CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
May 28, 2009 – 8:45 a.m.
Analysis: Newt, Rush and ‘Nutty White Man Talk’
By Jonathan Allen, CQ Staff
Some Republican political operatives shuddered when Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh called Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic woman nominated to the Supreme Court, a “racist” and a “bigot.”
By choosing a racially charged line of attack that elected GOP officials hoped to avoid, the former House Speaker and the iconoclastic radio talk show host may have bolstered the opposite side, GOP and nonpartisan political analysts said.
“Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh tend to rally Democrats, and consequently such statements solidify Democratic support for her, which was probably pretty solid to begin with,” said John J. Pitney Jr. the Crocker professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, Calif. “As far as the use of words such as ‘racist’ and ‘bigot,’ that’s an overreach.”
Gingrich was reacting to Sotomayor’s 2001 assertion that she hoped “a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”
In a blog post on Wednesday, Gingrich called for her to step aside.
“Imagine a judicial nominee said ‘my experience as a white man makes me better than a Latina woman.’ Wouldn’t they have to withdraw? New racism is no better than old racism. A white man racist nominee would be forced to withdraw. Latina woman racist should also withdraw,” he wrote.
Limbaugh expounded on the same line: “The fact that she uses empathy, the fact that she is a racist and a bigot is perfect because, in Obama’s world, it’s permitted to be a racist and bigot if you’re a minority because you have been discriminated against since the founding of the country, and it’s about time that that was made right,” he said.
Strategists who work for Republicans across the spectrum — conservative and moderate alike — expressed fear the harsh rhetoric will distract from what they say are legitimate questions about Sotomayor’s record, including siding against white firefighters who brought a reverse discrimination suit when a test for promotions was thrown out because minorities had disproportionately low scores.
But the sway that Gingrich and Limbaugh continue to hold was evident in the reticence those operatives exercised when asked to put their comments on the record. They were glad to criticize and analyze, but not if it meant taking heat on the radio or from fans of Gingrich.
“There are legitimate elements of Sotomayor’s judicial record for Republicans to point to and inquire about,” said one veteran of campaigns and Capitol Hill who would not speak for attribution. “But attempting to paint her as a bigot or racist would be a terrible political miscalculation that would accomplish nothing but further illustrate why Republicans are in the wilderness right now.”
To be sure, there are any number of questions for Sotomayor to answer (including, perhaps, whether she was the MVP of ending the 1994-95 baseball strike, as the president suggested, or simply a player).
The question now is whether Republicans will discourage the debate from being about whether she is a “racist” or a “bigot.”
Matt Mackowiak, a GOP consultant who worked for Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas and former Sen. Conrad Burns of Montana, said the remarks by Gingrich and Limbaugh do a “disservice” to the party “by using language that is incendiary.” But, he said, “the underlying concerns are absolutely legitimate and worthy of further examination.”
The White House was measured in its official response, delivered by press secretary Robert Gibbs at a briefing with reporters.
“I think it is probably important for anybody involved in this debate to be exceedingly careful with the way in which they’ve decided to describe different aspects of this impending confirmation,” Gibbs said, predicting that Sotomayor will do well when senators “look at more than just the blog of a former lawmaker.”
For now, there is little reason for the White House to take shots at a Republican Party that is already dodging friendly fire.
“I can’t see how it serves any positive purpose,” Pitney said. “If they were to say she was being unfair to the firefighters, that her legal reasoning was poor, that’s an entirely different issue. But the name-calling is extremely counterproductive.”
The Washington-based veteran of campaigns and Congress agreed, saying: “We’re going to attack Sotomayor with charges of reverse racism? That’s nutty old white man talk.”
Comments
Its hard to argue with Newts analogy. If a white man had said this he would be out on the street. But since its a minority and Obama has to placate them all, its okay.
I'm not commenting on whether Sodormayor, but I do think striking how white males are now so concerned about discrimination after benefiting from it for centuries. When some minority extremists say in effect that turnabout is fair play, the Rushes and Newts say only fair play is fair play. It figures that they would feel that way now.
One must still ask conservatives if all the racists are on the other side why are they the ones with 99% white constituency?
Neither Newt nor Rush (or perhaps even FieldMarshall who commented above) could have read Sotomayor's remarks in context (see the link in the article to her full speech.) She was simply saying that every judge brings their experiences to the bench and it is more difficult for a male judge to understand a woman's perspective -- and vice versa -- or a white judge to understand a minority perspective. Not impossible, just more difficult.
Worth a question or two. Does she still feel the same way ? Like Newt said is new racism any better than old, or does old racism justify new ?
Sorry kids, but that statement at face value IS racist. Though, its premature to call her a racist without questioning her about what she meant. Also, the implication from the press and liberals in general that minorities cannot be bigoted themselves is TOTALLY false. Racism and bigotry exists among minorities, and its not just directed against while men, but also against other minority groups, and within minority groups depending on how close to a negaive stereotype someone is. Reverse racism or new racism or minority bigotry or whatever you want to call it is something the liberals and the MSM does NOT want to acknowledge because it detracts from the "victimization" of minority peoples, which is a pillar of liberal ideology.
I so agree with Newt and Rush on this matter and do disagree with Mr. Allen. I saw him on Fox and was disgusted with his comments. The last election we ran the most moderate Republican around, John McCain, also the man who sponsored amnesty for illegals, how many Hispanic votes did he get?
Are Republicans on their way out? I think so. Here is why. If you are in a house too long that stinks, after a while you will not notice the stink, but everyone new to the house that stinks will really smell the stink and may not want to confront the issue, so they go elsewhere. Example: You know or met some one that looks nice, acts nice and is your same color. He or She is usually in solid for a while untill they open their mouth and make their views known. Such is the case of milions and millions of email forwarders with political views. A wise man once said."If you never open your mouth, know one will know how stupid you are"' also, "Silence is golden"' What makes me say this? Another wise man said. "Choose your friends wisely, as you will become as they are". I have a lot of friends, but I have started to avoid many because of the emails they forward to me. When I read these forwarded emails from my Republican friends passing along gutter and garbage thoughtsand words with no intelligent explanation of the charges flung at the Democratic officals, I think, O my God, I never knew my friend brains was that sick. This is comparable to having a friend or partner that has been lying to you for many years and you just found it out. Remember, You can fool some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time. You could when towns were 30 to 100 miles apart and the mail went by horseback. With today electronic being used by nearly everyone around the world, we all better quit lying and start telling the truth because your friends and neighbors will soon avoid you in their quest for finding the right information. Honestly, even a liar likes the truth and will seek it out. Lately, it seems like too many Republicans are looking for the money and not the truth. Most people can see right through that, especially with all nationallities able to participate. Come on, be honest. From birth to death, we all only have about 960 months to live. Let us dump the murders and thiefs and work for a better life for all. God bless you all and if you can't tell the truth, don't say anything at all. Bye , Bye.
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