Voinovich Makes 9 GOP Yeas for Sotomayor

No dearth of Republican recruits for 2010 races in Fla., Mo., Ohio

(NEWSER) - Don’t let the stories about how grim 2010 looks for the Senate Republicans fool you. The spate of retirements in swing states is no boon, to be sure, but, Politico reports, the GOP will have no trouble coming up with good candidates in Florida, Ohio, and Missouri. A state-by-state overview: More»

Poll numbers plummeted amid Sotomayor, Gates controversies

(NEWSER) - President Obama’s downward opinion-poll trajectory among whites seems to be linked to the “blackening” of his image, writes Joan Walsh in Salon. It accelerated during two racially charged moments this summer: Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court, marked with debate over her “wise Latina” comment, and the Henry Louis Gates controversy. At such times, Walsh argues, “there's no denying, he got blacker to a segment of the white population.” More»

(AP) - The Senate confirmed Sonia Sotomayor today as the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court. The vote was 68-31 for Sotomayor, President Barack Obama's first high court nominee. She becomes the 111th justice and just the third woman to serve. Democrats praised the 55-year-old Sotomayor as a mainstream moderate. But most Republicans voted against her, saying she'd bring personal bias and a liberal agenda to the bench. More»

(NEWSER) - In an indication that conservative Republicans are uniting against Sonia Sotomayor, Senate Judiciary Committee members John Cornyn and Orrin Hatch today pledged to vote against her, CNN reports. Though moderate Republicans worry opposition could hurt the party with Hispanics, the conservative base has lobbied hard against the Supreme Court nominee. Hatch’s decision was particularly surprising: The Utahan has voted for every nominee in his 32-year career and had praised Sotomayor’s “experience.” More»

55% approve of Obama's pick

(NEWSER) - Another poll has shown widespread support for Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination, Bloomberg reports. Of 3,000 voters polled by Quinnipiac University, 55% approved of President Obama's choice and 25% disapproved. But the Senate will ultimately decide, and Sotomayor is spending her third straight day meeting with lawmakers on the Hill. The White House today sent over a huge file of Sotormayor's writings and legal decisions, notes the Wall Street Journal. More»