Sotomayor As “Racist” Emerging As GOP Talking Point?

First, talk show host Rush Limbaugh responds to the news that President Barack Obama picked Sonia Sotomayor as his Supreme Court nominee by calling her a reverse racist for some comments she made — ASAP…without waiting for even a few hours to pass after the announcement. It’s instant negativity and name calling.

Then former Speaker Newt Gingrich follows suit.

In fact, according to CNN, Gingrich is even demanding she withdraw her nomination:

Rush Limbaugh isn’t the only one calling Sonia Sotomayor a racist. Newt Gingrich is, too — and he’s demanding that Obama’s pick to the Supreme Court withdraw her nomination.

On Twitter, Gingrich pointed to a line in Sotomayor’s 2001 speech to a Hispanic group in Berkeley that has drawn fire from some conservatives.

“I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life,” Sotomayor said in that speech, describing how life experience can inform judicial opinions.

On Wednesday, Gingrich tweeted: “Imagine a judicial nominee said ‘my experience as a white man makes me better than a latina woman.’ new racism is no better than old racism.”

But Gingrich and Rush aren’t alone:

Last night on MSNBC, former Republican House member Tom Tancredo declared that Judge Sonia Sotomayor “appears to be a racist” and indicated she would only be confirmed because she’s a Hispanic woman:

Now the White House has responded to Gingrich. Details here.

You have to watch this unfold and wonder: is James Carville or Paul Begala setting GOP strategy on this?

One statement acccusing her of racism is “Oh, well…”

Two is: “Hmmm. Is this a coincidence?

Three means it will be perceived, rightfully or wrongfully, as emerging as a talking point — that will become identified with the party, whether some party bigwigs want it to be one or not.

In instance after instance since Obama’s 2008 election and the Democratic sweep of Congress, the GOP is proving itself to be not so much “stuck on stupid” as much as “stuck on preaching to its (already convinced) choir.” It seems oblivious to the fact that OTHER voters — from critically important ethnic and age demographics — need to be courted which means being at least partially on the same cultural wavelength. Today’s Republican party is seemingly Super-glued to the slash-and-burn, characterize and demonize conservative talk radio political culture.

It’s hard to imagine that a party that has problems with independent voters and Latino voters so going out of its way to repel voters it needs, unless there is a Democratic mole inside the GOP instigating these comments.

Calling her a racist will get lots of publicity but it’s going to drive many Hispanic voters away in droves. And so will the faces delivering this message: the well-fed, sizeable face of multi-millionaire private- jet-owner Limbaugh, sitting in front of his mike, and the very familiar face of Gingrich. Many Americans (who are not millionaires or who aren’t conservative Republicans) will look at and compare the two GOPers’ life narratives with that of Sotomayor.

Even worse: many independent voters, Democrats who may not be enamored with Obama, and moderate Republicans have already distanced themselves from the GOP. This latest barrage at Sotomayor now clearly is part of a pattern: no matter what the issue, the GOP is responding now with demonization in attempts to stir up hot button resentments and/or political rage.

And even worse for the GOP: its unlikely to resonate among the younger voters the GOP will need to regain footing in the 21st century.

So, except for getting nods of approval and cries of “That’s the way, go get ‘em!” from Republicans, what gains will Republicans (via talk shows, Gingrich and weblogs) make in accusing Sotomayor of being a racist — except, rightfully or wrongfully, causing some on the fence to conclude that those Republicans raising the racism issue could perhaps be mistakenly talking about what they are seeing when they look in the mirror?