Missouri’s senior U.S. Senator is among a small group of Republican Senators announcing the decision to vote in favor of the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond says that while he respects his fellow Republicans who oppose the nomination, he hopes his vote bodes well for a future with less polarization and less confrontation.

Bond points to his support for President Bill Clinton’s two High Court nominees – Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.

"I supported these nominees of a Democratic President as did 86 of my colleagues for Justice Breyer and 95 of my colleagues for Justice Ginsburg," said Bond during a speech from the floor of the Senate. "I hope those votes do not reflect a time that has slipped away when partisanship did not infect every facet of our political life."

Bond told the Senate he wants to see a time when Senators put politics aside – something he says then-Senator Barack Obama refused to do when he voted against President George W. Bush’s nominees.

"I could not forget that time as, regrettably, President Obama did when he was in the Senate," said Bond. "I could easily say, as Senator Obama said, that I disagree with a nominee’s judicial approach and that allows me to oppose the nominee of a different party. Luckily for President Obama I do not agree with Senator Obama. I reject the Obama approach to nominees."

Bond says it’s time to put politics aside when it comes to judicial nominees.

"From our liberal friends, I hope they remember this day when another qualified nominee is before the Senate who is conservative," said Bond. "The standard set by Senator Obama should not govern the Senate."

Bond then expressed his satisfaction that the Senate has reviewed the Sotomayor nomination, with no significant findings against her, and urged his colleagues to follow him in voting to confirm her.


Download/Listen: Senator Bond’s floor speech (7:30 MP3)