An endless parade of conservatives have called Sonia Sotomayor a racist. They include Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich, Tom Tancredo, Tucker Carlson, Ann Coulter, Glenn Beck, and others.

How dare they???

Did they ever observe Sotomayor engage in racist behavior? Did they ever hear her use a racist smear against a non-Latina? Did she ever spit at someone or sic a dog on them? Did she ever burn a cross on their lawn or hang them from a tree?

How dare they???

Calling someone a racist is a serious defamation. If Sotomayor were not a public figure, she could sue them for major damages. In an earlier day, she would have challenged them to a duel.

Maybe she should sue their asses, just to show them what disgusting lowlifes they are.

Update 1: David Neiwert documents some of the actual racism of Sotomayor's accusers.

Update 2: Roberto Lovato says Latinos are watching Republicans closely:

millions of Latinos will watch what for them is a historical event of the utmost political and intimate importance. Many of these Latinos will be watching to see any signs of the racism and xenophobia many Latinos blame the GOP for and voted overwhelmingly against in the last election. Latino voters will, for example, be vigilant about what GOP Senate Judiciary members like Jeff Sessions say before and during the hearings.

Earlier this month, reports linking Sessions, the ranking Republican on the committee, to anti-immigrant hate groups filled Spanish-language media. According to the Washington-based America’s Voice, the Alabama senator has appeared at several events organized by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), NumbersUSA, the Federation for American Immigration Reform and other groups designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center and other organizations as “hate groups.”

Anything in this must-see Latino political event resembling the anti-immigrant rhetoric that has been Sessions’ trademark will cost his party for years to come. Such concerns about GOP leaders among Latinos, who are only beginning to realize their enormous political potential, pose a gigantic dilemma to a Republican Party that must make inroads among Latino voters if it is to have a political future.