Republican support for Sotomayor looks paltry
WASHINGTON -- As the Senate begins debate Tuesday on Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court, the veteran federal judge appears assured of confirmation but without the sweeping bipartisan majority her backers hoped for the nation's first Hispanic high court pick.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the Senate will "make history" with a vote to confirm Sotomayor this week and expressed regret that more Republicans won't be supporting her. "I'm disappointed that not more of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are likely to vote for this outstanding nominee, particularly in light of her record and qualifications," Reid said.
Sen. John Ensign of Nevada became the 28th Republican to announce he will vote against Sotomayor, following Monday's announcement by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that he will vote no. Ensign, in a statement issued by his office, said his doubts about Sotomayor's impartiality led him to oppose President Obama's first Supreme Court nominee.
"I take my responsibility as Nevada's senator very seriously and feel I need to protect the sanctity of our Constitution," Ensign said.
McCain, his party's 2008 presidential nominee, called Sotomayor "immensely qualified" and said her life story was "inspiring," but he said she has complied a "long record of judicial activism" during her 17 years as a federal judge.
Ensign and McCain join a number of Republicans who are opposing Sotomayor despite representing large Hispanic constituencies. Others include Texans John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison and McCain's Arizona colleague, deputy Senate Republican leader Jon Kyl.
Six of the Senate's 40 Republicans have announced they will support Sotomayor.
None of the 60 senators who caucus with the Democrats has announced opposition to Obama's nominee, so the only question is her margin of victory. Democratic Senate leaders plan to make the vote on Sotomayor the last thing lawmakers do before leaving town for a month-long recess. The timing is designed to give Obama something to celebrate as he heads into a bruising debate on health care.
