Graham Endorses Sotomayor, Shows Flimsiness of Thune's Opposition

Our Republican Senator John Thune says he will vote against the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. His conservative colleague Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina, having seen no meltdown, says he will vote to confirm Sotomayor. While Thune natters on about the Second Amendment (he must have read that nunchuks case), Graham plays the realist:

• "...elections have consequences...."
• "It is not as though we hid from the American people during the campaign that the Supreme Court selections were at stake. Both sides openly campaigned on the idea that the next President would be able to pick some justices for the Supreme Court. That was known to the American people and the American people spoke."
• "In that regard, having been one of the chief supporters of Senator McCain and one of the chief opponents of then-Senator Obama, I feel he deserves some deference on my part when it comes to his first selection to the Supreme Court."
• "We are talking about one of the most qualified nominees to be selected for the Supreme Court in decades."
• "I have looked at her record closely. I believe she follows precedent; that she has not been an activist judge in the sense that would make her disqualified, in my view. She has demonstrated left-of-center reasoning but within the mainstream."
• "She received the highest rating by the ABA... as 'well qualified.' The reason I mention that is not because I feel bound by their rating, but during the Alito and Roberts confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court under President Bush, I used that as a positive for both those nominees. I feel, as a Republican, I can't use it one time and ignore it the other."

Can't use it one time and ignore it the other—but Senator Thune sure can!

Judge Alito is also well qualified. He unanimously received the highest rating from the American Bar Association, the benchmark that used to be considered the gold standard for evaluating nominees to the Federal Courts. Judge Alito is clearly a man of high integrity and intellect. No one disputes that. He deserves a large vote in the U.S. Senate, just as Justice Breyer and Justice Ginsburg received. I call upon my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to summon their better angels, put aside their desire to score political points, and instead work to ensure a dignified confirmation process [Senator John Thune, speech from the Senate floor, 2006.01.26].

Is consistency really too much to ask of our Senators? Senator Graham was able to swallow his partisanship and vote with integrity on this issue. Senator Thune, you can still do the same. Graham has laid out a perfectly respecetable Republican case for voting for Judge Sotomayor. Admit your gamesmanship, change your mind, and vote yes on the confirmation in August.