POLITICO Contributor Has Interesting Take On Day One Of Sonia Sotomayor Confirmation Hearing

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).

Joe The Plumber Is A Moron

Joe the Plumber, who became the face of the Republican party during the presidential election of 2008, is opening that cesspool of a mouth of his – again. This time, Joe the Plumber is resorting to gay bashing to appeal to the nuts on the far right of the political spectrum. During an interview with Christianity Today, he said the following:

JOE THE PLUMBER: At a state level, it’s up to them. I don’t want it to be a federal thing. I personally still think it’s wrong. People don’t understand the dictionary—it’s called queer. Queer means strange and unusual. It’s not like a slur, like you would call a white person a honky or something like that. You know, God is pretty explicit in what we’re supposed to do—what man and woman are for. Now, at the same time, we’re supposed to love everybody and accept people, and preach against the sins. I’ve had some friends that are actually homosexual. And, I mean, they know where I stand, and they know that I wouldn’t have them anywhere near my children. But at the same time, they’re people, and they’re going to do their thing.

How disgusting is it for this man to come out and say something like that against gay people? That speaks volumes about how he is raising his kids. What if one of his kids happened to be gay? How much damage might he be doing by exposing his children to this brand of homophobia? Based on statements like this, and others made by this man since he popped onto the national scene, I imagine a lot of people would not want Joe the Plumber around them or their kids … and it has nothing to do with his sexual orientation. It does, however, have plenty to do with his hateful mindset.

Think Progress:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/05/04/jtp-gay-friends/