Former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) says Sonia Sotomayor "appears to be a racist." At issue is Sotomayor's 2001 comment that she "would hope that 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 live."
Critics have hit her on this point, but the word "racist" hasn't been thrown around quite so openly as the outspoken Tancredo invokes it here, distilling quite plainly the essence of the criticism:
It is incredible to me. There is no one else I can think of who could have possibly said the kind of things she said, if they were reported accurately, about the benefits of being a brown woman as opposed to being a white man in interpreting the law, and nobody could look at that and say that that was not a racist, sexist statement that would disqualify anybody else...[s]he is a Hispanic woman, and therefore we can't say things like this...I'm telling you, she appears to be a racist. She said things that are racist--in any other context, that's exactly how we would portray it, and there's no one that would get on the Supreme Court saying a thing like that except for a Hispanic woman.
Whether or not this line of criticism is politically wise is another question.
Really, Mr. Tancredo? Nobody else you can think of? I can think of someone else who could possibly have said things like that. I'll give you a clue, here's what they said:
"Look at what happened to Miami. It has become a third world country. You just pick it up and take it and move it someplace. You would never know you're in the United States of America. You would certainly say you're in a Third World country. Moreover, the sheer size and number of ethnic enclaves devoid of any English and dominated by foreign cultures is widespread. Frankly, many of these areas could have been located in another country."
Ring a bell, you xenophobic blowhard?
Dumb, dumb, dumb. The smart play for the GOP would have been to hold their fire until the confirmation hearings, and avoid the race issue at all costs. Instead, they now look like a bunch of angry old men who are obsessed with race.
This seems to be the GOP talking point for today and probably the foreseeable future:
1. Tancredo: "Sotomayor appears to be a racist."
2. Gingrich: "Sotomayor is a racist and should withdraw."
The rest of the day will have other prominent Republicans saying the same thing.
And if anyone here is the racist, it would be Tancredo:
1. "...undocumented immigrants are coming here [to America] to kill you and to kill me and our families.” (2003)
2. “Throughout history, people who are not white Anglo-Saxon have become American by adopting a white Anglo-Saxon culture. Today, this cult of multiculturality emphasizes our differences — things that pull us apart instead of bringing us together.” (February 2009)
3. "... immigrants who fail to 'become American' by adopting 'white Anglo-Saxon culture' are a destructive force in America."
4. "Latinos and Muslims are members of 'problem' cultures."
Let me distill everything you need to know about Tancredo's opponents. A few years ago, he proposed taxing money sent out of the U.S. in a certain form; much of that is money that was earned illegally. A company you've heard of profits from that flow and, not happy with someone trying to reduce their ability to profit from that flow - including money earned illegally - began donating to Tancredo's opponent. Virtually anyone who opposes Tancredo has some sort of profit motivation, or is just a useful idiot for those who do.
In the case of Daniel Swartz, the first quote he provides was taken out of context. In fact, way back in 12/07 I discussed how Max Blumenthal misled about Tom Tancredo in the same way. As for the others, see this. Irony!
A white dude just can't get a break, eh Tom?
Hold on - Tom Tancredo is attacking a hispanic as being racist? Projection much?
The way it works is that non-racist statements from Tancredo are presented as racist by MSM hacks and Dem operatives. Meanwhile, all the endless racist or borderline racist or just plain anti-American comments from Hispanics are explained away or ignored.
Nice pimping of your own blog there, mate.
I really like how you're willing to treat Hispanics as a single mass, while Tancredo, who has, in fact, said some pathetically racist stuff, a fact that should be minimized only inasmuch as it detracts from the brain-searing stupidity that emanates from his pie hole at on other subjects.
Why are idiotic comments from Tancredo reported on and not comments from the treasurer of an advocacy group and a random person in the crowd?
Because Tancredo is a member of the House of Representatives and former Presidential candidate.
Person says something stupid is kind of like dog bites man. Member of the federal legislature says something stupid is a bit more man bites dog, you know?
First of all, I thought we lived in the United States --- you know, FIRST AMENDMENT!!!! IF, and I use the word "if" on purpose, any white or black --- woman or man --- were to do or say any of the things Sotomayor has done or said, they would be held out to dry. Until we as a nation can just begin to look beyond race we will all suffer. We will be much better off when we quit EXPECTING one segment of society to "give up" their position in exchange for promoting another segment --- equality is equality. This is not to say there hasn't been, nor is there currently not, any discrimination going on AGAINST ALL of us. As an older woman, I KNOW I have been victimized by age discrimination. Mr Tancredo has a right to say what he is saying --- not only because we live in a free society, but Ms Sotomayor has said things as well. I go back to my prenmise --- get over the race issue and realize we are all human beings.
The problem with that attitude, at least as it applies to race, is that discrimination has effects that reach across generations. The century of active discrimination that followed the abolition of slavery left a disproportionate number of African Americans, for instance, in blighted urban areas, impoverished, and under-educated. Merely removing the active discrimination against them in, for instance, college admissions does not repair the problem, because you're dealing with a segment of the population that has so many disadvantages from day one that they simply cannot compete effectively against middle class suburban white kids in college admissions.
The point of race-based admissions and other affirmative action policies is that if you give the best of those communities a chance they wouldn't otherwise have, they'll take it and make something out of it. And by doing so, you speed up the process of getting people on a level playing field to start.
And that's why a post-racial society isn't viable at the moment - because the game is rigged from the start. And the reason we do things like actively seek to put a Latin-American on the Supreme Court is because we're working on removing the disadvantages that start from day one.
Strictly speaking, her comment was not "racist." She was not proposing the genetic superiority of Hispanics. She *was*, however, proposing the cultural superiority of Hispanics. That proposal deserves to be addressed. And it is clear that the comment is sexist. Had a white male said what she said, but in reverse, liberals would be screaming and rightly so.