This is a piece from Julian E. Zelizer, a professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton as published on POLITICO:
It’s Joe the Plumber all over again.Republicans are not going after Judge Sotomayor, they are actually going after the angry white male voters. Senator Graham made that very clear when, talking about her speeches outside the courtroom, he said: “I can just tell you one thing: If I had said anything remotely like that, my career would have been over. That’s true of most people here….” Reduce…
The Republican focus on the New Haven firefighter’s case will amplify these kinds of attacks. One needs only to watch Alexandra Pelosi’s fascinating film on the 2008 election to understand what kind of anger the senators are trying to stir up. If the GOP is serious about remaking itself and appealing to a broader part of the electorate, this is not the way to do it.
My take: I agree and have stated similar things repeatedly about Republicans being dragged (kicking and screaming) into a more diverse future. Sen. Graham has indeed seemed to be working to appease his base of highly conservative and old white men by pounding away at the overblown “wise Latina” comment and (in some other instances) the New Haven firefighters case. Monday was a part of the confirmation hearing where the politicians get to show off for the cameras and the people with their long statements. When it comes time to vote, you will see the prejudice out there and (contrary to what you heard from Sen. Graham) race will play a factor in this decision (it already has by pounding away at the “wise Latina” comment, which generally is taken out of context, and by the portrayals of her based on the New Haven case).
