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Historic nomination: Hispanic Sotomayor as justice
Ben Feller - The Associated Press
Issue date: 5/11/09 Section: News
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Republicans who will decide whether to make a fight of her confirmation said they want thorough hearings. However, defeating Sotomayor would be difficult in the heavily Democratic Senate, and even a major effort to block her confirmation could be risky for a party still reeling from last year's elections. Hispanics are the fastest-growing part of the population and increasingly active politically.
Obama, eager to begin putting his imprint on the court, beamed as he introduced Sotomayor as a judge who displays both an impressive mind and heart, a jurist who takes on cases with "an understanding of how the world works and how ordinary people live." He raved about her credentials, saying she would start on the job with more experience on the bench than any of the current nine justices had when they began.
The White House tableau itself was history: A black president and his white vice president, Joe Biden, striding onto a stage in the ornate East Room with the nominee who grew up in a New York housing project where her parents had moved from Puerto Rico.
At 54, Sotomayor (pronounced soh-toh-my-YOR'), would join Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the second woman on the court and just the third in its history. She would replace liberal Justice David Souter, thereby maintaining the court's ideological divide. A number of important cases have been divided by 5-4 majorities, with conservative- and liberal-leaning justices split 4-4 and Justice Anthony Kennedy providing the decisive vote.
Senate Republicans pledged to give her a fair hearing but cautioned they would question her rigorously and not be rushed. The president, whose approval ratings trump those of Congress, challenged the Senate to move swiftly and confirm her before Congress' August break. The Supreme Court begins its new term in October.
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Go Obama Go
posted 5/27/09 @ 9:58 PM MST
Now can we have the facts?
She is not the first Hispanic nominated to the Supreme Court.
She will not be the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court if seated. (Continued…)
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