Mike Allen from Politico.com (a savvy political commentator) is Hugh Hewitt's guest today on his conservative talk radio show.
Mike told Hugh that Sonia Sotomayor has been thoroughly vetted. Those two little quotes that Big_E posted are just about the only things that could be construed to stand against her (which are nothing). On some key rulings, she did not vote in ways that conservatives can peg her as a liberal:
Key cases reveal few Sonia Sotomayor clues - Josh Gerstein and Eamon Javers - POLITICO.com
Mike Allen says that behind the scenes, most senators are saying this is a very smart pick (even the senators who may vote against her).
Arlen Spector voted for her the first time around (when he was a republican) and gave indication he will vote for her again.
Spector today:
I applaud the nomination of Judge Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Her confirmation would add needed diversity in two ways: the first Hispanic and the third woman to serve on the high court. While her record suggests excellent educational and professional qualifications, now it is up to the Senate to discharge its constitutional duty for a full and fair confirmation process.
Republican Olympia Snow also voted for Sonia the first time around (when Sotomayor was nominated by the First Bush) and gave indication she will do so again.
Snowe's reaction:
Indisputably, this is an historic selection, as Sonia Sotomayor is just the third woman to be nominated to The Court and the first Hispanic American. I commend President Obama for nominating a well-qualified woman, as I urged him to do during a one-on-one meeting on a variety of issues in the Oval Office earlier this month."
The reason I am going through some of these repuiblican votes is: It will be next to impossible for republicans to fillibuster this woman if all these supporters stick to their vote.
Independent Joe Lieberman also praised Sotomayor today:
President Obama made an impressive choice by nominating Judge Sotomayor for the position of associate justice for the Supreme Court. Judge Sotomayors career represents the best of the American dream and she possesses distinguished and superior legal credentials. I look forward to the upcoming hearings and I hope that there is a bipartisan effort to ensure a fair confirmation process.
There are other republican senators who helped get Sotomayor through in 1998 that are still in office : Sens. Robert Bennett (R-Utah), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Susan Collins R-Maine), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) joined a unanimous slate of Dems in pushing Sotomayor through by a vote of 68-28.
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My gut instinct tells me: if republicans and conservatives go overboard in trying to demonize Sotomayor as a "rabid activist liberal judge" (which is what some talk-radio hosts are doing today), which she certainly is not, then republicans and conservatives will face a backlash. She
is "empathetic". She was born poor and sees the world through the eyes of a latina woman born in a housing project in the Bronx.... who graduated with honors at Princeton and Yale. Obama gave us a nominee precisely as he described his "ideal" might be last year. The hispanic voters will be very sensitive to republican tricks and swift-boating of a respected hispanic woman nominee. Republican senators and republican talk-show hosts and republican cable news networks should stick to authentic disagreements and not try to trump up fake controversies like they do with gays. Hispanics are a much larger voting bloc and republicans will pay at the voting booth.