grand (dad's) old party
Associate Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor was recently confirmed with a vote of 69 to 31. Chief Justice John Roberts was confirmed by a vote of 78 to 22.
Both votes were mostly along party lines, but each featured drastically different rationales for not supporting the nominee despite ideological differences. I cannot find a single democratic senator who voted no because of something Roberts said, either during the hearings or as a matter of public record, though some cited a number of his specific rulings. Not a single one said the fact that he was a white guy was a hindrance to their voting yes. By way of contrast, the republican opposition to Sotomayor, almost to a man, mentioned her "Wise Latina" comments as evidence of her "Judicial Activism" yet not a single one cited her actual rulings.
I am surprised nine GOP senators voted in favor of her nomination given the GOP's performance so far in the health care and stimulus debates. Even Lindsey Graham was quoted as saying:
