After an initial wave of blistering attacks on Sonia Sotomayor that went so far as to call her a “racist,” it’s now become apparent that the leading Republicans have reined in the more ferocious barbs — if only, perhaps, because they recognize the political peril of alienating Hispanics and independents.
While most elected Republicans, especially Senators, had eschewed the harsh language coming from the party’s right, even some of the more vocal opponents, like Newt Gingrich, seem to have acknowledged at least implicitly the political damage the attacks were doing to the GOP.
It’s worth noting that a recent Ipsos/McClatchy poll suggested that Republicans could end up doing themselves a lot of harm among Hispanic voters if they overwhelmingly oppose Sotomayor.
This past Friday, of course, former President George H.W. Bush denounced attacks against Sotomayor. “And she was called by somebody a racist once. That’s not right. I mean that’s not fair,” said Bush the Elder. “It doesn’t help the process. You’re out there name-calling. So let them decide who they want to vote for and get on with it.”
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) — who wears the dual hats of being both a Republican member of the Judiciary Committee and is also the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee — bluntly told Reuters over the weekend that the attacks calling Sotomayor a racist were “exactly the wrong way to start a civil process.” While he did say he thinks it’s fair to ask Sotomayor about the law being color-blind, the tone of the attacks is clearly seen as off-base.
And a week ago, former First Lady Laura Bush praised Sotomayor, saying she was glad that President Obama picked a woman, and she wished Sotomayor well.
Newt Gingrich, meanwhile, has performed an interesting two-step. He said he should not have called her a racist — but then goes into detail about she supposedly makes decisions based on race. At least he’s trying to take a step back.
And overall, Senate Republicans have shifted away from any accusations that Sotomayor is a racially-motivated judge, and are instead going for procedural complaints — that they want more time for the confirmation process.
There are, of course, continued personal attacks from the ranks of hard-line conservative punditry — Pat Buchanan and Sean Hannity, for example — but the establishment types have clearly settled into a different path.
