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Alito Vote: Passes Senate Judiciary Committee

Not surprisingly, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed Judge Sam Alito on for a vote in the full Senate. All Democrats voted against him.The make-up of the Committee, with 10 Republicans and 8 Democratics assured this would be the outcome. Here are excerpts from the hearing this morning at which the vote was taken. The full transcript (html) is here.

Will it be any different in the full Senate? Raw Story reports today that Florida Senator, Democrat Bill Nelson announced he will vote against Alito.

From Nelson's statement:

"I have voted for almost all of President Bush's judicial nominees; and, I greeted Judge Alito's nomination with an open mind. But his many legal writings, judicial opinions and evasive answers both at his hearing and in our private meeting, convinced me he would tilt the scales of justice in favor of big government over the average person.

"Because he is not the centrist voice I believe this nation needs to replace the retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who fiercely defended the rights and liberties of all Americans, I'm going to vote no on his confirmation."

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  • Should be, though the fight this time around wasn't quite as vitriolic as I thought it would be. Poppycock: A chronicle of the stupidest things ever said

    Re: Alito Vote: Passes Senate Judiciary Committee (none / 0) (#2)
    by ras on Tue Jan 24, 2006 at 11:51:42 AM EST
    Can the D's line up enough of their Senators to push Alito to 60+? Tough call, cuz the Left is stalking the primaries more & more all the time. A 51-59 confirmation could ignite an open revolt and cost several D Senators their jobs. If the D's can somehow find enough of their own to get Alito outta fb territory, he'll be confirmed as soon as the vote is held. But if they can't get him to 60+, I suspect they'll fb, as each Senator's short-term survival fears outweigh the party's long-term strategy (such as it is). Interesting times.

    Re: Alito Vote: Passes Senate Judiciary Committee (none / 0) (#3)
    by pigwiggle on Tue Jan 24, 2006 at 02:06:46 PM EST
    One senator's view of the judiciary ...
    And I think it is a demonstration of what happens when you have one political party controlling both branches of government. The checks and the balances cease.
    I'll give you a hint; rhymes with Einstein.

    I called Feinsteins' office to offer my views on the issue, and the staffer told me that they were getting a lot of calls about the nomination, many of them against Alito.