Remember how our new best friend Manny Miranda said the following about the Sotomayor debate?
“Hispanic polls, Hispanic surveys, indicate that Hispanics think just like everyone else. We’re not like African-Americans. We think just like everybody else. When I was on the leader’s staff, someone called me once and asked me: ‘What’s Senator Frist’s Hispanic agenda?’ I said, ‘low taxes, better education, more jobs ... what are you talking about?’ And that’s how Hispanics are. This is an opportunity to educate them on all of our issues and they will resonate in the way that they resonate with everyone else.”
Keep that in mind as you look at the following results, which show that the GOP's campaign against Sotomayor has been a huge fizzle.
Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 5/31-6/4. All adults. MoE 2% (No trend lines)
Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Sonia Sotomayor?
Fav Unfav
All: 56 29
Dem: 81 6
Rep: 18 73
Ind: 57 25
White: 48 38
Black: 70 9
Latino: 82 5 (See that, Manny?)
Northeast: 67 16
Midwest: 59 25
West: 57 26
South: 45 44
The South really is a different world than the rest of America, and that's because it is dominated by Republicans, which have lost all touch with the rest of their fellow Americans. The differences are stark. And it's not just the expected split between Democrats and Republicans, but the inability of Republicans to bring a significant number of independents along.
In any case, the Republicans have settled on two talking points in their attacks against Sotomayor -- that she is racist, and that "empathy" is an unwelcome trait in a Supreme Court Justice. Do Americans agree?
Based on what you know or have heard about Sonia Sotomayor do you think she is a racist?
Yes No
All: 8 61
Dem: 4 74
Rep: 19 28 (53% undecided)
Ind: 6 68
White: 10 54
Black: 4 71
Latino: 2 83
Northeast: 4 71
Midwest: 6 65
West: 8 64
South: 13 48
Good to see Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich in that fringiest of fringe 8 percent. It's certainly where they belong. It's also interesting that the combined might of the right wing noise machine, which has spent the last two weeks screaming about Sotomayor's racism, has had such little effect. Even Republicans, so quick to believe whatever crap Fox News and Rush feeds them, are unsure -- their undecideds on this question are unnaturally high. They hear what their media heroes are saying, but they can't quite square that with what their eyes and ears tell them. Thus, less than a fifth of Republicans buy the charge.
So that first talking point has been an epic fail. What about the stuff about "empathy"?
Do you think empathy is an important characteristic for a Supreme Court Justice to possess or not?
Yes No
All: 52 29
Dem: 73 12
Rep: 18 56
Ind: 54 28
White: 41 39
Black: 81 4
Latino: 79 4
Northeast: 63 18
Midwest: 55 25
West: 53 27
South: 41 42
18-29: 63 17
30-44: 47 34
45-59: 55 26
60+: 46 35
You learn something new every day, and what I learned from the Sotomayor nomination is that "empathy" is a dirty word to conservatives. Who knew! This is the crowd that is constantly talking about private charities helping out the needy, but apparently they hate charity as well, since you can't have charity without empathy.
Unfortunately for Republicans, empathy is an American value, and it once again puts them out of the mainstream. I included the age numbers in this question because they are particularly salient -- the youngest generation is certainly one highly attuned to notions of injustice (hence the strong support for gay rights, among other things). The 30-44 cohort is the one that came of age during the Reagan years and is the most Republican. The boomers are Alex Keaton's parents, and the 60+ crowd just want everyone else to get off their lawn.
But that millennial generation is by far the most empathetic -- a trend that will compound GOP efforts to win those voters over to their side.
So both talking points have been utter failures. Bottom line?
Based on what you know or have heard about Sonia Sotomayor do you think she is qualified to become Supreme Court Justice or not?
Yes No
All: 54 26
Dem: 80 5
Rep: 15 74
Ind: 55 21
White: 46 35
Black: 67 5
Latino: 83 4
Northeast: 66 12
Midwest: 57 21
West: 55 22
South: 41 45
Not even close. Sotomayor will sail smoothly into the Supreme Court. And the more Republicans persist with their crazy talking points, the further out on the fringe they'll end up. Eight percent!
And a bonus finding:
Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Rush Limbaugh?
Fav Unfav
All: 27 65
Dem: 10 84
Rep: 64 30
Ind: 22 68
White: 37 57
Black: 2 92
Latino: 3 77
Northeast: 14 80
Midwest: 23 71
West: 25 70
South: 42 45
Sotomayor is more popular than Rush even in the South.