Sotomayor, Global Warming, and Health Care

There was time, not that long ago, when California wasn't all that liberal. One Republican governor after another was elected, and it was only Democratic leadership in the state legislature that kept California from being a very red state. But things change, and the driving force of change in California was Republican governor, Pete Wilson. Pete decided that it would be a good idea to attack illegal immigration in a way that equated being Hispanic with being an illegal. Now there was a good idea. Wilson decided to antagonize the fastest growing minority group in, not just California, but the entire nation. Within a decade, Hispanic voters in California, became solidly Democratic voters, and Republicans became an ever shrinking minority in the golden state.

I tried to watch as much as the Sonia Sotomayor confirmation hearings last week, and as I watched, all I could think about was Pete Wilson. Hispanics are still the fastest growing minority group in the United States, and Republican panel members chose to use there time on live television to attack Sotomayor on ethnic grounds. I don't think I've ever heard the word "Latina" used in such a pejorative manner, as I did last week. And when Tom Coburn decided to imitate Ricki Ricardo, well it was California circa Pete Wilson all over again. If Hispanic voters weren't overwhelmingly Democratic two weeks ago, they are now.

To hell with bipartisanship. I applaud the Repugs for committing electoral suicide. The fight against global warming can't be won with market based solutions. It's the market system that got us into this mess to start with, and as long as there is a significant Republican presence in Washington, the market will continue to fight any attempts to solve problems that aren't inherently a source of profit. When I read how Repugs are hoping to turn health care reform into Obama's Waterloo, I realize that bipartisanship isn't possible. So thank you, Judge Sotomayor. The racial hatred shown by Jeff Sessions, Tom Coburn and their ilk, will help to shovel the Republican party onto the dung heap of history.

P.S. to Tom Coburn. Ricki Ricardo was Cuban, not Puerto Rican.