GOP Sees Breakthrough in Gonzales’ Confirmation

Confirming Alberto R. Gonzales as the new U.S. attorney general “will resonate throughout the Hispanic community” despite Democratic concerns linking him with Bush administration policies on treatment of foreign detainees, Republicans said Wednesday.

As many as 30 Democrats are expected to vote against the White House counsel and former Texas Supreme Court judge.

GOP senators continued to praise Gonzales through Senate speeches the day before his confirmation vote to become the first Latino attorney general.

“This is a breakthrough of incredible magnitude for Hispanic Americans and should not be diluted by partisan politics,” said Florida Sen. Mel Martinez, the nation’s first Cuban American senator. “Judge Gonzales is a role model for the next generation of Hispanic Americans in this country.”

Martinez, the former Housing and Urban Development secretary, broke with Senate tradition by giving part of his floor speech praising Gonzales in Spanish. He said the confirmation would mean a lot to young Latinos.

Gonzales’ confirmation “will resonate through the Hispanic community, just as it has resonated throughout our community that he has been the president’s lawyer,” Martinez said.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said that Democrats would not attempt to filibuster Gonzales’ nomination, but they did want extensive debate on his role in Bush administration policies involving the use of torture on foreign detainees.