The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the Supreme Court nomination of Sonia Sotomayor today in a 13-6 vote but it was almost entirely a partisan affair. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina was the only Republican to vote for Sotomayor.
There are more than enough votes for her to be confirmed in the full Senate so the Republicans are just doing this just to show they won't support a wise Latina woman.
But this is, and I will say it like President Obama, this is STUPID.
Why?
Just look at the Hispanic demographics of the states of the Republicans who voted against Sotomayor on the judiciary committee. They risk alienating Latino voters.
In Alabama, Latinos are 2.7 percent and in Iowa 4 percent of the population. But these states have some of the fastest growing Latino populations and they will certainly rise in the 2010 Census.
In Utah, Latinos are 11.6 percent of the population and Sen. Orrin Hatch should watch out.
In Oklahoma, Latinos are 7.2 percent of the population and we know an election can be turned on a mere 5 percent or less.
But the big losers will be Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, where Latinos are
36 percent of the population, and Sen. John Kyl of Arizona where
Latinos are 29.6 percent of the population. They have the most Latino
votes to lose.
Some Latina elected officials in Chicago for the National Council of La
Raza conference are actually thankful the Republicans didn't support
Sotomayor.
"If anything we should be thankful for their ignorance," said Illinois
State Rep. Susana Mendoza (1st District.). "It's really going to hurt
the Republican party. We're going to hold onto power because
Republicans keep shooting themselves in the foot."
Illinois State Sen. Iris Martinez (20th District) said that if there
had been a Latina in the U.S. Senate Sotomayor would have been treated
differently. She agreed that Republicans will have to pay attention to
Latino voters.
"They have to cater to us. They have to deal with us," Martinez said.
Sotomayor is qualified and she is not a racist as the right-wingers
claim. She showed in the hearings she will judge a case based on the
law and not her personal experience or background.
Those Republicans who voted against her risk alienating Latino voters.
I can guarantee you that come election time their votes against
Sotomayor will be remembered.
Filed under: Hispanic, politics, Supreme Court
Tags: Hispanic voters, Republicans, Senate Judiciary Committee, Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court
My...my...Are these Latins going to issue threats each time they do not get "warm and fuzzies"? Perhaps we should begin to consider that we might be "offending" the white majority that built our country. Having an opposing view is part of the Democratic process that allowed Sotomayor to be a Supreme Court Justice. This kind of talk is not making friends with me .... a white Anglo Saxon Female American, born in this country.