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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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To: cripplecreek

When will they learn that acting like a democrat will not reel in democrat voters?

They will always vote for the real thing, not the “cheap imitation”.

Find conservative principles and stick to them for a change!

That kind of honesty might actually bring in some votes instead of all this “big tent’ BS.


21 posted on 05/28/2009 7:11:46 AM PDT by Califreak (Stammer Lee, TOTUS and Beltway Bob have turned 1600 into a circus)
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To: RexBeach

Any Hispanic who would be offended by the GOP opposing a Marxist judge who happens to be Hispanic is voting democrat in all events already.


22 posted on 05/28/2009 7:12:05 AM PDT by MBB1984
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To: ontap

I gurantee you this is how establishment Republicans see it.

The Republicans are going to have to pick their poision. Lose hispanics or lose conservatives. They aren’t going to keep both.


23 posted on 05/28/2009 7:12:20 AM PDT by Brookhaven (The Era of Reagan is NOW)
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To: Zakeet

Oh yes. More reasons why the Pubbies should cave in. As if they don’t have enough already.

Sotomayer’s appointment means the end of private gun ownership.

Voting for Republicans has been a waste for the most part anyhow. They presided over the destruction of our economy which is continuing apace.


24 posted on 05/28/2009 7:12:22 AM PDT by Seruzawa (Obamalama lied, the republic died.)
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To: Zakeet

Another BS article written by another POS.


25 posted on 05/28/2009 7:12:33 AM PDT by freekitty (Give me back my conservative vote.)
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To: RexBeach
Hispanics? We don’t have any Hispanics.

That's the way I see it too. Any conservative hispanics that we do have on our side don't want Sotomayor in the Supreme Court either. The DemocRATS' treatment of Gonzalez and Estrada sure didn't hurt the 'RATS in 2008.

26 posted on 05/28/2009 7:13:27 AM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (You can't build a "wind farm" without "Big Oil's" petroleum products.)
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To: Zakeet
Not a problem.
27 posted on 05/28/2009 7:14:09 AM PDT by pabianice
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To: Zakeet
Republicans risk much more if they don't do anything.

They need you to think you will look like a racist if you don't confirm the LaRaza Latina.

28 posted on 05/28/2009 7:14:20 AM PDT by SQUID
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To: Zakeet

When the Republicans nominated Latino judges, the Democrats went beserk. The Democrats would like their left-leaning Latino buddies to control the Latino vote. This is really a turf battle over political influence in the Latino community. A similar thing happened in the African-American community back in the ‘60’s.


29 posted on 05/28/2009 7:15:13 AM PDT by popdonnelly (The greatest crimes in history have been perpetrated by governments. You've been warned.)
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To: SQUID

Conservatives in general need to start completely blowing off any and all accusations of “racism”.

They’ve let it “work” for too long. In so doing, they’ve trained the left to use it whenever they are faced with opposition.


30 posted on 05/28/2009 7:16:20 AM PDT by MrB (Go Galt now, Bowman later)
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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

Yes mark, it's so much better to allow the continued slaps at white people,and heterosexual people, and Christians just so that the party can grow.

And those people who work to attain a goal should always be passed over for some affirmative action baby, just because they're the wrong color.

Go to hell mark & take those other guys who want folks on their knees to colin powell with you...
31 posted on 05/28/2009 7:16:35 AM PDT by novemberslady
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To: Zakeet

Ignore the NY Slimes and their attempts at making a valid objection to an unqualified candidate to be racist. The NY Slimes is irrelevant.


32 posted on 05/28/2009 7:19:28 AM PDT by kevinm13 (Tim Geithner is a tax cheat. Manmade "Global Warming" is a HOAX!)
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To: Zakeet

Aha...the times is worried and wants to scare the Republicans....especially the RINOs.


33 posted on 05/28/2009 7:20:45 AM PDT by capt. norm (Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups.)
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To: kevinm13

Hispanics have sure helped the idiot Republicans to win elections, haven’t they!

Keep your head up your ASS, RNC!


34 posted on 05/28/2009 7:20:48 AM PDT by gathersnomoss (General George Patton had it right.)
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To: Luke21

Big time.


35 posted on 05/28/2009 7:22:23 AM PDT by Inwoodian
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To: Zakeet

Do Democrats lose Hispanics when they attack Alberto Gonzalez?????


36 posted on 05/28/2009 7:22:41 AM PDT by Always Right (Obama: more arrogant than Bill Clinton, more naive than Jimmy Carter, and more liberal than LBJ.)
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To: Zakeet

“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.”

O.K., I think I get the logic: the only way Republicans can get Hispanic votes is to never oppose their positions, no matter how liberal. Because to (rightly) oppose a liberal, if that liberal is a member of a preferred minority group, will cost you votes with that group.

Therefore, abandon all principle, stand for nothing, and just pander.

Yeah, that’s a winner.


37 posted on 05/28/2009 7:24:13 AM PDT by SharpRightTurn (White, black, and red all over--America's affirmative action, metrosexual president.)
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To: Zakeet

The GOP could have had a large number of people of Latin American descent, but unfortunately the Dems long ago “claimed” anyone whose family ever spoke Spanish. There actually are conservative voters, mostly from Cuba and Central America, but you’d never know it if you listened to Dem identity politics.

Be that as it may, I think it would be possible to oppose Sotomayor without “losing” “Hispanics,” whom we don’t have in the first place. Contrary to Freeper opinion, La Raza is not supported by most persons from Spanish-speaking families; it is a radical leftist California invention that made inroads in places that had universities. I think she could easily be opposed on the basis of her strong La Raza connections, because it’s a radical organization, has ties with ACORN, and is far from automatically respected among Latin American-descent communities in the US.

The best thing to do would be to fight it and be honest. We’re not losing anybody; and we may actually gain people, including Hispanics, if we stand up and explain exactly why her race-based positions are wrong. One of the firefighters was Hispanic, btw, and Hispanics have often been discriminated against in favor of less qualified blacks, so they may actually be more interested than we think in this argument.


38 posted on 05/28/2009 7:24:15 AM PDT by livius
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To: RexBeach

In the liberals mind, democrats opposing Clarence Thomas was putting at risk the black vote? Bullshi*. This is nothing but a straw man argument.


39 posted on 05/28/2009 7:24:23 AM PDT by KC_Conspirator
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To: SeaHawkFan

Ill say! Have you checked the NYT’s stock price?

As Burt Reynolds once said in “Smokey and the Bandit,” “bub-bye, babbbby!”


40 posted on 05/28/2009 7:25:48 AM PDT by RexBeach ("Do your duty in all things." Robert E. Lee)
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