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For Republicans, Court Fight Risks Losing Hispanics to Win Conservatives
New York Times ^ | May 27, 2009 | Adam Nagourney

Posted on 05/28/2009 6:56:11 AM PDT by Zakeet

President Obama’s selection of Judge Sonia Sotomayor for a seat on the Supreme Court has put the Republican Party in a bind, forcing it to weigh the cost of aggressively opposing the first Hispanic named to the court against its struggle to appeal to Hispanic voters.

The Republican Party has been embroiled in a public argument over whether to tend to the ideological interests of its conservative base or to expand its appeal to a wider variety of voters to regain its strength after the defeats of 2008. Many conservative activists and political strategists came out fiercely against Judge Sotomayor as soon her name was announced, denouncing her as liberal and promising Mr. Obama a tough nomination fight.

“The G.O.P. has to make a stand,” said Scott Reed, who managed Bob Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign. “This is what the base and social conservatives really care about, and we need to brand her a liberal with some out-of-the-mainstream positions. Forget about cosmetics and ethnic heritage, and focus on her record.”

But some Republicans warned that the image of the party’s throwing a roadblock before a historic nomination could prove politically devastating. Republicans saw a dip in Hispanic support in 2008, after eight years in which President George W. Bush and his political aides made a concerted effort to increase the Republican appeal to Hispanics, the nation’s fastest-growing group of voters.

“If Republicans make a big deal of opposing Sotomayor, we will be hurling ourselves off a cliff,” said Mark McKinnon, who was a senior adviser to Mr. Bush and has long advocated expanding the party’s appeal. “Death will not be assured. But major injury will be.”

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 111th; affirmativeaction; gop; hispanicvote; racism; racists; scotus; sotomayer
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1 posted on 05/28/2009 6:56:11 AM PDT by Zakeet
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To: Zakeet

Hispanics? We don’t have any Hispanics.


2 posted on 05/28/2009 6:57:12 AM PDT by RexBeach ("Do your duty in all things." Robert E. Lee)
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To: Zakeet

The communist propagandist Nagourney weighs in. Oboy.


3 posted on 05/28/2009 6:57:25 AM PDT by Luke21
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To: Zakeet
When the Democrats opposed a Republican nominee to the Supreme Court solely because the man was Hispanic did they alienate the Hispanic populace?
4 posted on 05/28/2009 6:57:59 AM PDT by gitmo (History books will read that Lincoln freed the slaves and Obama enslaved the free.)
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To: RexBeach

I don’t think taking advice from the NYT is a smart idea.


5 posted on 05/28/2009 6:58:02 AM PDT by SeaHawkFan
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To: Zakeet

“losing” Hispanics?

LOL . . . how can you lose what you don’t have in the first place, Adam?

Furthermore, shouldn’t your focus be on the racism of Hispanics which is implied in your article? Why don’t you address THAT?


6 posted on 05/28/2009 6:58:15 AM PDT by A_Former_Democrat
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To: Zakeet

The GOP would be making a mistake to take advice from the NYT. Better to take a short run hit (and I’m unconvinced that this is going to occur) and win in the long run based on consistent values.


7 posted on 05/28/2009 6:59:07 AM PDT by RKV (He who has the guns makes the rules)
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To: Zakeet

Obama is appointing a member of the HISPANIC KKK to the Supreme Court, and the Obama-worshipping media is telling us NOT to oppose it???

Imagine if Bush had appointed David Duke??


8 posted on 05/28/2009 6:59:34 AM PDT by tcrlaf ("Hope" is the most Evil of all Evils"-Neitzsche)
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To: Zakeet

If the Republicans do not fight against this blatant activist racist judge being appointed to the supreme court, with every weapon at their disposal, the republican party is DEAD.


9 posted on 05/28/2009 7:00:22 AM PDT by HamiltonJay
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To: Zakeet

LOL -=- the hispanics need to hot foot it back to where they came from.


10 posted on 05/28/2009 7:02:00 AM PDT by Tarpon (You abolish your responsibilities, you surrender your rights.)
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To: Zakeet

They can’t lose the hispanics they don’t have. Any hispanics who vote republican do so in spite of race, not because of it.

