The great strategist takes to the Wall Street Journal op-ed page again today:
The media has also quickly adopted the story line that Republicans will damage themselves with Hispanics if they oppose Ms. Sotomayor. But what damage did Democrats suffer when they viciously attacked Miguel Estrada's nomination by President George W. Bush to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, the nation's second-highest court?
And the situations are pretty much identical, except that the GOP has a bad reputation among Hispanics and the Democrats don't, and the Supreme Court plays an ever-so-slightly larger role in the public imagination than the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Actually, the most interesting thing about Rove's op-ed is that he finishes by conceding that Sontomayor will probably be confirmed and there's not much Republicans can or should do to stop it:
While the next two to four months of maneuverings and hearings may provide more insights into the views of Mr. Obama's pick, barring an unforeseen development -- not unheard of in Supreme Court nominations -- Judge Sotomayor will become the second Hispanic (Benjamin Cardozo was Sephardic) and third woman confirmed to the Supreme Court. Democrats will win the vote, but Republicans can win the argument by making a clear case against the judicial activism she represents.
--Jonathan Chait