Sotomajor Day 2

I still can't pick out a definable GOP strategy as far as Congress goes, at this point... but it seems the usual suspects intend to characterize her as an "affirmative action" hire... here's Steve Benen's apt summary:

The right wants Americans to believe Sotomayor is a "racist." George Will, using language we're going to hear a lot of over the next couple of months, insisted that Sotomayor "embraces identity politics," including the notion that "members of a particular category can be represented -- understood, empathized with -- only by persons of the same identity." Pat Buchanan, always a paragon of respect and tolerance, described her as an "affirmative action pick."

Michael Goldfarb, after scrutinizing Sotomayor's efforts as an undergrad in 1974, suggested this morning that Sotomayor "has been the recipient of preferential treatment for most of her life."

And Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) believes, without proof, that Sotomayor's ability "to rule fairly without undue influence from her own personal race, gender, or political preferences" is in doubt.

It's been one day. It's only going to get worse.

There's been some speculation that part of the pick was to set-up this very bear trap for the conservative base... that the temptation to get very ugly very quickly from the Limbaugh wing was going to be impossible for them to resist, damaging the GOP even further with Hispanics and women. I don't believe it was really all that Machiavellian of a nomination, but there does seem to be some dangerous ground here for conservatives.

UPDATE: Jeff Sessions, ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee and he of dubious racial sensitivity, says "I Don't Sense A Filibuster In The Works." So 1 day in we've only seen the base take the bait, not the Senate.