Olympia Snowe said today that her Republican colleagues' pending "no" votes on Sonia Sotomayor raise "a serious concern" about alienating their Hispanic constituencies. The Maine moderate was among the first GOP lawmakers to say she would vote yes, joining Mel Martinez of Florida and Richard Lugar of Indiana on July 17.
Snowe told reporters that voting for Sotomayor "would have certainly been an avenue for appealing to the Hispanic community, where we did poorly in the last election. I think we can ill afford to lose their support in the future when we're attempting to rebuild the Republican Party nationally," she said.
So far, 28 Republicans have announced they will vote against Sotomayor's confirmation. Many have recognized the historic nature of the high court's first Hispanic nominee even as they explained why they would not vote for her.
Keep tabs on which senators have committed to yes or no votes with NationalJournal.com's Vote Tracker.
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Responded on August 5, 2009 10:55 AM
Arliss
It is amazing watching these idiots shooting themselves in the foot every day.
Responded on August 5, 2009 11:03 AM
Me
It's good that they are on the wrong side of history again. Hope they keep it up.
They were on the wrong side for Medicare too. The more they do it the more marginalized they get.
Responded on August 5, 2009 11:11 AM
jorge999
'Could be' ??
Responded on August 5, 2009 11:23 AM
Truth Wins
Olympia, you are intelligent so start a new party. The old one is hijacked by fringe elements.
Responded on August 5, 2009 1:15 PM
Steve Otto
Gee, you think?
Responded on August 5, 2009 2:11 PM
Nobogartdadoobie
Obviously they are just trying to win the Black vote by offending the Hispanics!
Responded on August 5, 2009 2:15 PM
TJ
It should be clear to Olympia that she is in the wrong party, once again. If she were a Democrat, she would have a lot of potential for a candidate for President. If she remains a Republican, no matter how much I like and respect her personally, I will not let one of them anywhere near the Oval Office because she would not have enough others who are as sane as she is. She needs to exit and to exit soon. I am sure her consituents would not care, as long as she continues to represent them responsibly. Otherwise, let her remain in her Senate seat and function as independently as she has been because she is working; the others are not.
Responded on August 5, 2009 3:44 PM
grf67
Too late - the GOP has already lost two generations of hispanics.
Responded on August 5, 2009 4:53 PM
iamfree
I'm not sure that it would be possible for me to care any less what Sen. Snowe has to say. I do not trust Judge Sotomayor to be a fair and impartial jurist (in fact, her own words make it clear that she does not believe that to be possible). And her relationship with La Raza is all I need to know about her. It would be tantamount to discovering (prior to his confirmation) that Roberts was a member of a white supremacist group. If Hispanics want senators to compromise their own principles simply to vote for another Hispanic, they are not the ethical people I would hope they would be.
Responded on August 6, 2009 4:13 PM
Phrease
iamfree, La Raza is not a hate group. Go back, re-read your talking point and come back with something more fact based.
Responded on August 7, 2009 11:28 AM
Marka in the keys
Did the democrats lose after opposing the republicans' two, yes TWO hispanic supreme/high court nominees?