Congratulations to Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Hers was the first nomination of a progressive judge since Bill Clinton appointed Stephen Breyer fifteen years ago. In the national debate over her nomination, we saw a preview of what's to come in future nomination battles. Given the ages of the judges, we will likely see from one to four appointments before Obama leaves office.

In Sotomayor's case, conservative opponents focused largely on race divisions. If the next Obama nominee is a minority, we will likely see more of the same. If the next nominee is white, the focus will change, but the approach will not. Before Sotomayor's nomination vote, we witnessed a very aggressive, very hostile right wing. Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Newt Gingrich called Sotomayor a racist. A number of other conservative pundits called her language racist. While most Republican legislators tepidly avoided such incendiary language, in the upside world of conservative politics, the talk show hosts have larger megaphones than the politicians. They will continue to use those megaphones to incite their audiences with increasingly provocative statements, particularly if future elections diminish the power of Democrats in the Senate, making the success of Obama's nominations less certain. If a conservative judge resigns, we can expect an all out war.

That war will take the form of accusations that nominees are anti-Christian, anti-gun, and pro-homosexual. For some foreshadowing of future talking points, review this letter from James Dobson's Focus on the Family Action. It predicts that by 2013, progressives courts will discriminate against Christian professionals, ban Christian radio and television stations, teach "homosexual choice" to schoolchildren, and outlaw private gun ownership. The apocalyptic tone from outlets like Dobson's will permeate the talk shows that have already been veering towards paranoia. In the past few years, we've seen popular talk show hosts adopt the extremist language of the far right, from anti-immigration hatred to the "war on Christmas" delusion to the "birther" conspiracy theory.

So buckle your seatbelts, America. It will be a bumpy ride.