Is this a joke? Why is it "insensitive?"
Because he calls a spade a spade.
"One outraged Republican strategist claimed, “If Alito were a liberal there would be no way Democrats and Washington’s media elite would use such a racially insensitive nickname. Italian-Americans should not have to face these types of derogatory racial slurs in 21st century America.”
I like the name. Getting your panties in a wad over it sounds like something a PC liberal would do.
On the face of it, it isn't truly insensitive.
However, as was noted, if this had been Rush or some other conservative pundit coming up with a similar name for a Democratic nominee, the MSM and the usual suspects (Chuckie Schumer, Teddy "Hic" Kennedy, "Dirty" Harry Reid and others) would be having a royal hissy fit over it.
Yet ANOTHER case of "your left-wing hypocracy in action".
Good question. I'm half Italian (my father was born in Italy), and I don't see any insult here. Besides, "Italian" is not a race. Italians are Europeans; Caucasians.