Senate Judiciary Votes, 13-6, For Sotomayor (Graham votes "yea")

National Journal ^ | July 28, 2009 | Editors

[MaestroLC]

Along largely partisan lines, the Senate Judiciary Cmte backed SCOTUS appointee Sonia Sotomayor, Pres. Obama's first high court pick, this morning by a 13-6 vote.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was the only Republican to support Sotomayor. The Senate cmte's Dems voted unanimously for the Bronx native.

The full Senate will vote next, but with the Dems' 60-vote majority, Sotomayor's confirmation is all but a done deal. She will be the first individual of Hispanic heritage to sit on the SCOTUS.

[antceecee]

Little Lindsay has got to go... is he up for re-election next year?

[elhombrelibre]

South Carolina needs a conservative Senator who will stand up for the constitution. Sad day for SC.

[freekitty]

Really sad when the elected representatives do not listen to the people that elected them.

South Carolina needs to get some spine and vote out or recall Lindsay Graham. He is making your state look really stupid.

[freekitty]

Really sad when the elected representatives do not listen to the people that elected them.

South Carolina needs to get some spine and vote out or recall Lindsay Graham. He is making your state look really stupid.

[Goreknowshowtocheat]

Ha..Little Lindsay......He proved to me she was a racist and then proceeds to vote for her. The word idiot comes to mind.

[antceecee]

Bears repeating : ~ )

Looks like Graham was "acting stupidly".

[wilco200]

“The Senate cmte’s Dems voted unanimously for the Bronx native.”

Now that’s a bronx cheer!

[Uncle Ike]

The only vaguely bright spot was that the vote took place while FNC was in commercial - so they didn’t get to follow through on their threat to carry the pre-ordained vote live...

[PhiKapMom]

So Republicans are outnumbered on this committee 12-7? What a farce. GOP better remember that the next time they are in charge of the Senate — no compromise on the number of members and no leadership sharing.

[Secret Agent Man]

Perhaps in this one instance the latina IS smarter than this white guy. His vote for her could be proof of it.

[fightinbluhen51]

More like, “you scratch my sack, I’ll scratch yours.”

Sorry, I’m sick of these fools, and back is just too nice for that turd.

[EricT.]

More GOP collaboration.

[Kakaze]

Lindsey, acts tuff even says "the speeches shook the hell out of me", then throws up his hands and votes yes.

What a wimp.

Lindsey, If you have no limits, you have no standards.

[jimfree]

Least qualified (successsful) nominee this century. Harriet Myers was the wrong nominee at the wrong time. Her withdrawal got us both Roberts and Alito.

[gorilla_warrior]

Graham-nesty is a continuing disgrace. Sotomayor’s ethnicity is of no importance, yet it’s the main reason she is getting on the court. What is important is her contempt for the Constitution, her common-ness, and her bigotry. The Supreme Court is no longer a legitimate institution.

[zeaal]

Graham will be a dem soon ... following in the footsteps of what's his name?

[dervish]

Nobody is speaking about this. But I read that according to the Senate rules at least one member of the minority party has to vote for a judicial candidate to bring the nomination to the floor.

Which means that if NO Republicans had voted for Sotomayer her nomination would have been blocked.

Sen Graham votes have consequences.

[Frantzie]

The Dems must have pictures of him in a bath house or something. Vote the little queenie out.

[freekitty]

Yep, he always does.

[Nam Vet]

Little Lindsey is a horse's ass. Somebody got to him these last years. Dirt in his past????? Money???? It's something. When a so-called Conservative votes for a racist, something major is wrong.

Nam Vet

[dervish]

see my post #19

[Frantzie]

I think Miss Lindsay meets lots of men in dark alleys.

[rightwingintelligentsia]

Somebody got to him these last years. Dirt in his past?????

Well, if the rumors are true . . .

Seriously, I was beginning to wonder the same thing.

[stockpirate]

It takes at least one republican to move this vote to the floor.

He just gave them his vote and I think he has 5.5 years to go before he is up for re-election.

RINO’s I’m sure McCain and Bush would say this POS is a good conservative.

[Christian4Bush]

Least qualified (successsful) nominee this century. Harriet Myers was the wrong nominee at the wrong time. Her withdrawal got us both Roberts and Alito.

How is that? Roberts was already on the court...

[mapmaker77]

Lindsey has been off the reservation for awhile now. He must really like being the only pubby on the inide the beltway cocktail party invitation list.