Race politics is the democrat game and republicans can’t win it.


11 posted on 05/28/2009 7:05:32 AM PDT by cripplecreek (The poor bastards have us surrounded.)
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To: Zakeet

Consider the source. The Old Grey Whore knows that The Chicago Mobster has selected a clunker.


12 posted on 05/28/2009 7:06:30 AM PDT by Redleg Duke ("Sarah Palin...Unleashing the Fury of the Castrated Left!")
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To: Zakeet
For Republicans, Court Fight Risks Losing Hispanics ...

John Amnesty for Illegals McCain got only about half the Hispanic vote GW Amnesty for Illegals, too Bush got. And Bush got less than 50% of the Hispanic vote.

So, their pro-Amnesty didn't get them very much.

If the right-of-center opposes Sotomayor, they won't lose the Hispance vote, because they didn't have much of it anyway.
13 posted on 05/28/2009 7:06:30 AM PDT by TomGuy
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To: Zakeet

Phony argument...Obamas policies will hurt the Mexicans as much as anyone else. If they are aware they are getting hurt by his policies they will vote him out. If they are to stupid to see that then it doesn’t matter they are zombies to the liberals and we will not get their votes. Communists vote four other communists. We should follow our principles where ever that leads us.


14 posted on 05/28/2009 7:06:46 AM PDT by ontap (Just another backstabbing conservative)
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To: Redleg Duke
For Republicans, Court Fight Risks Losing Hispanics to Win Conservatives

Oh, yeah. I forgot that they were mutually exclusive. Oh, wait a second, that's what liberals say.
15 posted on 05/28/2009 7:07:23 AM PDT by aruanan
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To: SeaHawkFan

Yes, by all means avoid advice from Marxists. They are wrong on just about every issue.


16 posted on 05/28/2009 7:07:31 AM PDT by MBB1984
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To: RKV
The GOP would be making a mistake to take advice from the NYT. Better to take a short run hit (and I’m unconvinced that this is going to occur) and win in the long run based on consistent values.

My view as well. The statistics that I've seen say that by 2020 the Hispanics will be 18% of the U.S. population. If so they will have a large say in who gets elected in this country. Like it or not that is where we are heading.

The only good news in this for Republicans is that the Hispanics are basically conservative at heart. What we need to avoid is letting the Dems make them a permanent "minority" in terms of dependence on the Government. Obama sees this quite clearly - he wants to make everyone dependent on the government - so we have our work cut out for us.

Give that, sticking to our principles is the only viable long term solution. It may hurt now but we are the tortoise in this race and we just need to keep up the faith, keep our nose to the grindstone, stick to our core beliefs and when the Obamathon comes crashing down we can pick up the pieces, including a big chunk of the Hispanic vote, and begin to repair the damage.

Just my $.02.

17 posted on 05/28/2009 7:08:07 AM PDT by InterceptPoint
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To: A_Former_Democrat

Yeah, the GOP might “lose the black vote” as well,

and perhaps the “bitter single female vote” would be in danger...


18 posted on 05/28/2009 7:08:15 AM PDT by MrB (Go Galt now, Bowman later)
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To: Zakeet

NY Times/Leftist trying to scare Republicans because they know if there was real scrutiny on this candidate it would be an embarrassment to the Democrats/Obama.

The Republicans need to take the fight up and don’t worry about the result. Fight for what is right and everything else will take care of itself. Unfortunately the Republican Party has not been acting this way.


19 posted on 05/28/2009 7:08:31 AM PDT by truthandlife ("Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God." (Ps 20:7))
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To: Zakeet
“If Republicans make a big deal of opposing Sotomayor, we will be hurling ourselves off a cliff,” said Mark McKinnon, who was a senior adviser to Mr. Bush and has long advocated expanding the party’s appeal...

LOL! How has that worked out for you and the GOP since 2006, you clown?

Stand up and fight dirty - fight like a liberal!

20 posted on 05/28/2009 7:11:30 AM PDT by bill1952 (Power is an illusion created between those with power - and those without)
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