Serrano: GOP trying to turn American Dream against Sotomayor

Republicans are trying to turn Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s living of the American dream into a negative, Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.) argued Monday.

Serrano, a fellow Puerto Rican-American and one of Sotomayor’s most ardent supporters, said that Sotomayor’s upbringing and background are positives — not negatives — during a conference call organized by the New Democratic Network.

“I was trying to be nonpartisan here, but let’s be honest. It’s the Republicans who preach on a daily basis the American dream,” Serrano said, referencing his own tough upbringing compared to Sotomayor’s, who was raised in a Bronx housing project.

“Can you imagine what it is to get to the Supreme Court? That’s a positive,” he explained.

Serrano said that Republicans who had criticized Sotomayor’s views on race and ethnicity and her comments about how those factors influence her work were out-of-touch with the GOP base.

“It’s a loser because even the Republicans, for the most part, do not believe in what they’re hearing from the talk shows and from some of their activists because they’re not leaders any more,” Serrano said. “I just hope that this is not part of a Latino outreach program by the Republicans because it’s failing miserably.”