'Wise Latina' won't get Cronyn's support

Cornyn to vote against Sotomayor's confirmation
By MARJORIE KORN / The Dallas Morning News, July 25, 2009

WASHINGTON – Texas Sen. John Cornyn said Friday that he would vote against Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court, though he acknowledged her confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court is inevitable.

Cornyn said that he believes Sotomayor has a tendency toward judicial activism and holds a radical view of the law.

Sotomayor's comments during hearings last week before the Senate Judiciary Committee – on which Cornyn sits – did little to assuage the Republican's fears that she holds a narrow interpretation of gun and private property rights. He said he fears that she would fail to see objectivity in the law and was not satisfied with her explanation of past comments, such as her statement that a "wise Latina" could reach better decisions than a white man.

"The hearings were an opportunity for Judge Sotomayor and ultimately, in my view, a missed opportunity," Cornyn said on the Senate floor. "At the end of the hearing, I found myself still wondering: 'Who is the real Judge Sotomayor?' "

Cornyn praised Sotomayor's academic record and said he believes the bulk of her decisions fall within the judicial mainstream. Still, he said, he worries Sotomayor could let her biases affect decisions and create new rights not enumerated in the Constitution, perhaps based on foreign law.

"The stakes are too high for me to vote for a nominee who can address all of these issues from a liberal, activist perspective," Cornyn said.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a vote Tuesday, and Democratic leaders confirmed that the full Senate will consider her nomination before the August recess. Democrats hold 60 of the Senate's 100 seats, so her confirmation is all but guaranteed.

Hispanic leaders and Democrats criticized Cornyn's decision, saying he was overlooking Sotomayor's qualifications.

"Her credentials are unparalleled," said state Rep. Roberto Alonzo, D-Dallas, expressing disappointment with Cornyn's announcement.

Janet Murguia, president and chief executive of the National Council of La Raza, a Latino advocacy group, said Latinos have watched the confirmation process closely because Sotomayor is a prominent figure in a growing voting bloc.

"There is a great interest in this nomination by the Latino community, and we were interested not only in the outcome but also in the process," Murguia said. She called it a "test run" for hot-button issues on the horizon, such as changes in immigration policy.

But other experts question the lasting impact of the vote.

Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, a political science professor at Northwestern University, noted that the majority of Latinos already vote for Democrats.

Also Friday, Cornyn's fellow Texas Republican, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, said she had not yet decided how to vote on Sotomayor.

Hutchison, appearing in Dallas, said she was reviewing the judge's record and would probably announce a decision next week.

Staff writer Jim Landers in Dallas contributed to this report.