HISPANIC GOP LEADER CONDEMNS RACIST SOTOMAYOR CARTOON

One Last Thing On The Sotomayor Cartoon

I just received this from Mike Collins, of Mike Collins Public Relations in DC. Collins is a former national spokesperson for the Republican Party and one of the principal operatives involved in the 1994 GOP takeover of Congress.

HISPANIC GOP LEADER CONDEMNS RACIST SOTOMAYOR CARTOON

Leading GOP Activist Who Helped Secure Sotomayor Nomination to District Court Demands Apologies from Creators’ Syndicate and Oklahoman;“A depth of ignorance and insensitivity … that is truly appalling,” says Niño

WASHINGTON (June 6) – A prominent Hispanic Republican activist and fundraiser has demanded a formal apology from Creators’ Syndicate and The Oklahoman newspaper in Oklahoma City, OK, for an editorial cartoon circulated by Creators’ Syndicate that appeared in The Oklahoman’s Tuesday editions. The cartoon depicted Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor as a human piñata and President Obama wearing a sombrero with a caption that read, “Fiesta time at the confirmation hearing.”

“This grotesque insult requires a formal editorial apology from both Creators’ Syndicate and The Oklahoman,” said Jose Niño, a former President of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce who, besides co-Chairing the conservative Hispanic Alliance for Prosperity Institute, has been a major fundraiser for the campaigns of President George W. Bush, Senator John McCain and other Republican candidates and conservative causes.

Niño, who heads an international business development and financial services company, is a board member of the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce and previously served on the Small Business Advisory Board of the Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago.

In 1992, he was tapped by then-President George H.W. Bush to secure Congressional support for the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. “In each of my meetings with her, in 1992 and ever since, I have consistently found her to be intelligent, focused and persuasive,” Niño wrote in a letter to Creators’ Syndicate President Richard S. Newcombe and Oklahoman publisher David Thompson. “She and President Obama do not deserve to be portrayed in such an offensive way – nobody does.”

“Having grown up, as I did, in the 1950s and ‘60s, Judge Sotomayor is no stranger to the sting of ethnic and racial hostility. From her earliest days in elementary school, she and millions of other Hispanic Americans faced challenges that, even now, all persons of color must overcome. As a woman she also faced sexism, but as a Latina, she confronted a particularly virulent strain known as machismo. That she nevertheless persevered to be nominated to ever-more influential positions on the federal bench by three different Presidents of both political Parties is an inspiring example to all Americans, and a credit to her courage and determination. Your Syndicate and newspaper should be ashamed for playing to these awful stereotypes in your portrayal of this highly capable woman.”

Noting that Judge Sotomayor is Puerto Rican, not Mexican, Niño wrote that “your depiction of the stereotypical Mexican piñata and sombrero, and your use of the phrase ‘fiesta time’ clearly show a depth of ignorance and insensitivity on your part that is truly appalling.”

The full text of Mr. Nino’s letter to Creators’ Syndicate President Richard S. Newcombe and The Oklahoman’s publisher, David Thompson, follows:

“Dear Mr. Newcombe and Mr. Thompson:

“As a proud Hispanic American of Mexican descent and a lifelong Republican, I am deeply offended by the insulting cartoon that was circulated by Creators’ Syndicate and reprinted by The Oklahoman on Tuesday depicting Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor as a human piñata, President Obama wearing a Mexican sombrero and the caption, ‘Fiesta Time at the Confirmation Hearing.’

“Since Judge Sotomayor is Puerto Rican, not Mexican, your depiction of the stereotypical Mexican piñata, sombrero and use of the phrase ‘fiesta time’ clearly show a depth of ignorance and insensitivity on your part that is truly appalling. Judge Sotomayor and President Obama do not deserve to be portrayed in such an offensive way – nobody does.

“I have been privileged to know Judge Sotomayor since 1992, when I was asked by President George H.W. Bush to urge my friends in Congress to support her confirmation as U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York. In each of my meetings with her, in 1992 and ever since, I have consistently found her to be intelligent, focused and persuasive.

“Having grown up, as I did, in the 1950s and ‘60s, Judge Sotomayor is no stranger to the sting of ethnic and racial hostility. From her earliest days in elementary school, she and millions of other Hispanic Americans faced challenges that, even now, all persons of color must overcome. As a woman she also faced sexism, but as a Latina, she confronted a particularly virulent strain known as machismo. That she nevertheless persevered to be nominated to ever-more influential positions on the federal bench by three different Presidents of both political Parties is an inspiring example to all Americans, and a credit to her courage and determination. Your Syndicate and newspaper should be ashamed for playing to these awful stereotypes in your portrayal of this highly capable woman.

“This grotesque insult requires a formal editorial apology from both Creators’ Syndicate and The Oklahoman, at once. I await your reply.”