Senator Mitch McConnell Plans to Oppose Nomination of Judge Sotomayor
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Kentucky Republican, Mitch McConnell plans to deliver a senate floor speech on Monday against the nominating of Judge, Sonia Sotomayor to Supreme Court Justice. The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) reported the Senate Minority Leader as stating Judge Sotomayor has
An alarming lack of respect for the notion of equal justice.”
"Over the years, Americans have accepted significant ideological differences in the kinds of men and women that various presidents have nominated to the Supreme Court. But one thing Americans will never tolerate in a nominee is a belief that some groups are more deserving of a fair shake than others. Nothing could be more offensive to the American sensibility than that."
Amidst the weeklong Judiciary Committee Hearings last week, many GOP Senators praised Judge Sotomayor, despite some harsh testimony from outside witnesses such as Frank Ricci, the lead plaintiff in the Ricci v. DeStefano case in which city firefighters claimed reverse discrimination when their test results were thrown out when no African American firefighters had passed and were therefore excluded from obtaining a promotion.
A Second Circuit panel that included Sotomayor in the 7-6 majority affirmed the lower court's ruling that the city had a right not to certify the test. The case reached the Supreme Court this year and was overruled in a 5–4 decision that found the white firefighters had been victims of racial discrimination when they were denied a promotion.
Many speculated that Republicans would use Sotomayor's decision as evidence that she might let her personal and political views influence her decisions.
Judge Sotomayor has won the support of some Republicans; the Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) provided that:
Senators Richard Lugar of Indiana, the Senate's most senior Republican; Mel Martinez of Florida, its lone Hispanic Republican; and Olympia Snowe of Maine all announced they'd vote for Sotomayor, praising her qualifications.
The week long confirmation hearing commenced on Thursday last week, many felt as though the judge had kept her answers safe and had cleared all the major hurdles. A decision is likely to be handed down prior to the August recess.