Cornyn says he will vote against Sotomayor

The Texas Republican, whose constituents are one-third Hispanic, acknowledged that his decision to oppose Sotomayor could carry political risks and said he was announcing it with “regret and some sadness.’’

“Voting to confirm a judge - this judge or any judge - despite doubts would certainly be the politically expedient thing to do, but I don’t believe it would be the right thing to do,’’ said Cornyn, a member of the Judiciary Committee, who said he came away from Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings still wondering, “Who is the real Judge Sonia Sotomayor?’’

Cornyn is a vivid example of Republicans’ dilemma in deciding how to vote on the 55-year-old appeals court judge, who is virtually guaranteed confirmation by early August.

Like other GOP leaders, he’s concerned with placating a conservative base that’s vehemently opposed to Obama’s nominee, but he’s one of many Republicans who risks undercutting himself with Hispanic voters, a growing part of the electorate, by doing so.

His announcement came as another Republican on the Judiciary panel, Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, announced he would also vote against Sotomayor, saying he disagrees with her judicial philosophy.

Hatch was one of seven current GOP senators who voted for Sotomayor in 1998 when she was confirmed for a seat on New York’s US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. That group is splitting over confirming her to the nation’s highest court. Republican Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine and Richard Lugar of Indiana are among those who have said they’ll back Sotomayor, while Senators Thad Cochran of Mississippi and Bob Bennett of Utah, like Hatch, say they’ll oppose her this time around. Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, who also voted to confirm Sotomayor previously, has not said what he will do this time.

Cornyn said he believes “the stakes are too high’’ for him to support a nominee who might approach important constitutional issues like gun and property rights “from a liberal, activist perspective.’’

Still, he acknowledged that Sotomayor - who has solid backing from majority Democrats and a handful of GOP supporters - would almost certainly join the bench. In a message that seemed tailored to tamp down on any potential backlash from Hispanic voters for his opposition, Cornyn said he wishes her well.

“I know she will be an inspiration to many young people in the Hispanic community and beyond,’’ he said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Palin’s favorability rating has dipped to its lowest level in the Washington Post-ABC News since she came to national attention last summer as GOP presidential nominee John McCain’s running mate. Fifty-three percent of those polled view her negatively and 40 percent have a favorable impression.

Last summer, almost 6 in 10 Americans viewed her favorably, but her poll numbers have slipped since.

Palin, seen as a possible GOP presidential contender in 2012, is stepping down as governor tomorrow, ending her term 18 months early. Palin remains strikingly popular within her own party, especially with white evangelical Protestants and conservatives. Seventy percent of Republicans view her favorably. But the number who have “strongly favorable’’ opinions has dropped since last fall, the Post reported yesterday.

The poll involved 1,001 randomly selected adults on standard and cell phones and was taken from July 15-18 with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Federal prosecutors told a court yesterday that they no longer plan to hold Mohammed Jawad as a wartime prisoner. Instead, they wrote in a court filing, they plan to begin a criminal investigation. That would most likely mean bringing him to criminal trial in the United States.

Even if that happens, Jawad is not likely to be transferred soon. For the time being, prosecutors say, he will remain at the Navy-run detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, while an expedited criminal investigation is conducted. To bring him to a US courtroom, the government must first present enough evidence to a grand jury to indict Jawad and beat back any attempts by his lawyers to have Jawad freed before such an indictment is filed.

So far, the only Guantanamo detainee brought to face trial in a US criminal court is Ahmed Ghailani, who was sent to New York in June to face charges he helped orchestrate two bomb attacks on US embassies in Africa in 1998.

ASSOCIATED PRESS