Sotomayor: Does the job come with a parking permit? Because it's not easy finding a spot in DC. Credit: Photo courtesy of White House

For all the wailing and gnashing of teeth, the fringe right attempts to paint Judge Sonia Sotomayor as some kind of hormone-crazed, nay racist, even anti-gun liberal activist have come to naught: The US Senate has just confirmed her nomination to the US Supreme Court, 68-31.

Equally unsurprisingly, there’s been an outpouring of press releases praising the selection of the court’s first Latina justice. So far Newsdesk has received statements from the Texas Democratic Party, the Women’s Campaign Forum, gubernatorial candidate Tom Scheiffer, Houston Dem Rep. Garnet Coleman and the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Particular points go to Coleman’s fellow Houston House member Carol Alvarado for this linguistic flourish: “History will remember today as the day when the American judicial system caught up with the salad bowl that is American diversity.”

So who voted her in? All the Democrats (except Sen. Ted Kennedy, who is still battling cancer) plus independents Bernie Sanders and Joe Lieberman. They were joined by nine Republicans: Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Kit Bond of Missouri, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe from Maine, Richard Lugar of Indiana, Mel Martinez from Florida, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, and Ohio’s George Voinovich.

Unsurprisingly, the Texas two of John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison followed their promise and voted no, to no avail beyond pleasing their conservative base.

This article appears in July 31 • 2009.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.