Since President Obama named Judge Sonia Sotomayor and his first Supreme Court Nominee I’ve been asked plenty of questions from friends on the right and on the left about what I thought about her. At first, I didn’t think my opinion of her nomination was any more important than any other Republican’s just because we shared a culture heritage, but after seeing the way the media is spinning this story and the unfortunate comments made by Rush Limbaugh and Tom Tancredo, I think it would be helpful to answer a few of the questions I have been asked publicly.

As a Hispanic, are you proud that the President nominated the first Hispanic to serve on the Supreme Court?

Yes and no. I am incredibly proud I live in a country where ethnic minorities can reach positions of power and influence. I am glad I will get to see the day a Hispanic takes a seat on the highest court in the land. But if the nominee would have been a white man who was well qualified and who I thought would do an excellent job, I would be just as proud.

Do you have to support the nomination because she’s Hispanic? Should Republicans shy away from criticizing her because of her race?

Absolutely not. From what I read, there are plenty of legal decisions and comments she has made that I do not agree with. If I supported her just because she was Latina, that would be rather shallow. Republicans have every right to critique her, but, as James Kane wrote, there is no good reason at the moment for Republicans to attempt to block the nomination. We can and should critique her without demonizing her (someone should tell Limbaugh and Tancredo this). We shouldn’t make her go through what Justice Alito and his family had to go through during his nomination hearings.

Did President Obama pick Judge Sotomayor just because she was a Hispanic?

No. Was it a smart political move that satisfied the wishes of two of his important bases? Of course. For a man who claims to dislike identity politics, he sure played them during his announcement of the pick. But we could have done a lot worse than Judge Sotomayor. Judge Sotomayor has more experience than any of the current Justices had when they were nominated. Is she a typical liberal activist judge? It seems that way, but she doesn’t appear to be a radical liberal activist judge and we all knew any Obama nominee would be a liberal activist. He may have not picked her if she was not a Hispanic but she would have certainly warranted his consideration of her race.

Is she a racist? Is the National Council of La Raza really the Latino KKK?

These claims are just ridiculous. If she was a racist, she would believe her race was superior to others. It is not that I think Hispanics cannot be racist, I have met quite a few who are, but calling Sotomayor a racist is just plain irresponsible. Hispanic (or Latino) isn’t even a race, it’s a ethnic and cultural designation. Even if you want to think it is, there is no ruling I am aware of where she states that Hispanics are superior to others. That “wise Latina” comment was very unwise indeed, but the keyword in that statement that people are not paying attention to is “wise.” If she would have said “Latina women always make better judges then white men” I’d have a problem. It was silly opinion to share but that doesn’t make her a racist.

As for Limbaugh calling her one and Tancredo agreeing and comparing La Raza to racist terrorist organization, I think someone should take the (figurative) shovel Rush Limbaugh is using to a dig a major hole for the Republican Party and use it to (figuratively) smack some sense into Tom Tancredo. La Raza is a civil rights group that has done some positive work. I do not agree with many of their views or decisions, but they have never lynched anyone and I haven’t heard of them burning a cross on Tom Tancredo’s lawn. If these two really wanted to defeat the confirmation, and if they really cared about the Republican Party, they would shut up and let the pragmatic Republicans take up the challenge. If anything, they’re proving why having a Hispanic Justice is significant.

I really wish this story wasn’t about race, or culture, or anything other than whether or not she has earned the privilege of sitting on the Supreme Court. Republicans should know now that it is not a good idea for us to let political disagreements center around race. Hopefully the next nominee will indeed be measures solely on the content of their character.

Last 5 posts by Abel S. Delgado

• Let’s Support the Cantwell-McCain Bill - January 6th, 2010
• Deeds Gets Dirty, Doesn’t Win Anyway - November 2nd, 2009
• Obama & The Berlin Wall - October 25th, 2009
• The Nobel Prom King - October 11th, 2009
• Bureaucratizing Interrogations a Horrible Idea - August 28th, 2009