Did Sharron Angle, challenger to Harry Reid for the Nevada Senate seat, open up a can of worms by implying that Justice Sonia Sotomayor is not ‘bright enough’ (to put it mildly), along with Justice Elena Kagan, to “understand the constitution” during the recent debate between Angle and Reid? Watch:
Much has been said about the importance of registering new voters and of reminding Latinos to vote against those politicians that blocked passage of the DREAM Act and that are against a path to legalization for undocumented workers. Yet, not one progressive Senator (as far as I know) has aired at least one ad in Latino media outlets whether in Spanish or English to remind Latinos to vote against those that opposed Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation to the Supreme Court. After all, polls showed that the attacks against her nomination did have an effect in Latinos’ views of the Republican Party. Furthermore, I’m surprised that Democrats have not jumped on those that voted “NO” on confirming Sotomayor by tying Republicans to the most racist, sexist, and vile comments prominent figures of the GOP made during the confirmation process. Take the example of what Republican operative and convicted criminal G. Gordon Liddy (he actually served four years in jail) said of Sotomayor:Â
Liddy was not the only one:
Also Via Truthout:
Michael Savage, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and the other leading lights of right-wing demagoguery raised a similar-sounding ruckus. Limbaugh went so far as to compare Sotomayor to disgraced racist Republican David Duke – a strange comparison, as this would normally be a reason for Limbaugh to support Sotomayor – and all of a sudden, many so-called “responsible” members of the GOP suddenly found themselves rushing to contain the damage.
“Republican leaders scrambled yesterday to contain some of the more incendiary and racially tinged remarks that have been aimed at the judge,” reported The Washington Post on Friday, “fearing that continued personal attacks on Sotomayor could severely damage the GOP’s appeal to women and Hispanics. Sen. Jeff Sessions (Ala.), the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said he was ‘uneasy’ with some of the remarks and urged Republicans to focus on her legal record.”
…but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that Democrats are not rubbing it in the Republicans’ faces that conservatives were just on the wrong side of history concerning Sotomayor. Generally, Democrats tend to shy away from bragging about the good things they’ve actually accomplished. Yes, that might be either because some Democrats are either too humble, too incompetent in marketing their campaign messages effectively, or simply too wimpy to stand their ground and not be ashamed of the progressive values they actually stand for … just look at how many Democrats have stayed away from touting in their campaigns’ messaging the historic Health Insurance Reform they were actually able to get done (Democrats had been trying since President Truman, for God’s sakes). Â
Regardless, Democrats should remind voters of the good things they’ve actually accomplished and the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor should be one of the top ones to brag about.
Update: sounds like Sharron Angle continues to put her foot in her racist mouth. Check out this story: NV-Sen: Angle fears Asian hordes crossing Canadian border.