The nomination by President Obama of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be the first Latina to sit on the US Supreme Court has proved unexpectedly contentious and, for Democrats, increasingly enjoyable as they watch Republicans tie themselves in knots over the choice.
In the past few days the nomination has pitted the Republican Right, full of sound and fury over Judge Sotomayor and led by the conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, against the party’s senators on Capitol Hill.
They are refusing to join grassroots calls to denounce her as a racist over a remark she made in a 2001 speech, and the party is increasingly split over the issue.
The fury of the Republican conservative base has been triggered by a number of things Judge Sotomayor