Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., were joined by nearly 20 progressive interest groups on Capitol Hill today to urge senators to, as Reid said, "put politics aside" and vote to confirm Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. (Credit: Amy Harder)

Harry Reid is sick and tired of hearing about Sonia Sotomayor's "wise Latina woman" remark and her ruling in Ricci v. DeStefano.

"How many times do we have to listen to the same speeches on the same brief statements and on the same case?" the Senate majority leader rhetorically asked during a press conference today on Capitol Hill.

Reid said the full Senate vote on Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination will be one of the last things taken up before the summer recess begins on Aug. 7, reiterating what Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said Tuesday. Hill staffers and others familiar with the process are predicting Aug. 6. Reid added that he is working with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to come up with a time line.

The Nevada Democrat said that if all 40 Republicans want to spend an hour talking about the nomination, they can, though he was visibly exasperated by the prospect. "I'm going to make sure that senators can talk about that speech another 30 or 40 times, or maybe about that case another 50 or 60 times," Reid said.

He said it would be "great" to get 20 Republicans but conceded it was doubtful. Based on the latest count in NationalJournal.com's Vote Tracker, it won't happen -- 23 of the chamber's 40 Republicans are on record saying they won't vote for Sotomayor.

In response to a question about whether the National Rifle Association's decision to score the confirmation vote concerns him regarding some senators' votes, Reid replied: "It personally doesn't persuade me; I am going to vote for this very qualified woman."

He also cautioned Republicans that voting against Sotomayor could hurt them with Hispanics. "Voting against this good woman is going to treat them about the same way as they got treated as a result of how they handled immigration," Reid said.

Leahy was also present at the conference, which was in coordination with nearly 20 progressive interest groups. Leaders from the organizations surrounded the two senators throughout the presser. A few of the representatives -- including Wade Henderson, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and Lillian Rodriguez-Lopez, president of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda -- also spoke.