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WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.), his party's 2008 presidential contender, said yesterday that he would join the vast majority of Senate Republicans to vote against Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who is on track to be confirmed this week as the first Hispanic justice.
McCain's decision, the day before the Senate debates the nomination, underscored the degree to which Republicans - even those who, like the Arizonan, represent large Hispanic populations - have turned against Sotomayor. Conservatives argue that the federal appeals court judge would bring her own biases to the Supreme Court.
At the same time, Sen. Ben Nelson (D., Neb.) - who had been publicly on the fence on Sotomayor and under pressure from gun-rights activists to oppose her - announced he would side with Democrats and vote yes.
Just six Republicans have said they would break with their party to confirm Sotomayor, while nearly three-quarters say they'll oppose her. No Democrats have said they will oppose Sotomayor.
Some in the GOP have faced a tough call about how to vote on President Obama's first high court nominee, torn between an impulse to please their conservative base by opposing her and a fear that doing so could alienate Hispanic voters. The vast majority are lining up with their core supporters against Sotomayor, despite her near-certainty of confirmation.
Sotomayor, 55, would succeed retired Justice David H. Souter. She is not expected to alter the court's ideological balance.
McCain called Sotomayor's background "inspiring and compelling," but he said that was "not enough to qualify one for a lifetime of service on the Supreme Court." He said she "has forsworn judicial activism in her confirmation hearings" but has "a long record of it."
But Nelson said that Sotomayor's rulings showed she was no activist and would not bring bias to the bench. He told Nebraska's Lincoln Journal Star that he believed she had "a great respect for the law" and that he was convinced she recognized "an individual's Second Amendment right to bear arms."
Nelson has a perfect rating from the National Rifle Association, which has threatened to downgrade senators who support Sotomayor in its annual candidate ratings. McCain has a spottier record with the NRA, garnering him a "C" grade, but the group endorsed his presidential bid.
By Julie Hirschfeld Davis
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/20090804_McCain_a_no_on_Sotomayor__debate_expected_today.html
McCain's decision, the day before the Senate debates the nomination, underscored the degree to which Republicans - even those who, like the Arizonan, represent large Hispanic populations - have turned against Sotomayor. Conservatives argue that the federal appeals court judge would bring her own biases to the Supreme Court.
At the same time, Sen. Ben Nelson (D., Neb.) - who had been publicly on the fence on Sotomayor and under pressure from gun-rights activists to oppose her - announced he would side with Democrats and vote yes.
Just six Republicans have said they would break with their party to confirm Sotomayor, while nearly three-quarters say they'll oppose her. No Democrats have said they will oppose Sotomayor.
Some in the GOP have faced a tough call about how to vote on President Obama's first high court nominee, torn between an impulse to please their conservative base by opposing her and a fear that doing so could alienate Hispanic voters. The vast majority are lining up with their core supporters against Sotomayor, despite her near-certainty of confirmation.
Sotomayor, 55, would succeed retired Justice David H. Souter. She is not expected to alter the court's ideological balance.
McCain called Sotomayor's background "inspiring and compelling," but he said that was "not enough to qualify one for a lifetime of service on the Supreme Court." He said she "has forsworn judicial activism in her confirmation hearings" but has "a long record of it."
But Nelson said that Sotomayor's rulings showed she was no activist and would not bring bias to the bench. He told Nebraska's Lincoln Journal Star that he believed she had "a great respect for the law" and that he was convinced she recognized "an individual's Second Amendment right to bear arms."
Nelson has a perfect rating from the National Rifle Association, which has threatened to downgrade senators who support Sotomayor in its annual candidate ratings. McCain has a spottier record with the NRA, garnering him a "C" grade, but the group endorsed his presidential bid.
By Julie Hirschfeld Davis
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/20090804_McCain_a_no_on_Sotomayor__debate_expected_today.html
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