Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has done a good bit of babbling over Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor this week. He’s so proud of her that today, he confessed that she gives him “piel de gallina.” That would be “goosebumps” for all you gringos out there. The good senator was obviously trying to be nice by, you know, speaking her language. But throwing bad Spanish at the country’s first Latina Supreme Court nominee is akin to questioning Justice Clarence Thomas in Ebonics. How much more patronizing can these guys be? Next we’ll have Sen. Kyl demanding, “comprende Senora?” after one of his windy questions. It just shows why it might be a good idea to have a little more diversity in high places. A “wise Latina” might have prevented Whitehouse from making such an embarassing gaffe. Or at least she could help him with his accent.
Follow our live coverage of the Sotomayor hearings here.