Hey GOP: 'White Male' Is an Identity, Too

(NEWSER) - Senate Republicans locked arms against Sonia Sotomayor yesterday … or would have, if they’d bothered to stay for the Judiciary Committee’s vote. Instead, half ducked out, leaving Jeff Sessions to repeat “No by proxy,” over and over, writes Dana Milbank in the Washington Post. It was an ugly display of partisanship—though, as Orrin Hatch pointed out, Democrats started it by opposing justices Roberts and Alito. More»

(NEWSER) - The White House is working hard to ensure an easy confirmation for Sonia Sotomayor, with John Roberts' perfect-10 testimony as a model. Will she sail through? Politico lists six things to watch.

1. That 'wise Latina' remark. Republicans are obsessed with it, and she needs to explain it without sounding phony. But Dems say she won't apologize.
2. Her broken ankle. Sotomayor might need an "injury time out" if it acts up—good for sympathy points or a quick breather.

(AP) - The Senate Judiciary Committee has voted to approve Sonia Sotomayor to be the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court. The committee voted 13-6 this morning to send Sotomayor's nomination to the full Senate, where she's expected to be confirmed easily next week. Just one Republican, South Carolina's Lindsey Graham, joined Democrats in the vote. More»

Dems go lightly; GOP eyes history outside of court

(NEWSER) - With Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation a virtual certainty and her appointment unlikely to change the direction of the Supreme Court, last week's toothless hearings held few surprises. Except, that is, for observers who were hoping the Senate Judiciary Committee would press for substantive Q-and-A, Joan Biskupic writes for USA Today. “I was dumbstruck by the fact that the GOP senators spent so little time trying to pin her down,” says a former high court clerk. More»

(AP) - Republicans cleared the way today for a Senate vote next month to confirm Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, placing her firmly in line to become the first Hispanic justice. "I look forward to you getting that vote before we recess in August," said Jeff Sessions, the senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee. He spoke as Sotomayor neared the end of three grueling days in the committee's witness chair. More»