The opening statements that are taking place this morning as part of Sotomayor's confirmation hearings are little more than formalities. But Sen. Herb Kohl seized the moment to be provocative, making a not-so-veiled reference to Sotomayor's controversial "wise Latina" comment. It seems that Kohl views the nominees' "richness of experience" with regards to being Latina similarly to the way he views her "richness of experience" judging federal law. I'd be interested to know if he believes her judicial experience is superior to other judges based on criteria as as ambiguous and irrelevant as race.
