GOP eases up on criticism of Sotomayor

WASHINGTON (AP) — Leading GOP senators on Sunday offered more subtle criticism of the first Hispanic nominated to the Supreme Court, but passed up the chance to stifle racially charged critiques of Sonia Sotomayor by some fellow Republicans.

The party out of power in Washington is struggling to develop a unified political strategy to oppose the Supreme Court nominee.

Sotomayor, an appeals court judge, already faces scrutiny from conservatives over a 2001 remark that her experiences as a Hispanic woman would lead her to better decisions than those made by a white man. Talk-show host Rush Limbaugh has called her a “racist” while former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, saying a “Latina woman racist” is unsuitable for the court, has called for withdrawing the nomination.

The Senate’s top Republicans didn’t disavow those assessments, although they urged different language to oppose President Barack Obama’s first nominee to the high court.

Those appearing on Sunday’s news shows walked gingerly when it came to criticizing a member of the fast-growing Hispanic population. They risk a potential backlash from their conservative base because Limbaugh and Gingrich hold tremendous sway among the Republican faithful.

“I definitely think we need to have the respectful tone and we need to look at the record,” said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Republican from Hispanic-heavy Texas. “We need to have the responsibilities that have been put on us by the Constitution taken very seriously.”