Tom Tancredo the outspoken conservative opponents to the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. On May 28, 2009, he made an appearance on CNN to voice his opposition and claimed that Sotomayor was a racist. When CNN's Rick Sanchez asked him if Sotomayor was a racist, Tancredo replied "certainly her words would indicate that that is the truth." He then compared the Hispanic-American advocacy group La Raza to the Ku Klux Klan by saying "it's a Latino KKK without the hoods or the nooses." On February 4, 2010, Tancredo spoke at the National Convention for the Tea Party movement where
Sonia Sotomayor Supreme Court nomination no speech can fully capture my joy in this moment." Sotomayor was formally invested in the Court on September 8, 2009, in a special session. Former President George H. W. Bush defended Sotomayor and blasted former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh for accusing her of being racist, calling it "not fair" and "not right". Bush also lauded Sotomayor for her "distinguished record on the bench" and stated that she was entitled to a fair hearing. Former First Lady Laura Bush stated that Sotomayor was an "interesting pick" and believes that Sotomayor is a