[~Vor~]

I had such high hopes for Graham during Clinton’s impeachment hearings...what a disappointment he has become.

[US Navy Vet]

lol

[Constitutions Grandchild]

Swell.

[dervish]

Does Arlen Specter's defection from R to D strengthen the President's hand in Congress? Perhaps overall but not on judicial appointments because breaking (the equivalent of) a filibuster in the Senate Judiciary Committee requires the consent of at least one member of the minority. Before today, Specter was likely to be that one Republican. Now what?

The link in Dorf's post is to Congress Matters, which has the Senate Judiciary Committee rule:

IV. BRINGING A MATTER TO A VOTE The Chairman shall entertain a non-debatable motion to bring a matter before the Committee to a vote. If there is objection to bring the matter to a vote without further debate, a roll call vote of the Committee shall be taken, and debate shall be terminated if the motion to bring the matter to a vote without further debate passes with ten votes in the affirmative, one of which must be cast by the minority.

here

[Servant of the Cross]

Just damn. You knew it would happen but it really stinks. Senator Jeff Sessions has a great op-ed from the USA Today on Sotomayor. A good excerpt which confronts the lies of her testimony, as well as the unconstitutionality of 0bama's "empathy standard":

She rejected the president's "empathy standard," abandoned her statements that a judge's "opinions, sympathies and prejudices" may guide decision-making, dismissed remarks that personal experiences should "affect the facts that judges choose to see," brushed aside her repeated "wise Latina" comment as "a rhetorical flourish," and championed judicial restraint.

Judge Sotomayor's attempt to rebrand her previously stated judicial approach was, as one editorial page opined, "uncomfortably close to disingenuous."

Why not defend the philosophy she had articulated so carefully over the years?

[PhiKapMom]

I have read the same thing! His vote released it from Committee. Figures!

[jimfree]

Okay, maybe I garbled the sequence. The Myers withdrawal got us Alito.

[visualops]

No, he already won reelection after beating his conservative opponent in an open primary. I think you can figure it out. Of course having ensconced connections and alot of money helps.

[SunkenCiv]

Jeff Sessions, citing “judicial activism,” says he’ll vote no on Sonia Sotomayor
Press Register | July 27, 2009 11:46 AM | Sean Reilly
Posted on 07/27/2009 10:23:49 AM PDT by SonnyBubba
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2302087/posts

Senate Panel OKs Sotomayor for Court (Poll at source)
AOL | 7/28/09 | JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS
Posted on 07/28/2009 9:30:59 AM PDT by xtinct
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2302848/posts

[stockpirate]

Her main reason for getting on the court is her radical left-wing agenda.

Her race got her on the court because of quotas and allows overlooking ability.

[italianquaker]

Graham “pro choice” and he showed it

[Tatze]

...according to the Senate rules at least one member of the minority party has to vote for a judicial candidate to bring the nomination to the floor.

Can we find some proof of this? I've heard it a number of times too, but never in any official capacity.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

We tried to get rid of Graham last election but the left loves him so we’re stuck with him.

Someone should let him know that we already have a national judge who runs on feelings. Her name is Paula Abdul.

[Digger]

Little Lindsey is a horse's ass. Somebody got to him these last years. Dirt in his past????? Money???? It's something. When a so-called Conservative votes for a racist, something major is wrong.

I agree.

[Bitsy]

South Carolina needs to get some spine and vote out or recall Lindsay Graham. He is making your state look really stupid.

Yep. But, SC new how he was going to vote anyway because he all but said it. Grahm go to the other side and quit the playacting - you’re a real rollover and the dems need you.

[hattend]

If not looking stupid is a prerequisite all 100 need to be tossed.

I get your point, really I do (Boxer and Feinstein here)

[Antoninus]

Lindsey Graham is a panty-wearing loser. A disgrace to the GOP.

[Jim Robinson]

Sen. Lindsey Graham is a traitor!

[al_c]

Okay, maybe I garbled the sequence.

No, you just didn't calibrate your words. LOL!

[Reagan Man]

Lindsey Graham is a dummy!

[Tatze]

Judiciary Committee Rules, from their own site.

http://judiciary.senate.gov/about/committee-rules.cfm

BUT, checking news on the Alito nomination, a party line vote sent him to the full Senate. So we're there different rules then, or does this rule not apply in these situations?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,182585,00.html

[pillut48]

GOODBYE, GOOBER!!!

We desperately need to vote these RINOs out of Congress, posthaste!!!