Sonia Sotomayor confirmation to the appeals court would put Sotomayor in a better position for a possible Supreme Court nomination (despite there being no vacancy at the time nor any indication the Clinton administration was considering nominating her or any Hispanic). Therefore, the Republican majority decided to slow her confirmation. Radio commentator Rush Limbaugh weighed in that Sotomayor was an ultraliberal who was on a "rocket ship" to the highest court. During her September 1997 hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sotomayor parried strong questioning from some Republican members about mandatory sentencing, gay rights, and her level of respect for Supreme Court
National Institute for Latino Policy Latino National Political Survey, “ "PS: Political Science and Politics", Vol. 20, No. 4 (December 1989), pp. 848–852. _____________, “Puerto Ricans and the 1989 Mayoral Election in New York City,” "Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences", Vol. 11, No. 2 (August 1989), pp. 245–258. Angelo Falcón, "New York Latinos and the Mosque Controversy,” New America Media (September 22, 2010). __________, “Latinos, Health Reform and Dogs,” New America Media (December 25, 2009). __________, “Sotomayor is as American as Mango Pie,” CNN.com (July 20, 2009) __________, “A Closer Look at the White House ‘Takeover’ of the Census,” Hispanic Link News Service (February 2009)