On Sotomayor, Rush Plays the Catholic Card

2 years ago

0 Comments Say Something »

Text Size

Mary C. Curtis

National Correspondent

Author Bio »

Contact Author »

Subscribe :

First it was Newt Gingrich who backed off comments calling Sonia Sotomayor a "racist."

Now, it's Rush Limbaugh having a change of heart. Actually, Limbaugh still stands behind his view that the judge nominated by President Obama would "bring a form of racism and bigotry to the court."

But he says he may support her because, as a Catholic, she might turn out to be pro-life.

I'm not quite sure what to make of this.

Is it trading one stereotype for another? Will the militant Puerto Rican oppressor who once would ignore the law in cases concerning race now ignore the law in abortion-rights rulings? I'm kidding here, OK?

Or is Limbaugh trying to recast himself as a measured and reasoned commentator, ready to give an accomplished jurist the benefit of the doubt? That can't be it.

Sotomayor has not made much mention of her faith, though, if confirmed, she would be the sixth Catholic on the court. But the court is not a church, and the votes of Catholic judges are not so easily forecast, whether you look at abortion, gay rights, stem-cell research and the death penalty, or social welfare and poverty issues that also resonate in church teaching.

Limbaugh's pronouncement is most likely the latest attempt by Sotomayor's critics to treat her as a collection of identities and grievances instead of a person.

Filed Under: Abortion, Supreme Court, Woman Up

Tagged: rush limbaugh, RushLimbaugh, sonia sotomayor, SoniaSotomayor

Our New Approach to Comments

In an effort to encourage the same level of civil dialogue among Politics Daily’s readers that we expect of our writers – a “civilogue,” to use the term coined by PD’s Jeffrey Weiss – we are requiring commenters to use their AOL or AIM screen names to submit a comment, and we are reading all comments before publishing them. Personal attacks (on writers, other readers, Nancy Pelosi, George W. Bush, or anyone at all) and comments that are not productive additions to the conversation will not be published, period, to make room for a discussion among those with ideas to kick around. Please read our Help and Feedback section for more info.