That’s the headline from Rasmussen Reports on its analysis of its latest survey of public opinion on the Sotomayor nomination. Even more striking is that the survey shows that more Americans believe that the Senate should defeat her nomination than confirm it—by 39% to 37%. That’s within the survey’s 3-point margin of error, to be sure, but it reflects a net 10-point swing against Sotomayor from two weeks earlier.

I have no illusions that this (perhaps temporary) shift in public sentiment towards Sotomayor makes it realistic to imagine that her nomination might be defeated. But I think that it does illustrate that Sotomayor’s rejection of the ideal of colorblindness and her deep-seated quota mentality are unpopular with broad swaths of the American public—and that Senate Republicans can profitably develop these themes as the basis of their opposition to Sotomayor.