We have learned that Sen. Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (R-AL) has a favorite Puerto Rican jurist -- Jose Cabranes. Sessions demanded to know why Judge Sotomayor did not follow Judge Cabranes' lead

Interestingly, Sessions was very critical of Judge Sotomayor's involvement, as a member of the Board of Directors, of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund. Sessions seemed not to know that his favorite Boricua judge, Cabranes, was also a member of the Board of the PRDLEF. Now right wing groups allied with Sessions and following his lead are running an ad attacking Sotomayor as a "terrorist."

The question needs to be asked of Sen. Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (R-AL) (the KKK sympathizer; the person who said the NAACP was a "commie" group and who berated a white lawyer who worked for civil rights as a "disgrace to his race"), what do he and his allies make of the fact that their favorite Puerto Rican jurist, Jose Cabranes, was also a member of the "terrorist" group - the PRLDEF?

You can view this video right here by getting the latest version of Flash Player!

DOWNLOADS: (2098)

PLAYS: (4327)

For Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, white men deserve preferential treatment. Given his stated sympathies for the KKK, this is hardly surpising. But it is worth noting. In his opening statement, Sessions said, Sessions said:

I will not vote for — no senator should vote for — an individual nominated by any President who believes it is acceptable for a judge to allow their own personal background, gender, prejudices, or sympathies to sway their decision in favor of, or against, parties before the court.

(Emphasis supplied.) Yet, Sessions voted for Samuel Alito, who testified in his confirmation hearings that he does take his own personal background and sympathies into account as a judge.

Sessions demands preferential treatment for white men. He clearly applies a stricter standard to persons who are not white men. Given his history, this is hardly surprising. But it is also the perfect embodiment of the Republican philosophy.

h/t to Media Matters.

[Poster by Favianna Rodriguez for Presente.]

The Right is throwing every little bit of ugliness they can at Sonia Sotomayor in hopes of derailing her nomination to the Supreme Court.

They've called her a racist. They've compared the National Council of La Raza to the Ku Klux Klan. They've called her a "lightweight" and "anti-white." They've suggested she lacks the right temperament, since she's just another stereotypical hot-blooded Latina. They've even suggested she's unfit to be a judge because she menstruates.

OK, we get it, fellas. The kid gloves are off.

Presente has organized a grassroots campaign to let ordinary citizens send the following message to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee:

We are outraged by the smear campaign against Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Instead of discussing her record, right-wing activists have sought to question Sotomayor’s intelligence and temperament, and suggested that her racial identity will prevent her from ruling fairly. This thinly veiled racism and sexism is not only insulting to Sotomayor, it's an affront to anyone who believes that a nominee should be judged on her record, not her heritage or skin tone.

The reality is that Sotomayor is an accomplished judge who would start with more federal judicial experience than any Supreme Court justice in 100 years. In her more than 3,000 panel decisions and almost 400 opinions, she has consistently protected the rights of working Americans and become one of the nation’s most respected legal minds. Sotomayor is not only a superbly qualified nominee; she is a powerful example of the American dream and knows how the law affects the daily lives of Americans.

I stand with Judge Sotomayor, and urge the Senate Judiciary Committee to give her nomination a speedy hearing and a positive confirmation.

Go here to sign it.

You can view this video right here by getting the latest version of Flash Player!

DOWNLOADS: (86)

PLAYS: (146)

Tom Tancredo continues his media blitz on Hardball with David Shuster giving him a chance to put his racism on display yet again. He refuses to apologize for the La Raza remark and says he's not sure if the Obama administration "hates white people" or not. He also says that the "moderates" in the GOP are the reason they're losing elections. Yes... Tom Tancredo actually thinks the GOP still has moderates in their ranks. Well okay, they've got two.

When Tancredo misstated what La Raza meant and Shuster tried to correct him he just shouted over him. I know if the GOP has any influence with Tancredo since he's not in the Congress any more, but if they do they'd be wise to tell him to get the hell off the air. He's not doing them any favors with these rants.

You can view this video right here by getting the latest version of Flash Player!

DOWNLOADS: (858)

PLAYS: (1775)

Tom Tancredo isn't the first to compare the National Council of La Raza to the Ku Klux Klan. But his use of the comparison not only tells us a lot about Tancredo himself, but also movement conservatism generally and the Republican Party particularly.

It especially tells us a lot about how readily they overinflate their own claims of anti-white racism on the part of minorities, while simultaneously minimizing the horrific terror of groups like the Klan.

Back in January of 2008, Jim Gilchrist -- cofounder of the nativist border-watch group The Minutemen -- used the same analogy on Glenn Beck's CNN Headline News program:

During the segment, Gilchrist compared the National Council of La Raza, which identifies itself as the "largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States," to the Ku Klux Klan. He claimed that a sign in downtown Los Angeles identifying "La Raza Plaza" "is perhaps a racist sign," and asserted that "La Raza and MEChA [the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán] are, in my opinion, the largest organized racial supremacy group in the United States today. And if we're going to have a La Raza Plaza sign, what's next? A KKK Plaza sign, a Black Panther Plaza sign? This goes right to the heart of free speech."

