GOP Struggles to Understand Civil Rights

by Dave Bennion · 2009-07-13 08:00:00 UTC
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Law professor Kevin Johnson ponders the upcoming Sotomayor confirmation hearings and the unfolding political positioning surrounding her past affiliations with Latin@ groups:

To me, one of the amazing parts of the confirmation process has been the treatment afforded relatively mainstream Latino civil rights organizations that Judge Sotomayor had affiliations with,  National Council for La Raza and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (now known as Latino Justice).  Both have been nothing less than tarred and feathered for in effect being racist and, at least according to former member of Congress (and anti-immigrant zealot) Tom Tancredo in talking about NCLR, the Latino equivalent of the KKK.  As Sherrilyn Ifill has written, the making of such wild accusations by mainstream politicians reveals how vulnerable Latinos are in U.S. society.  Could anyone see similar claims made against the NAACP Inc. Fund?

Much of the stigma that certain conservatives have tried to attach to these groups relates to their work on immigration issues.  Tancredo was the public face of the GOP anti-immigrant caucus in Congress.  But these groups do much more than immigration litigation--they work on civil rights issues of broad interest to Latin@s in the U.S.

Why are the leaders of the GOP--in Congress and out--so anxious to alienate Latin@ voters?  At this rate, the GOP will lose Texas in the next 10-15 years.

Dave Bennion
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