Sotomayor Begins Lobbying for Supreme Court Confirmation

Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama's nominee to replace Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court, began lobbying for her confirmation Wednesday, placing what one Senate aide described as "courtesy" calls to top Democratic and Republican leaders on Capitol Hill.

Sotomayor will begin meeting with senators in person once they return from recess next week.

But first, the Appeals Court justice is in a getting-to-know-you phase with lawmakers who will be key to her confirmation -- which Obama wants completed before the Senate adjourns for the summer on Aug. 10.

Sotomayor called Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.;  Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.; and the ranking Republican on the committee, Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama.

The White House and its allies are readying a major push to persuade Republican senators to back Sotomayor's confirmation.

A coalition of liberal groups calling itself the Center for Constitutional Values launched a television ad Wednesday touting Sotomayor as principled, fair-minded and independent. The ad, which will air on broadcast and cable networks, overlays Obama's voice with pictures of Sotomayor and is intended to frame public perceptions of the judge.

Aside from the tide of interest groups pushing Sotomayor's nomination -- as well as those resolutely opposing it -- the Democratic National Committee on Wednesday sent out a Spanish-language e-mail to supporters.

Sotomayor, if confirmed, will be the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court, and the third woman.

Her nomination represents somewhat of a tightrope walk for Republicans.

Any Republican effort to block Sotomayor's confirmation could be risky for a party still reeling from last year's elections and struggling to gain back lost ground with Hispanics, the fastest-growing part of the population. Republicans don't want to be seen as insensitive to the historic significance of Sotomayor's nomination.

Janet Murguia, president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza, called Sotomayor's nomination "a monumental day for Latinos."

Sessions said Wednesday he doesn't foresee a filibuster against Sotomayor, though he thinks her legal philosophy should be closely examined.

"I don't sense a filibuster in the works" unless the nominee has "serious problems," he said in a nationally broadcast interview.

The GOP faces an uphill battle in defeating the New York-born daughter of Puerto Rican parents, but Republicans are promising a thorough and perhaps lengthy hearing process that delves into her record and judicial philosophy.

Democrats hold 59 votes in the Senate, more than enough to confirm Sotomayor, but one short of what they will need to stop a vote-blocking filibuster.

Sessions was among several Republicans who opposed Sotomayor when she came before the Senate as a nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals in 1998. On Tuesday, he said: "We ought to look at her record fresh."

Though Sotomayor's personal story and her academic and legal credentials earn her respect from all quarters, conservatives see plenty to criticize in her rulings and statements. They describe her as a judicial activist who would put her feelings above the Constitution.

Sotomayor would replace Souter, who generally votes with the liberals on the Court, and thus would maintain its ideological divide. A number of important cases have been divided by 5-4 majorities, with conservative- and liberal-leaning justices split 4-4 and Justice Anthony Kennedy providing the decisive vote.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.