Republican Rage over Sotomayor Similar to Anita Hill, Terri Schiavo Hysteria

I predict that conservative smashmouth reactions to Judge Sonia Sotomayor will prove to be as painfully memorable to Latino voters as was the searingly sexist Republican grilling of Anita Hill in 1991 to women voters.

I also predict that conservative complaints about Judge Sotomayor will prove to be as sensationally inaccurate and misguided as cruel 2005 Republican claims that Terri Schiavo was merely a handicapped person in need of rehabilitation. (The autopsy conclusively revealed that Ms Schiavo's brain was severely damaged, composed mainly of liquid, and incapable of cognition.)

The political result of both landmark events was to profoundly push certain voting groups away from Republican politics:

• women, due to the cuttingly disrespectful treatment of Anita Hill by Republican senators, and
• independents, by the eager willingness of shrill social conservatives to use federal legislation to impose the religious right agenda on a private family matter.

Per Huffington Post reporter Sam Stein:

"Top-ranking Republican strategists who specialize in Hispanic outreach say they are outraged, disturbed and concerned by the type of reception Barack Obama's pick for the Supreme Court has received from conservative activists...

"The rhetoric has been enough to make Republican strategists in heavily Latino states cringe -- concerned that such slights could cement Democrats advantages among a growing and increasingly influential political constituency...

"... said Lionel Sosa, one of the more influential Hispanic media advisers in the GOP. "I'm not surprised at Rush Limbaugh but I'm very surprised at Speaker Gingrich... He must realize how his rhetoric, if it does influence any Hispanics, how damaging it could be. This [confirmation] is something that is going to happen anyway... they are either not aware of the impact Latinos will have on the next election or they don't care.'"

Indeed, Latino voters made the crucial difference in turning several previously red states, including Colorado and New Mexico, into Democratic blue in the 2008 presidential election.

At a time with Republican voter rolls are hemorrhaging profusely from every demographic group except white over-40 frequent churchgoers, Republicans can ill afford to offend one of the fastest-growing segments of the voting population.

I find conservative kneejerk hysteria over Judge Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination, and all-but-inevitable seating, puzzling and a bit stupid for two reasons:

First, the judge's long judicial record reveals a consistently centrist liberal, who sides with so-called conservative views almost as much as she does liberal perspectives. "Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s judicial opinions are marked by diligence, depth and unflashy competence... they are usually models of modern judicial craftsmanship, which prizes careful attention to the facts in the record..." reports the New York Times.

For in-depth analysis of Judge Sotomayor's record, I recommend you read the following, for starters:

• Los Angeles Times: Sotomayor's Record Sets off Few Ideological Alarm Bells
• New York Times: Nominee’s Rulings Are Exhaustive but Often Narrow
• Media Matters: Myths and Falsehoods Surrounding the Sotomayor Nomination
• Yale Daily News: At Yale, Sotomayor Was Sharp But Not Outspoken

Second, despite what rosy political polls say, I don't believe that President Obama is faring all that well in office, thus far:

• He's riled up a huge portion of the Democratic base by reversing innumerable sacred campaign promises.
• His stimulus package hasn't (yet) accomplished its goals of jump-starting the economy.
• His kid-glove handling of greedy bank executives has been woefully ineffective to restart consumer lending.
• He was soundly rebuked even by Democrats when the Senate refused to fund closure of Guantanamo until he produced an actual plan.
• He has disappointed the gay community time and time again with broken promises and lukewarm, hedged pledges of support.

And that's only a partial list...

Logically, this is an opportune time for the Republican party to make inroads with independents and dissatisfied voting groups.

Instead, over Judge Sotomayor's nomination, top Republican white male leaders have stupidly indulged in a frenzied paroxysm of hysteria-based, fact-challenged conservative rhetoric unseen since... well, Anita Hill and Terri Schiavo.

No wonder the Republican party now holds "its worst positioning against the Democrats in nearly two decades," per Gallup.

(Both photos provided by the White House via Getty Images: #1 of Judge Sonia Sotomayor with her mother, Celina Sotomayor; #2 of Sonia Sotomayor at her 8th grade graduation from a Bronx middle school.)