Could Votes Against Sotomayor Make The GOP A ‘Permanent Minority’ Party?

The Senate is currently in session to debate on the final confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. She will get the nomination considering that all Democrats are likely to vote for her, however it is expected that only 6 Republican Senators will vote in her favor.

In the Judicial Committee phase, the only Republican Senator voting in favor of Sotomayor’s nomination was Senator Graham. Yesterday, Senator McCain joined the chorus of the  Republicans’ “hardliners”, and  expressed his opposition to the nomination.

There is one thing that Republican Senators should keep in mind, especially in States like Texas, Arizona and Nevada; it is  the demographic factor. The three States in question have a very large Hispanic population, and it is likely that a vote against Sotomayor will be perceived as a vote against the Latino community at large.

Needless to say, once a comprehensive immigration bill is brought before Congress again, and some form of amnesty is finally passed to offer access to US citizenship for some of the 12 million illegal immigrants currently living in the US; the re-election prospect for Republican Senators, who voted against Sotomayor nomination, in States with a strong Latino population will be very slim.

This latest move from the GOP seems to be a political suicide, complementing the general strategy of becoming the party of “Just say NO”. No to Sotomayor, No to health care and No to any kind of meaningful economic reforms. Just saying no, is not a political agenda, but just the ultimate form of obstructionism on the part of the GOP.

It is ironic  that after the re-election of George W. Bush in 2004, Karl Rove was actively  working on giving the GOP a permanent majority. The Republicans votes against Sotomayor will make  Karl Rove’s dream practically impossible for many years to come.