Posted on 07/27/2009 8:54:38 AM PDT by STARWISE
The leading Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee says he will vote against the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor, who may replace pro-abortion Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court. If confirmed, pro-life groups are concerned that Sotomayor would promote abortion on the high court.
As several other leading Republicans in the Senate made known last week, Sessions says he can't vote for Sotomayor and cited her penchant for judicial activism.
Sessions says he doesn't think she will be able to get away from it should she become a member of the high court.
"During three days of careful questioning, Judge Sotomayor renounced the pillars of activist thinking," he wrote in an editorial explaining his position in USA Today.
He continued: "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,'" Sessions explained. "Why not defend the philosophy she had articulated so carefully over the years?"
"I don't believe that Judge Sotomayor has the deep-rooted convictions necessary to resist the siren call of judicial activism. She has evoked its mantra too often," he concluded.
As the Senate Judiciary Committee prepares to vote Tuesday on her bid, pro-life Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, the number two Republican on the panel, became the first GOP lawmaker on the committee to say he would oppose her.
"I remain unconvinced that Judge Sotomayor believes judges should set aside biases, including those based on race and gender, and render the law impartially and neutrally," Kyl said.
"Her answers answered nothing," Kyl said about her contention she wouldn't be an activist judge once confirmed.
So far, only four other Republicans — Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Richard Lugar of Indiana and Mel Martinez of Florida — have announced they will vote for Sotomayor.
Ten Republicans, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky have said they will vote against the nomination
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Rest @ link
Well, we see the usual pubbie suspects are voting FOR her. I don’t know how much good any of the nay votes will do except to send a message. But, God CAN work miracles.
Had one this week ask why I gave to SarahPAC. I ran down the list of reasons--conservative, down to earth woman I could relate to, patriotic, bashed unmercifully by media--and she agreed wholeheartedly.
Keep the faith and pray for our country.
vaudine
We can all HOPE that some Democrats and RINOs CHANGE their liberal mind-set and vote NO.
Sotomayor is unqualified. She’s an Affirmative Action Judge. She thinks in “hyphenation” and that’s bad for this Country. We need Americans living and working in the USofA not hyphenated-Americans.
60/40 McCain votes no.
I think he will take offense to her opposition to cost/benefit analysis.
“Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Richard Lugar of Indiana and Mel Martinez of Florida — have announced they will vote for Sotomayor”
...these people are flat out evil. Snowe and Collins will win time and time again because of Maine’s outright stupidity and they realize what these 2 do for the dems. Any chance that Lugar and/or Martinez could be out in 2010?
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