I'm actually the rare breed of Italian-American (actually I'm 100% Sicilian with a notorious surname who looks the part) who doesn't mind the mob stereotype so much! Actually in my own small ways I do my part to encourage it! :-)
The Scalia/Scalito thing has more to do with a superficially similar sounding names and a similar philosophy, not some kind of bigotry, I think.
That being said, it will be more ornery if they try to create an innuendo connecting him to organized crime. That IS bigoted, and I think Chris Matthews read something earlier that one of the Dem talking points is that Alito lost an organized crime case years ago, creating an innuendo that he is somehow 'weak' vs organized crime (wink, nod, place finger up against nose and smile).
That really stinks.
That's an interesting statement to me. Many many years ago I had a Sicilian-American friend who would get rather perturbed about being called 'Italian.' "I'm Sicilian! Not Italian. Got it?" I got it but not everybody did and, in spite of the fact that he was at least two feet shorter than I am, I was never even tempted to needle him about it.
So I am wondering; are you especially egalitarian or was he particularly biased?