Bye bye Jon Kyl: Implies Sotomayor is a liar, won"t vote for her; Crist agrees with Kyl

[SuperTrouper]

Senator Jon kyl has mounted an assault on soon-to-be Justice Sonia Sotomayor implying that she lied to the Senators in her Senatorial Committee Judicial Hearings. This occurs the same day that Senator Lindsey Graham announced that he will break away from the right wing Conservative GOP Senators and will vote for Sotomayor because "elections matter" and Sotomayor is extremely qualified to sit on the Supreme COurt of the US. Jon Kyl has assured himself an avalanche of Hispanics voting against him during the next Arizona Senatorial elections as payback for his vicious attack on the history-making Latina Judge Sotomayor. Hispanics are a significant voting bloc in Arizona and if they unite against Jon Kyl, it is curtains for him come election time. Charlie Crist also announced that he opposes Sotomayor; I am sure that Hispanics in Florida will love him for that and will vote to elect him Senator :sarcasm:

Excerpts:

WASHINGTON – Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said Wednesday that he will vote for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, breaking with his party's conservative leaders to back President Barack Obama's choice to be the first Hispanic justice.

The South Carolinian, who had hinted during Sotomayor's confirmation hearings that he might back the 55-year-old judge, said he would vote yes because "elections matter," and he believes she's a well-qualified jurist with a mainstream record that shows her "troubling" statements on race and gender don't drive her decisions on the bench.

"Her life story ... is something that every American should be proud of, and if her selection to the Supreme Court will inspire young women, particularly Latino women, to seek a career in the law, then that is a good thing — and I hope it will," Graham said.

Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, the No. 2 Republican, announced just before Graham's speech that he would oppose Sotomayor, accusing her of dissembling and stalling instead of being straightforward with senators during her confirmation hearings.

"I remain unconvinced that Judge Sotomayor believes judges should set aside biases, including those based on race and gender, and render the law impartially and neutrally," Kyl said, echoing the comments of several other leading conservatives who have announced they'll oppose the judge.

Kyl was particularly harsh about Sotomayor's responses to questions regarding a ruling she joined last year dismissing the claims of white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., who alleged reverse discrimination when they were denied promotions.

"Her answers answered nothing," Kyl said. The ruling was overturned last month by the Supreme Court, and Republicans have spotlighted it in their criticism of Sotomayor.

Democrats are capitalizing on the GOP's political dilemma. The party's Senate campaign committee on Wednesday bashed Florida Gov. Charlie Crist — running in a primary to replace Martinez — for announcing this week that he opposes Sotomayor.

"If Crist wins his Republican primary, Floridians won't forget his opposition to the nation's first Hispanic Supreme Court nominee," said Eric Schultz, the committee's spokesman.

Collins, Lugar and Snowe are among the current GOP senators who voted for Sotomayor in 1998 when she was confirmed for a seat on New York's 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The others were Thad Cochran of Mississippi and Bob Bennett of Utah — both of whom plan to oppose Sotomayor this time around — and Judd Gregg of New Hampshire and Orrin Hatch of Utah, neither of whom has said how they will vote.

Graham is generally conservative but has been known to flash a maverick streak similar to his mentor, Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090722/ap_on_go_co/us_sotomayor_senate

[bluestateguy]

1. Guess he's not running for president

That vote and the rumors about him being, well you know, will not go over well in a Republican primary.

[babylonsister]

2. Crist surely didn't help his chances with this considering all the

Hispanics in Florida. Tone deaf?

[oviedodem]

4. You have no idea how tone deaf the OLDER ones are. HOWEVER,

I can tell you that many are not exactly thrilled over the treatement Sotomayor recieved, as well as what John McCain said to them way back when http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/pi_20090404_9431.php

[PretzelWarrior]

6. lol. pissy old navy brat. it couldn't happen to a better guy

I hate McCain. I loathe him.

[City Lights]

3. He's a fine one to talk about answering nothing.

When I lived in AZ he completely ignored me when I contacted him about something. Didn't matter whether it was via email, phone or letter. No response. Nada. Zip. I did not exist.

And his arrogance and self-importance trickles down to his staff. The one time I called his office to leave my opinion on an issue, his staffer started debating me over my opinion, and basically told me I was wrong. So much for working for the people. :eyes:

Jon Vile Kyl. Sucks ass. Big time.

[Still Sensible]

5. Hopefully, with the help of a growing hispanic

population, the voters of Arizona will finally kick this jackass to the curb when he is up for reelection in 2012. The longer he has been in office the more RW he has become. He has always been a conservative, but he has imbibed the full RW kool-aid in this decade.