Is Michael Steele Asking Conservative Commentators to Committ Media Malpractice When Discussing Sotomayor?

The GOP chairman raised some eyebrows this morning while substituting for radio host Bill Bennett by chastising fellow Republicans for criticizing Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor:

“I’m excited that a Hispanic woman is in this position,” Steele said. He added that instead of “slammin’ and rammin’” on Sotomayor, Republicans should “acknowledge” the “historic aspect” of the pick and make a “cogent, articulate argument” against her for purely substantive reasons.

Steele warned that because of the attacks, “we get painted as a party that’s against the first Hispanic woman” picked for the Supreme Court.

He also said that conservatives should refrain from speaking against Sotomayor because of how the overly liberal media outlets like MSNBC would react.

I personally like Steele, but he seems to have a Biden-like knack for putting his foot in his mouth. I wholeheartedly disagree with him on this issue.

Now, I'm not saying that we should just name call and make up stories to discredit her, but there should be a honest vetting process of his nominee by the press. We cannot be afraid to criticize her because the left will call us bigots. If we failed to vet her, we would committing media malpractice just as the media did when they failed to vet Obama properly.

Many people were "afraid" to vet Obama because he was the first black that had a legitimate chance at the White House. It wasn't right then, and it wouldn't be right if we didn't vet Sotomayor because she was the first latina nominated to the Court.

The "Affirmative Action" label probably should be avoided because there is no real proof that a reason why Obama picked her was her race or gender, but her quotes, legal rulings, and stances on legal issues are fair game.

As long as her race and gender are not used as reason why she shouldn't be confirmed and critics make a well-thought out and relevant case against her, it shouldn't hurt them with Hispanics. They must take the case to them, though. Maybe go on Spanish tv and radio to make their case why Sotomayor is outside of the mainstream and isn't right for the Supreme Court. Perhaps, they should also give a couple of alternatives of other Hispanic women that would be better suited for the highest court in the land.