NationalJournal.com's Lucas Grindley spoke with La Raza's president, Janet Murguia, about whether these voices have harmed the Republican Party's standing among Hispanics, a growing part of the electorate.

"I think we've demonstrated a new level of engagement -- civic engagement and political engagement -- in this 21st century, and that's something that ought to be noted before people start spouting off falsehoods, like Tom Tancredo," she warned.

Murguia said critics like Tancredo are vestiges of a split in the GOP after the immigration debate, which she said has "paralyzed" Republicans' response to Sotomayor.

Read the interview with Murguia.