The Times’ Adam Nagourney writes:

President Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court has put the Republican Party in a bind, as it weighs the cost of aggressively opposing Mr. Obama’s attempt to put the first Hispanic on the high court at a time when the party has struggled with sharp setbacks in its effort to appeal to Hispanic voters.

The Republican Party has been embroiled in a public argument over whether to tend to the ideological interests of its conservative base or to expand its appeal to a wider variety of voters in order to regain its strength following the defeats of 2008. Many conservatives came out fiercely against Ms. Sotomayor as soon her name was announced, denouncing her as liberal and promising Mr. Obama a tough nomination fight.

The only question for the GOP, writes John Cole at Balloon Juice, is whether to filibuster the nomination:

If they decide not to filibuster, all that remains is a balancing act for them – how to not do a bunch of damage to themselves by way of hyperbolic statements that will be played on infinite loop in heavy Hispanic areas in the 2010 midterms, but at the same time still making it look like they are throwing some red meat to the base to keep the fundraising money coming in to the coffers.

Hyperbolic… you mean like Mirengoff’s Che “joke”?

Who knew that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s classic turkey-slaughter TV interview would usher in a golden age of uncomfortable, Thanksgiving-themed television ads featuring conservatives? Two ads that surfaced in the past few days qualify in separate categories for Slaughtered Turkey Awards.

The Slaughtered Turkey Award for Racial Harmony goes to what is either the last TV ad of the presidential campaign or the first Sarah Palin reality-show promo. When last heard from, the Our Country Deserves Better PACwas running a spot that associated now-President-elect Barack Obama with Che Guevara, Palestinians, Hamas and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright (saying, “God damn America”). Now the PAC, the brainchild of former California state Rep. Harold Kaloogia, offers “Thank You, Sarah Palin,”a 30-second spot with brief testimonials from a convincingly amateurish crew of grateful Palin admirers, including a man who may be the first dark-skinned person the PAC has presented who isn’t supposed to be evil.

The Slaughtered Turkey Award for Awkward Editing goes to Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss, who appears to be groping a granddaughter with an exuberant one-handed hug at the end of a TV ad with a family-photo-type setup that should have provided harmless help for Chambliss’ U.S. Senate run-off election today. The false move is so blatant it’s got to be an innocent faux pas — but one that should have found a home on the cutting-room floor after one look.

“Thank you, Sarah Palin” (Our Country Deserves Better PAC)

Saxby Chambliss ad (Chambliss for Senate)

The missing link here is Sarah Palin stumping for Saxby Chambliss over the weekend: