All Things Being Equal........

Newt Gingrich says that Judge Sonia Sotomayor is a rascist, and should withdraw her name from consideration for the Supreme Court.

Apprently, the former Speaker, that paragon of marital virtue, reached this conclusion after reading that Judge Sotomayor expressed an opinion that a Latina, having lived that life, would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male "who hasn't lived that life."

The implication of Judge Sotomayor's statement , which is very much based upon the reality we live in, is that a person who had to work harder against prejudices to get to where she is would be better informed than someone who had an easier life. If there is any doubt as to the validity of this, I want to hear it, and it better be good.

Seeing as this is but one sentence of a greater quote in a speech, this is clearly a classic "gotcha" style political attack.

What is also lost on the former Speaker is that all things are not equal. Old racsism is not the same as supposed new racism. This is the same baloney line of attack that the McCain-Palin campaign tried to foist upon the electorate with the entire Jeremiah Wright fiasco. Sorry to say, my fellow white people, but it is really racist for any of us to deny those who had to live through prejudice and racism their commensurate rage, as well as pride, after having experienced being denied the same opportunity and respect.

In fact, former Speaker Gingrich's conlcusion that the same such statements from a white man would cause that man to have to withdraw from consideration only exemplifies this dynamic. In equating the experience of a white male, who, let's be completely honest, dominated the political, social, legal, economic and financial landscape up until only very recent history, with the experience of a Latina wholly discounts the experience of the Latina, which is the core inference of Judge Sotomayor's statement.

So, Toad, er, uh, Newt, and the other fat man, Rush, can take their racist rhetoric and stuff it up their white bums.