As always, this kind of rhetoric quickly circulates among rank-and-file members of groups like the Minutemen. Last July, Kyledeb of Citizen Orange talked to members of the Minutemen who were protesting NCLR's annual convention and recorded it on video. As you can see above, it's a pretty revealing encounter with the people waving signs equating La Raza with neo-Nazis and the Klan.

Note, however, that this "Ku Klux Klan" meme originated with earlier, similar claims about MEChA -- claims that have since been thoroughly debunked, though they still enjoy considerable circulation on the right.

And who originated the "MEChA = the KKK" claim? None other than Michelle Malkin and Glenn Reynolds, who even went so far as to call MEChA -- in a case of mistaken identity for which he never apologized -- "fascist hatemongers". Moreover, the whole "MEChA is a racist group" meme played a founding role in the whole Reconquista! conspiracy theory promoted by Malkin et. al.

Continue reading »

By now, I'm sure you've seen the footage of Tancredo calling the National Council of La Raza a "Latino KKK." The most recent Republican Presidential nominee, John McCain, should denounce these comments. After all, McCain keynoted NCLR's 2004 conference, and addressed their 2008 convention:

Mel Martinez should join Senator McCain in denouncing Tancredo. Less than three months ago, Martinez prominently accepted a Capital Award from NCLR in recognition of his "outstanding support of public policies that are vital to Hispanic Americans." In his acceptance speech, Martinez asked the crowd to pressure Obama for bolder action on immigration reform:

“We have got to come to an understanding” on immigration, Martinez implored recently at the National Council of La Raza’s gala, where he and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) were honored for their work on behalf of Hispanics. “Comprehensive immigration reform has got to be back on the top of the agenda,” Martinez said. “It’s the right thing to do.”

You can view this video right here by getting the latest version of Flash Player!

DOWNLOADS: (1054)

PLAYS: (2298)

Rick Sanchez brings on Tom Tancredo and Media Matters' Eric Boehlert to discuss the right's accusations that Sonia Sotomayor is a racist and should be disqualified from serving on the Supreme Court. Today Tancredo decided his dose of the crazy on The Ed Schultz Show just wasn't enough and takes it a step further.

h/t Think Progress for the transcript

TANCREDO: If you belong to an organization called La Raza, in this case, which is, from my point of view anyway, nothing more than a Latino — it’s a counterpart — a Latino KKK without the hoods or the nooses. If you belong to something like that in a way that’s going to convince me and a lot of other people that it’s got nothing to do with race. Even though the logo of La Raza is “All for the race. Nothing for the rest.” What does that tell you?

SANCHEZ: Alright. We’re not talking about — we’re not talking about La Raza –

TANCREDO: She’s a member! She’s a member of La Raza!

Thankfully Media Matters' Boehlert was there for a dose of sanity and called out Rick Sanchez who was still quoting Sotomayor out of context and corrects him for his error. Boehlert, the author of the great book "Bloggers on the Bus," called the attacks on Sotomayor a "rush to the gutter by the right". You can watch the entire exchange courtesy of Media Matters here.

John Amato:

I ask once again. Why is Tom Tancredo on my TV? It's all for "conflict." He has nothing to offer and is no longer part of the GOP. He's a former anti-Latino House Republican who ran for president on a racist platform. He's there to call Sonia a racist. That's his function and it's one that he performs well. He's the Mozart of Racism.

You can view this video right here by getting the latest version of Flash Player!

DOWNLOADS: 1805

PLAYS: 3221

(Robert Shelton - Imperial Wizard of the KKK - life of the party)

With the current wave of hatespeak flooding the air and cable, I noticed a striking similarity in all of it; that strange desire to take half-truths, outright lies and fabrications and somehow weave them into plausible, factual events and speak about them with an air of honest-to-God authority.

So I stumbled across an interview done by Marsha Tompkins at WBAI in New York with Imperial Wizard of the KKK Robert Shelton on December 23, 1969, conducted at his home in Tuscaloosa Alabama.

Shelton makes no bones about the fact that he's anti just about everything and every one on the planet. Tompkins makes no bones about being intimidated and doesn't question any of his logic. Which, in retrospect was probably a good thing, because it allowed him to spew and continue spewing in a way that would have ground any other interview to a screaming halt. In this context, Shelton is seen for the person he really was; petty, vindictive, ignorant, arrogant and terrified.

Pick which wingnut personality he most closely resembles today. Without too much trouble you'll probably find a lot. The common denominators are hate and ignorance and an overwhelming fear.

(They would have you believe they are as American as Apple Streudel!)