Maybe not "racism", but "racialism"

In the current Barbara Boxer kerfuffle, she is probably more guilty of racialism than racism. There's a difference in usage if not etymology; the American Heritage Dictionary defines racialism as

a. An emphasis on race or racial considerations, as in determining policy or interpreting events.
b. Policy or practice based on racial considerations.

This appears to be the correct word to use, even those it is suppose to mean the same thing. This is the core fallacy of the racial identity politics of the left which–encountering a member of an ethnic group–pushes all considerations aside other than his or her membership in a voting bloc. Racialism of this sort may seem kinder and gentler than cross-burning, but it is objectification of a person nonetheless.