Gingrich on Sotomayor: "Latina woman racist should also withdraw"

Not mincing words. And with Twitter, there really isn't space to. You have only 140 characters.

So Newt Gingrich took full advantage of the popular online messaging medium and let everyone know that Obama Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor (or "Maria" to Mike Huckabee) should step aside.

"White man racist nominee would be forced to withdraw. Latina woman racist should also withdraw," he said.

O'Connor

He was reacting to a line in a speech given by Sotomayor eight years ago where she gave her take on Sandra Day O'Connor's position that "a wise old man and wise old woman will reach the same conclusion in deciding cases."

Sotomayor disagreed with O'Connor's conclusion stating: "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."

Racism

That's straight-up racism in the minds of many. Their argument is simple. All you have to do is reverse it.

"Imagine a judicial nominee said 'my experience as a white man makes me better than a latina woman,' Gingrich said in an earlier tweet. "New racism is no better than old racism."

Gingrich was commenting on the issue in what appears to be a day after he visited Auschwitz. He is part of a film project chronicling Pope John Paul II's pilgrimage to Poland.

"Disgusting"

The fact that he would express his feelings on the nominee a day after touring the concentration camp has disturbed some on the left. Take Jeffrey Feldmann, for example. He writes on the Daily Kos:

According to Newt Gingrich's Twitter Timeline, the former Speaker of the House is using Twitter to push GOP talking points about Sonia Sotomayor being a "racist" while he is visiting the Auschwitz concentration camp memorial -- where millions of people were killed and imprisoned as a result of real racism.

Let me repeat that: Newt Gingrich, touring a memorial of the perils of actual racism, using his Blackberry or cell phone (not sure which) to tweet GOP talking points -- from Auschwitz -- about Sonia Sotomayor being a "racist."

Actually, according to the Twitter timeline, it appears to be a day later. And what if the former Speaker believes that Sotomayor's comments are racism? Shouldn't he be allowed to express them?

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