Note to media: Sen. Hatch previously touted the importance of diversity in context of judicial nominations

After their attacks this summer on then-Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor over comments she made about the importance of diversity on the federal bench, the conservative media is now targeting Judge Edward Chen, President Obama's nominee for the district court in Northern California, for previous comments he's made on the subject. In doing so, conservatives have twisted the statements of both Sotomayor and Chen to attack them. It is worth noting, however, that in 2003, while debating President Bush's nomination of Miguel Estrada to be a judge, then-Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said that "Hispanics have reinvigorated the American dream, and I expect they will bring new understandings of our nationhood, that some of us ... might not fully see with tired eyes."

In 2003, Hatch said:

The Hispanic experience, in fact, sheds new light on the debate we have been having about ideology in judicial confirmations. Many new Hispanic Americans have left countries without independent judiciaries, and they are all too familiar with countries with political parties that claim cradle-to-grave rights over their allegiances and futures.

I have a special affinity for Hispanics and for the potential of the Latin culture in influencing the future of this country. Polls show that Latinos are among the hardest working Americans . That is because like many immigrant cultures in this country, Hispanics often have two and even three jobs. Surveys show they have strong family values and a real attachment to their faith traditions and they value education as the vehicle to success for their children.

In short, Hispanics have reinvigorated the American dream, and I expect they will bring new understandings of our nationhood, that some of us some of us, Madam President--might not fully see with tired eyes.

Without trumpeting the overused word ''diversity,'' I have made it my business to support the nominations of talented Hispanics for my entire career in the Senate. I hope that the desire for diversity that many of my Democrat colleagues say they share with me will trump the reckless and destructive pursuit of injecting ideology into the judicial confirmations process as we move forward on this particular nomination.

In Spanish-speaking churches all over this country and in every denomination, Hispanics sing a song called DE COLORES. This means OF MANY COLORS. It celebrates the many colors in which we all are created.

Hispanics know they come in many colors, with all kinds of backgrounds. They enjoy among themselves a wide diversity already. They left behind countries filled with ideologues that would chain them to single political parties. Latinos share a commonsense appreciation of each other's achievements in this country without any regard whatsoever to ideology, over which some Americans have the luxury of obsessing. [Senate floor speech 2/5/03]