Conservatives in Washington are venting anger at Democrats for derailing the nomination of Miguel Estrada for a D.C. Court of Appeals seat. “Racism,” the National Review calls it. A “hate crime,” according to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. “Two- faced Democrats,” rages Robert Novak.

Crocodile tears, all of them. The assertion that Democrats are racist and refused to rubber-stamp Estrada just because he is Hispanic is so completely ludicrous that the GOP must think Americans will believe anything. Even the timing of the withdrawal is suspicious, coming on the same day Democrats gathered in New Mexico for a debate to be broadcast nationwide on Univision, the largest Spanish-language network in the U.S. The GOP is already trying to make this a campaign issue for the coming election.

Of course, it’s all nonsense; Clinton nominated far more minority judges than Bush has, and the GOP blocked the nomination of not one, but three Hispanic judges. Richard Paez, a Mexican-American nominated by Clinton, was held up for four years by Republicans, including a filibuster, which the GOP is now demonizing the Democrats for (the same kind of filibuster that Bush now wants outlawed). It is hard to get more hypocritical than that.

Estrada was one of a line of ultra-conservative minority judges Republicans have been trying to get through so they can put on the token appearance of multiculturalism without having to actually accept multiculturalism itself. Just as with Clarence Thomas–an embarrassment to the Supreme Court–the GOP is looking for young, militantly conservative minority judges with little or no track record so they can stack the courts and at the same time look like they are being inclusive. It is racial exploitation at its worst, using members of an ethnic minority against the plurality of the members of that minority–and then calling whomever objects a racist.

It is especially galling for the GOP to hypocritically play the same race card they always accuse the Democrats of playing, and to pretend that they are somehow the champions of Hispanic values, at a time when the administration and its party are working to attack issues that Hispanics tend to favor. The GOP is dedicated to wiping out Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity laws to promote fair hiring, to require English-only education, cut off education and medical services for illegal immigrants, and have been on the wrong side of just about every issue important to the Hispanic community. But hey, the president speaks Spanish! That oughta be worth something! And he managed to find a token ultra-conservative Hispanic judge to nominate. Well, you sold me!

The reason why the GOP is so hot on trying to win over Hispanics is because they know the demographics as well as anyone. Hispanics passed blacks as the largest minority in the U.S. in 2001, comprising 13% of the population, and are growing very fast. Already a key voting bloc, Hispanics will be invaluable in the future.

The GOP is trying its best to attract that demographic without actually serving the interests they deem valuable. Instead of actually trying to do things to help the Hispanic community, Republicans are giving little more than lip service, are standing up token Hispanic appointments in front of a nearly all-white membership, and are taking every effort to smear Democrats as racist and anti-Hispanic.

Well isn’t that special?