"Some say Judge Sotomayor saved baseball," Obama said talking about how her decision ended the baseball strike.
She was born in the South Bronx, raised in a Bronx public housing project, and her family is from Puerto Rico. Sotomayor's interest in the law was inspired by reading the Nancy Drew series, Obama said.
"I am deeply moved," Sotomayor said, looking truly moved. She paid tribute to her mother, Salina Sotomayor, who often worked 2 jobs to support the family after her father died, and Omar Lopez, her mom's husband. Read her remarks here.
Republicans have already said--without even knowing Obama's pick-- they're going to cause some mischief and delay Sotomayor's confirmation. But of course. I wouldn't expect anything less from them. The media is already at work, playing up the mudslinging that's about to begin. NPR reports that Obama has hired outside people to work on getting Sotomayor confirmed quickly.
I'll post video when it's up.
Bio:
Bio:
• Age 54 (Born June 25, 1954, New York City)
Judicial Career
• U.S. Appeals Court judge, 2nd Circuit, 1998-present
• U.S. District Court judge, 1992-1998
• Nominated to federal bench by Bush in 1991, Clinton in 1997
Government/Legal Career
• Former N.Y. County Assistant District Attorney, 1979-1984
• Former private practice attorney, Pavia & Harcourt, New York, 1984-1992
Politics
• Confirmed by Senate 67-29 in 1998
• Confirmation to current seat took over 1 year
• Was opposed by majority of GOP senators
• Was unopposed in 1991 confirmation process
Read more at CNN
Reaction to Sotomayor:
Mitt Romney is troubled as he always is.
Sen. Olympia Snowe says Sotomayor is well qualified.
Read Sotomayor's notable opinions here.
Chuck Shumer:
"I think the confirmation process will be more of a test of the Republican Party than it is of Judge Sotomayor," Schumer told reporters Tuesday. "It's a test for the Republican Party because she is a mainstream justice. ... Why would they oppose her? There's no really good reason." PoliticoSotomayor's confirmation is practically a shoo-in:
To undo Obama's pick, Republicans will have to uncheck those boxes. It might be possible to argue that Sotomayor either is too liberal or too out of the mainstream, but in making that case, Republicans risk damaging their party's already dismal standing with women and Hispanics. (History check: Last year, Obama won among Hispanics 67 percent to 31 percent.)
Going into this debate, Republicans have been mulling the opportunity and challenges. The math of the Senate makes it likely Obama will get his nominee. As a thoroughly crude political matter, the confirmation seems very secure. Obama already has a nearly filibuster-proof majority with 59 Democrats. It's also unlikely that the two moderate female Republican senators from Maine would vote against Sotomayor. (The two other GOP women might not, either.) Read more at Slate
