Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Speaking Up for Judge Sotomayor

Posted by Will Moredock on Wed, Jun 3, 2009 at 11:54 AM

Since she was nominated by President Obama to the U.S. Supreme Court last month, Judge Sonia Sotomayor has come under a hale of fire from Republican thugs, who have called her a racist. Their "evidence" is that she has speculated out loud that a Latina judge might bring more wisdom to the bench than another old white man.

Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh have teed off on Sotomayor in the last week; Limbaugh even went so far as to compare her to former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.

How ironic and preposterous — and hypocritical? — can the Republican Party get? Anyone casually acquainted with the history of the modern Republican Party knows that it was built on racism. The GOP took over the South in the 1960s and 1970s on the promise that it would go slow on desegregation and enforcement of civil rights legislation. It took over the country with such racist code words as "welfare queen," promising to protect white people from "crime" and "urban culture." The infamous Willie Horton ad, run by George H.W. Bush's presidential campaign in 1988, is still a low point in American political history.

It is no longer fashionable — or politically safe — to play an overtly racist card in national politics. The election of President Barack Obama is proof that attitudes have changed tremendously from what they were just a generation ago. So the Republican Party has had to seek new wedge issues to incite the fearful and the ignorant. Gay marriage has proven very effective, but it can also be a two-edged sword. The next time Rush Limbaugh or anybody else tries to tell you that Sonia Sotomayor or anybody else is a racist, ask that person if he accepts the principle of gay marriage. If he says no, you can reasonably assume that he is a modern GOP bigot, dressed up for the 21st century.

The Republican Party is the party of fear and bigotry. It is true today, more than ever.

  |  

Comments (5)

Showing 1-5 of 5

Add a comment

Hey genius, "hale" should have been spelled "hail". Too bad you are not a wise latina who could have spelled and used a word in the third graders lexicon. Sadly, you ARE a misinformed stupid white man.

report   
Posted by I P Yuengling on June 12, 2009 at 2:51 PM

Are you sure Will used the incorrect word? I mean, in Hawaiian "hale" means "house," so he could have been saying, you know, a "house of fire."

report   
Posted by chrishaire on June 12, 2009 at 3:00 PM

Hey Will,
Does this mean that the 90% of black voters in California who voted against the gay marriage proposition in the last election are bigots too? Last time I checked, those folks were largely registered Democrat. I have no problem in according all the civil and legal rights to gay partners that are enjoyed by married couples, and I'll keep my own counsel on who's a bigot, thank you very much.

report   
Posted by I P Yuengling on June 12, 2009 at 3:10 PM

chrishaire,
Good point. I hadn't considered that. But, this is the CHARLESTON CITY PAPER, not the Honolulu Herald. Cheers.

report   
Posted by I P Yuengling on June 12, 2009 at 3:22 PM

Honolulu Herald, eh. I guess the folks at The Honolulu Advertiser and the Star-Bulletin won't be too happy to learn they've got a new competitor on Oahu.

And believe me, I've angered those guys before and it ain't pretty.

report   
Posted by chrishaire on June 12, 2009 at 3:27 PM
Subscribe to this thread:
By Email
With RSS
Showing 1-5 of 5

Add a comment

Classified Listings
{ more } Recent Comments
{ more } Reader Reviews

Powered by Foundation   © Copyright 2012, Charleston City Paper   RSS