UPDATED: More “Latina Woman” woes
Written by Eric Boehlert
Published
We called this one, right?
Yesterday we predicted the press would echo the GOP claim that Sen. Patrick Leahy had taken Judge Sonia Sotomayor's “Latina woman” quote out of context during his questioning of her at the hearing. And yes, we noted the irony considering the “Latina woman” story only exists because it's been ripped out of context and that the Beltway press categorically refuses to provide any context.
Well, here's the AP dutifully repeating RNC talking points. (Irony points are doubled because the AP spun RNC talking points within a “Fact Check” feature):
LEAHY SAID: “You said that, quote, you 'would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would reach wise decisions.'”
THE FACTS: If that's all Sotomayor said, the quote would barely have mattered to opponents of her nomination. The actual quote, delivered in a 2001 speech to law students at the University of California at Berkeley, was: “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.”
Leahy's revision dropped the controversial part of the phrase, the part that has attracted charges of reverse racism.
Message from AP: Context is king!
Oh brother.
The AP lectures a Democrat for leaving out all the important stuff regarding the “Latina woman” quote, while the AP itself leaves out all the important stuff regarding the “Latina woman” quote.