WASHINGTON — Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings show every sign of being a walk in the park, according to senators preparing for what will amount to a nationally televised job interview, beginning today.
New York Sen. Charles Schumer, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, crowed that Sotomayor will be confirmed so overwhelmingly that her support may surpass Justice John Roberts’ 78-vote confirmation in 2005.
“She has wowed people. People meet her and they are impressed,” Schumer told NBC’s “Meet the Press” yesterday.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is weighted in Sotomayor’s favor, with 13 Democrats to just seven Republicans.
But Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the panel’s top Republican, said the Bronx-raised Sotomayor must answer for past comments that personal experiences, along with racial and gender identity, influence a judge’s decisions.
“She has criticized the idea that a woman and a man would reach the same result. She expects them to reach different results. I think that’s philosophically incompatible with the American system,” Sessions said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
The nominee yesterday received a morale boost from the man who selected her. President Obama called her from the Oval Office to “wish her good luck,” according to White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.
In choosing Sotomayor, Obama has put pressure on Republicans, who might be forced to temper their opposition because of their need to increase their appeal to Hispanic voters, the fastest-growing segment of the electorate.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) highlighted the potential political pitfalls for Republicans when he noted on “Fox News Sunday” that one-third of his constituents are Hispanic, and that they want Sotomayor judged fairly.
With Post Wire Services