Republicans always get these bewildered looks on their faces when it's pointed out to them that there's a clearly racist component to their incessant Hispanic-bashing. Racists? Us? In fact, this response is a highly calculated attempt to make their accusers seem like hyperbolic ranters.

But just watch Sean Hannity and his guests -- Andrew McCarthy of NRO and Jay Sekulow of the right-wing American Center for Law and Justice -- wank forth on the unkind things their fellow right-wing lawyers say about Sonia Sotomayor.

Here are some of the comments about Sotomayor from attorneys who practice before her that Hannity manages to cherry-pick (he lifted this whole from Power Line without crediting them, incidentally):

"She is a terror on the bench."

"She is overly aggressive -- not very judicial."

"She behaves in an out of control manner."

"She is nasty to lawyers."

Of course, from the same source, we can do similar cherry-picking:

"She is very good. She is bright."

"She is a good judge."

"She is very smart."

"She is frighteningly smart. She is intellectually tough."

"She has a very good commonsense approach to the law."

"She looks at the practical issues."

"She is good. She is an exceptional judge overall."

Nonetheless, Hannity and Co. proceed apace, attacking Sotomayor's "judicial temperament" by making it clear that she's just too hot-tempered to be a good Supreme Court Justice:

Sekulow: You know, I do a lot of my practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, and of course the difficulty is, this is the highest court in the land, the final determination on judicial review. There's no other higher court to go to, there's no other -- this is it. And to not have the right judicial temperament not only signals a danger for the litigants before the court, and of course the lawyers, but also for what the law becomes. And that's my concern with this, Sean.

You've got the statements about the setting social policy, the concerns being expressed by lawyers that have argued before her about a lack of judicial temperament -- this is the Supreme Court of the United States we're talking about, and there is no room for error in that regard. And the lawyers have to be able to artfully, quickly, and diligently present their case, but the judges, the justices, have to be able to listen, and that's what I'm concerned about right here.

Hannity: [To McCarthy] ... Um, "She can be difficult, temperamental, excitable, she seems angry, she makes inappropriate outbursts, she is nasty to lawyers." This is ... this is almost a liberal critiquing this show!

Why, it's almost someone describing a classic "hot-blooded and crazy Latina" stereotype.

In fact, it is. And, as usual, using anonymous sources.

And then these guys wonder why Hispanics are fleeing the Republican Party.