Reporting from Washington -- While prominent conservative activists are hurling epithets at President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, more and more Republicans are telling them to chill out.
Senior senators and GOP strategists are trying to steer the debate over Sonia Sotomayor away from the apocalyptic battle cries of conservative icons Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh in favor of a more measured conversation about the legal philosophy and qualifications of the first Latino to be nominated to the court.
"I think it's terrible," Sen. John Cornyn (R- Texas), said in a radio interview aired today, condemning Gingrich and Limbaugh for calling Sotomayor a racist. "This is not the kind of tone that any of us want to set when it comes to performing our constitutional responsibilities of advise and consent." Read more at LAT
Even Michael Steele, in his very unique way, says some conservatives need to back off:
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele suggested Friday that Republicans hold off on "slammin' and rammin'" Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor and instead recognize the "historic aspect" of her nomination.
While guest hosting the Bill Bennett radio show on Friday morning, Steele said he was "excited" to see a Hispanic woman in this position. CNN
Jeff Sessions says he's uneasy:
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said today he was "uneasy" over allegations by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and talk-show host Rush Limbaugh that Sotomayor is racist. Sessions, who lost a 1986 bid for a federal judgeship amid concerns over his own racial sensitivity, said Republicans should focus on Sotomayor's legal record to try to divine what sort of a Supreme Court justice she would make.
"I'm uneasy," Sessions said in a 30-minute interview in his office in the Russell Senate Office Building. "I don't think that's good rhetoric. The question is, has the judge gone too far or not, given the established law of the land?" WaPo
