AP: GOP Sens. Cornyn, Hatch to vote against Sotomayor

Posted by Keith Kamisugi | Filed under Confirmation Process, Media Coverage

As reported today by Julie Hirschfeld Davis of the Associated Press:

Republican Sen. John Cornyn, the head of his party’s Senate campaign arm, said Friday he’ll vote against Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, siding with GOP leaders and conservatives who are lining up against President Barack Obama’s nominee to be the first Hispanic justice.

The Texas Republican acknowledged that his decision to oppose Sotomayor could carry political risks — one-third of his constituents are Hispanic — and said he was announcing it with “regret and some sadness.”

“Voting to confirm a judge — this judge or any judge — despite doubts would certainly be the politically expedient thing to do, but I don’t believe it would be the right thing to do,” said Cornyn, a member of the Judiciary Committee, who said he came away from Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings still wondering, “Who is the real Judge Sonia Sotomayor?”

Cornyn is a vivid example of Republicans’ dilemma in deciding how to vote on the 55-year-old appeals court judge, who is virtually guaranteed confirmation by early August. Like other GOP leaders, he’s concerned with placating a conservative base that’s vehemently opposed to Obama’s nominee, but he’s one of many Republicans who risks undercutting himself with Hispanic voters, a growing part of the electorate, by doing so.

Interest groups weighing in on Sotomayor’s confirmation have complicated the decision. The National Rifle Association warned Thursday that a vote for the judge would count against senators in the group’s influential ratings, which help sway many voters.

Cornyn’s announcement came as another Republican on the Judiciary panel, Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, announced he would also vote against Sotomayor, saying he came to the decision “reluctantly, and with a heavy heart.”

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