Tulsa World: Committee OKs Sotomayor bid

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Committee OKs Sotomayor bid
Coburn votes no; the Supreme Court nominee now faces a full Senate vote.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt (right), gavels a recess after the committee approved the nomination of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor on Tuesday on Capitol Hill in Washington. Susan Walsh/Associated Press

By JIM MYERS World Washington Bureau
Published: 7/29/2009 2:25 AM
Last Modified: 7/29/2009 4:42 AM

WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee as expected voted Tuesday in favor of the nomination of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, moving her one step closer to becoming the first Hispanic woman to join the nation's highest court.

Shortly before the committee vote of 13-6, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., revealed that he would vote no.

Sotomayor's nomination is scheduled to be on the Senate floor, where it again faces an easy vote, before lawmakers leave for their annual August break.

Coburn said he could not vote for Sotomayor's nomination because she did not defend her earlier statements on the use of foreign law by U.S. courts, and he also was concerned over her comments on the Second Amendment.

He said Sotomayor's testimony to the committee did not track with what she said before her nomination.

"I can't vote for her because she wouldn't defend what she said and stand up and say 'I really believe this, but I can still be a great judge anyway because I will never let that interfere with my judgment,' " Coburn said. "That's what I was looking for, and it wasn't there.''

He said regretfully he could not vote for her confirmation.

"I am proud that President Obama has nominated such a distinguished woman,'' Coburn said. "I think she is one impressive individual. I liked her a lot, but that's not good enough for me.''

His decision was not a surprise, as he was expected to oppose confirmation.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was the only Republican on the committee to vote in favor of Sotomayor.

Graham said Sotomayor, who has 17 years on the federal bench already, is well-qualified, has good character and has built a record within the mainstream.

He referred to Sotomayor's speeches that generated much of the controversy that surrounded her nomination, and said they did "bug the hell out of me.''

Graham also cited the history made by Obama's nomination of the first Latina woman for the court.

"Now that was a big deal,'' Graham said.

Democrats, who hold a healthy majority both on the committee and in the Senate, mostly took turns heaping praise on the nominee.

Oklahoma's senior senator, Republican Jim Inhofe, previously announced he would vote against confirming the nomination when it comes before the full Senate next week.

Voting tally

In addition to Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee voting against Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor were Jeff Sessions of Alabama, Orrin Hatch of Utah, Charles Grassley of Iowa, Jon Kyl of Arizona and John Cornyn of Texas.

Voting in favor were Democrats Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, Dianne Feinstein of California, Russell Feingold of Wisconsin, Charles Schumer of New York, Richard Durbin of Illinois, Benjamin Cardin of Maryland, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken of Minnesota, Edward Kaufman of Delaware and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. They were joined by Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

Jim Myers (202) 484-1424
jim.myers@tulsaworld.com By JIM MYERS World Washington Bureau

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Some reader comments for this story were copied from "Senate committee advances Sotomayor," which was published on 7/28/2009.

	Report Comment DrewTU, (7/28/2009 10:46:09 AM) In related news, the sky is blue and water is wet.
	Report Comment 2ndjoyce, BA (7/28/2009 10:48:30 AM) This is not news. Coburn saying he would vote FOR Sotomayor would be news.
	Report Comment Arbythree, Tulsa (7/28/2009 11:03:30 AM) Wow. Senator Stay Puff Marshmallow votes "no".
	Report Comment TheFoundOgle, Mid-town (7/28/2009 11:06:13 AM) Dr. No Me Gusta
	Report Comment zzx375, BA (7/28/2009 11:11:03 AM) Vote to approve.
	Report Comment Oldfatdude, Shattrath (7/28/2009 11:12:31 AM) Grandstanding for more publicity.
	Report Comment goatman, (7/28/2009 11:20:39 AM) bet if she were nominated by george w. he would have voted yes without asking any questions!! Gotta stick w/ the party.. ya know
	Report Comment No Right Wing Nut Jobs, (7/28/2009 11:21:14 AM) Shocker
	Report Comment human1, A change is gonna come someday (7/28/2009 11:21:51 AM) No surprise, he is following that Red Party Line!
	Report Comment Bville, (7/28/2009 11:54:56 AM) I must have missed all of you open-minded non-Dem party-line followers supporting Clarence Thomas, John Roberts, Sam Alito, et al. LOL! How predictable.
	Report Comment Scooterman, (7/28/2009 12:04:35 PM) Elections do have consequences.
	Report Comment getreal, (7/28/2009 12:19:03 PM) Luuuuuuucy; Dr. "splainin' to do" voting no. What a shock!
	Report Comment drudge2, Tulsa (7/28/2009 12:22:46 PM) "Coburn said he could not vote for Sotomayor's nomination because she did not defend her statements on the use of foreign law by U.S. courts." What he asked was: Can some foreign law or 'nother be used as a precedent in rousting out all them lesbians who run southeast Oklahoma? She didn't have an answer.
	Report Comment Mar, Tulsa (7/28/2009 12:23:15 PM) Thank you Senator Coburn. I sent him an email asking him not to vote for her.
	Report Comment Fruits&Nuts, (7/28/2009 12:23:23 PM) Of course, there isn't any publicity in voting FOR her.
	Report Comment Mar, Tulsa (7/28/2009 12:25:03 PM) I think it would be great to have another female judge, but I wouldn't want just any female in the position. From what I've read on her in publications and on the internet, I feel she would be looking at everything through her own view as an Hispanic female instead of an American citizen upholding the Constitution.
	Report Comment livinglarge, (7/28/2009 12:28:35 PM) time to beat it tom
	Report Comment A Concerned Citizen, (7/28/2009 12:32:44 PM) I'm sure that's what did it, Mar.
	Report Comment SS_Hippy, Tulsa (7/28/2009 12:43:08 PM) Who is running against him in 2010?
	Report Comment drudge2, Tulsa (7/28/2009 12:43:25 PM) Mar: by golly, you are right! I wondered the same thing about Justice Alito. When he was being confirmed he said: "When I get a case about discrimination, I have to think about people in my own family who suffered discrimination because of their ethnic background or because of religion or because of gender. And I do take that into account." Recently, Alito cast the deciding vote in the affirmative action case Ricci v. DeStefano. By doing so Alito, an Italian-American, ruled in favor of the Italian-American firefighters. It's just as bad as you said it would be, Mar! I bet you were angry at him for that and that's why you don't want Sotomayor on the bench because she'll be as bad as Alito. Good point. Thanks for sharing!
	Report Comment BettyRubble, (7/28/2009 12:50:08 PM) LaRaza queen makes another hurdle....bummer. I can just imagine her & the ACLU hag now on the court prancing arm in arm to the terrorist fund-raiser hosted by Barry Hussein fbo the 7 freak-jihadi's in North Carolina.
	Report Comment desert fox, (7/28/2009 12:50:53 PM) Oh, it must be such a surprise for her ! Now run along Tom to your marriage counseling"religious" freeby dormitory and lecture on how to pay off an affairee!
	Report Comment Bodean, Tulsa (7/28/2009 12:54:30 PM) Mar, (7/28/2009 12:25:03 PM) Are you excluding Hispanic females from the pool of American citizens? Crazy - huh?
	Report Comment Bodean, Tulsa (7/28/2009 12:56:54 PM) BettyRubble, (7/28/2009 12:50:08 PM) Put the bottle down Betty. It's too early for your delusions.
	Report Comment billsmith, (7/28/2009 1:10:01 PM) Why would you make a decision to do something, or in this case vote against someone, and in the same breath say that you regret it? Things that make ya go hmmmmm.

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