Kit & Caboodle

Sonia Sotomayor earned her seventh GOP supporter today, when retiring Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) said on the Senate floor that he would vote for her, despite disagreements with some of her rulings and Pres. Obama's Senate votes against other judicial nominees.

Bond said he "rejects" Obama's standard of opposing qualified candidates due to ideological differences; then-Sen. Obama voted against CJ John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito (against whom he voted for a filibuster).

Bond was one of a handful of previously undeclared senators to reveal their intentions on the floor early today. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) announced his opposition to Sotomayor in speech, while Sen. Mike Enzi's (R-WY) office said Enzi would speak against Sotomayor's nomination later today.

That leaves, according to On Call's count, just three undeclared GOP Sens.: Judd Gregg (NH), Lisa Murkowski (AK) and George Voinovich (OH). Murkowski is scheduled to speak on the floor around 7:30 p.m. EDT tonight to disclose her intentions.

A "Wise" Clarification

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), who said in a floor speech late last night that he considers Sotomayor's now-infamous "wise Latina" remark "racist," offered a measure of clarification today.

"Statements that seek to pit one race against another or elevate one race at the expense of another, regardless of who utters them, have no place in the American conversation," Inhofe said. "I am not characterizing anyone as a racist, but I will categorize and condemn such racially fueled statements for what they are."

(STEVEN SHEPARD)