Putting ‘Temperament’ Aside, Republican Votes Yes on Obama Court Pick

Remember Sonia Sotomayor?  Yep, that's right, Obama's pick for Supreme Court…there was a lot of attention paid to her a couple of weeks ago when she had her hearing in front of the Senate.  Well, we finally have an update. Sotomayor has passed the first round of voting in her confirmation process.  Today the Senate Judiciary Committee passed her nomination.  The vote broke along party lines.  That wasn't unexpected.  Her name will now go in front of the full Senate for a vote.     There was one very interesting (although we knew it was coming) wrinkle.  Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina broke with his party and voted yes.  Here's what he had to say:  "I gladly give her my vote because I think she meets the qualifications test that was used in [Justices] Scalia and Ginsburg…and if she by being a woman on the court, will inspire young women, particularly Latino women to seek a career in the law, that would be a good thing." "I feel uncomfortable doing that. I really do. So I base my vote on qualifications, and I came away after the hearing believing that she was well qualified," he said calling her "competent, not just qualified" and "left of center, but certainly within the mainstream." "What she will do as a judge, I think, will be based on what she thinks is right, and that's not me saying that or hoping that. That's based on a 12-year record, where I haven't seen this activism that we all dread, and should reject," he added. It's all interesting because it was Graham who caught some heat during the hearings when he asked the nominee if she thought she had a "temperament problem"?  Various folks jumped on the comment saying Graham would never have asked that of a male judge with a reputation for being tough. The full and final vote coming in August.  Sotomayor is expected to be confirmed.