Notepad

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., thinks that Sonia Sotomayor, who is almost certain to be the first Latina Supreme Court justice, may have "some 'splaining to do" and Michael Steele, the first African American chairman of the Republican National Committee, says he has the "fried chicken and potato salad" if minorities want join him at the Grand Old Party.

Even outside of those spectacularly odd comments, it's been a rough week in minority outreach for a GOP that has struggled mightily to appeal to black and Hispanic voters.

The nation's Hispanic press, led by La Opinion, has portrayed Republican senators as unnecessarily harsh toward Sotomayor, who has become a unifying figure for a diverse U.S. Hispanic population.

"Sotomayor under fire from Republicans," blared a La Opinion headline this week.

"They are digging their own grave here," said a Democratic leadership aide who pointed out the string of events to Notepad.

At the very least, senators should probably avoid 1950s television stereotypes -- like Coburn's reference to Desi Arnaz's admonition to Lucille Ball on "I Love Lucy" -- when questioning Supreme Court nominees.

*UPDATE: Republican strategist Leslie Sanchez says Republicans and Democrats have not always treated Sotomayor well during her bright-light interrogation:

"Overall, it's been a respectful hearing, but there have been moments from both Democrats and Republicans that have made Hispanics cringe, Democrats for patronizing us and Republicans for appearing tone deaf," Sanchez said. "The overall impression for Hispanics from these hearings is to see just how far we really have to go. Both sides seemed to view Sotomayor as a Latino who happens to be a judge, not a judge who happens to be Latino." *