But when an open-minded senator like Hatch is able to vote no, citing differences in judicial philosophy — even after giving Hispanic leaders hope that he would be a “yes” vote — the Utah senator effectively provided political cover for those more ready to disregard the Latino political community.
On the House side of Capitol Hill, the lower number of GOP districts has not diluted the harsh anti-immigrant conservatism of Republicans like Rep. Steve King of Iowa, who argues that President Barack Obama’s election has deepened ethnic divisions.
“Instead of marching forward and following the principles of Martin Luther King Jr., [Obama] has set up a political system of delivering political favoritism to minority-serving groups. It divides Americans, and it insults us,” King said.
“There’s been legislation that’s been brought through this House that sets aside benefits for women and minorities. The only people that it excludes are white men,” he added. “Pretty soon, white men are going to notice they are the ones being excluded.”
Texas Rep. Pete Sessions, the Republican in charge of his party’s campaign to pick up House seats in the 2010 elections, does not look at what Obama has done for Hispanics but, rather, at how Obama’s policies might be hurting everyone, regardless of color.
“Jobs are always an attractor or a detractor for families to be successful, and Hispanics have seen the demise of jobs by the Democratic Party,” Sessions said.
Some Republican Party elders and strategists warn the party will not emerge from its minority status until it figures out how to reach out to the ever-expanding Hispanic population.
But Latinos also have to prove in future elections that their turnout and influence in 2008 were not a fluke and that there are real political consequences for those who ignore them.
A key opportunity could come in Texas, where Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is expected to step down from her seat — setting up a special election — in order to run for governor. The state’s other senator, Republican John Cornyn, heads the Senate GOP’s campaign committee.
Latino leaders are primed to turn GOP senators’ opposition of Sotomayor into a campaign issue next year. Maybe they can. Or maybe the economy will be the issue that trumps all others.
Gebe Martinez is a longtime journalist in Washington and a frequent lecturer and commentator on the policy and politics of Capitol Hill.