have to spell out each word so that others may understand.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_civil_rights_worker_murders