In a not entirely unsurprising development, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham has decided to vote to confirm Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, bringing the Republican total to five.
During the hearings, Graham was a mess of contradictions--on the one hand, he often spoke to Sotomayor in a patronizing tone, basically asking her if she understood the Constitution and demanding she respond to a handful of anonymous smears. On the other, he called her a person of "good character" and positively destroyed conservative anti-affirmative action activist Linda Chavez, whose derisive testimony against Sotomayor's confirmation was the most personal and negative of the entire proceeding, when he said that "I know that Republicans sit down and think, OK, we've got some power now. Let's make sure that we let the whole country know the Republican Party is just not a party of short white guys."
Demonstrating that the GOP isn't just "a party of short white guys" is especially important for Graham, who represents a Southern state that has seen exponential growth in its Latino population -- 211 percent in the last decade.
Referring to her "Wise Latina" speech, Sotomayor told Graham that "I believe that my life demonstrates that that was not my intent to leave the impression that some have taken from my words." Graham responded, "You know what, Judge? I agree with you. Good luck."
Looks like he meant it.
-- A. Serwer
