Graham: Sotomayor not racist, but apology expected

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) rejected charges Sunday that President
Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, is a racist.

Asked
if he agreed with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and
conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh that Sotomayor is a
racist, the South Carolina Republican said he disagreed.

{mosads}“No,
they interject themselves in the debate. They have got an audience to
entertain and Newt is a political commentator. I’m a United States
senator,” Graham said on “Fox News Sunday” with Chris Wallace. “I don’t
think she’s a racist. She should be proud of what she has accomplished
in life.”

Earlier, the senator highlighted comments from a
speech Sotomayor gave in 2001 that suggested that she, a Latina women,
would make a better judge than a white man because of her life
experiences. Graham said the U.S. Court of Appeals Second Circuit judge
should retract that statement.

“What she said was that based on
her life experiences she thought that a Latina woman, somebody with her background,
would be a better judge than a guy like me, a white guy from South
Carolina. It is troubling,” Graham said. “It’s inappropriate and I hope
she will apologize.”

Graham was joined by former Massachusetts
Gov. Mitt Romney (R) in disagreeing with Gingrich and Limbaugh on thier
belief that Sotomayor is a racist.

“I disagree with them. This
is a process where you have a individual that is intelligent,
well-educated and has an extensive record. She deserves a full and fair
hearing,” Romney said. “We will have a chance to hear what she has to
say.”

Sotomayor was defended by the newest Democrat in the
Senate, Arlen Specter (Pa.). Specter cited the judge’s “extraordinary
record” — 17 years on the bench and superb academic credentials with
degrees from Princeton and Yale — as evidence that she is an unbiased
judge.

“I think it is fair to ask her about the question but she
has a long, solid record that shows she is fair and not biased,”
Specter said.

The Pennsylvania senator also said Sotomayor’s
race would be an asset to the Supreme Court, saying the judgment and experience
she would bring as the first Hispanic justice would add to the court’s
deliberations.

“The diversity and point of view of a Latina women is significant. It adds to the mix,” Specter said.

Sotomayor’s
biggest obstacle to her confirmation, still considered very likely, may
not be her comments about her experience as a Hispanic but the record
of her nominator, Obama.

As an Illinois senator, Obama voted
against both of President Bush’s Supreme Court nominees not because he
did not believe they were not qualified but disagreed with their legal
philosophy. Graham said if he used Obama’s reasoning he would find it
tough to vote for Sotomayor. 

“If you look at her ideology, as
expressed in these cases and this comment, I could never vote for her
as Republican,” Graham said. “President Obama better hope that
Republicans treat his nominee better than he treated President Bush’s
nominees.”