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Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito

By Jeralyn, Section Sam Alito
Posted on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 11:34:38 AM EST
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From Democrats.com:

I have confirmed reports that Kerry wants to filibuster Alito, and he is talking to his colleagues to round up the 41 votes he needs. Only two Democrats (Ben Nelson and Tim Johnson) support Alito. Only two others (Mary Landrieu and Ken Salazar) say they oppose a filibuster, but are expected to vote against Alito.

So right now, without the support of any Republicans, we still have 41 possible votes for a filibuster. There are roughly 6 moderate Republicans who should also be targeted (Lincoln Chafee, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Bob Smith, Olympia Snowe, George Voinovich). And we should work as hard as we can to persuade Landrieu and Salazar that a vote against Alito is meaningless if they don't support a filibuster.

Keep calling the Alito-8. And I'd add, end the tyranny of the gang of 14.

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    Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito | 22 comments (22 topical)
    Re: Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito (none / 0) (#1)
    by ras on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 12:18:22 PM EST
    TL, You want a minority to stifle the wishes of a majority by suppressing the act of voting, and you call that "end the tyranny?" Just the opposite, in fact.

    Re: Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito (none / 0) (#2)
    by ras on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 12:38:13 PM EST
    BTW, wanna bet Kerry's fb goes nowhere? It's almost as if he's indulging in a meaningless pose. And why not? It's cost-free now. And if pressure from the base somehow does force a fb, he's nicely positioned to take credit for their efforts.

    Re: Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 01:04:12 PM EST
    What majority? The anti-Alito senators represent a majority of the U.S. population. So, even if appointing judges that will allow the boundless expansion of executive power is only tyranny if it involves a "minority stifl[ing] the wishes of a majority," it looks like even knee-jerk majoritarianism won't help you out of this one.

    Re: Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito (none / 0) (#4)
    by ras on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 01:18:41 PM EST
    scoutfinch, What majority?... We both know the rationale for the way the Senate is organized. Frankly, I wish we had as good a senate structure in Canada (ours is more like an appointed House Of Lords, sigh). Count your blessings. And do remember, Bush won reelection - the only poll that matters - with the largest number of votes that any president has ever received, in part by campaigning on a promise to appoint constructionist judges. Alito certainly qualifies. Trivia q: who was the last D president to receive a higher share of the popular vote than GWB?

    Re: Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito (none / 0) (#5)
    by squeaky on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 01:31:29 PM EST
    Senator Byrd has just defected and will vote for Alito. Kos has the story

    Re: Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito (none / 0) (#6)
    by Lww on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 02:08:17 PM EST
    You can thank Teddy K for that defection. How this lethal joke of a person can look someone in the eye and question their integrity(without half the senate rolling in the aisles) is beyond me. I couldn't stand it. If he did it to me I'd have milk coming outta my nose. Only the fellow travelers don't get it. Hilarious....

    Re: Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito (none / 0) (#7)
    by jondee on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 02:44:24 PM EST
    "Minority stifling the majority". Ras thats why I - and, Im sure you lol- are in favor of campaign finanance reform.

    Re: Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito (none / 0) (#8)
    by squeaky on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 02:56:53 PM EST
    LWW-Nothing to do with Kennedy as you would know if you cared to check the link I provided.

    Re: Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito (none / 0) (#9)
    by Strick on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 02:57:55 PM EST
    I saw on another blog that the 60th Senator came out for Alito. This is a non-starter even if the thought they could avoid the nuclear option. Not that they wanted to. Kerry apparently thought he could get some mileage out of provoking it.

    Re: Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito (none / 0) (#10)
    by Slado on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 03:19:11 PM EST
    The Alito nomination is only proving what a dumb move it was for Dem's to fight so hard against Roberts. To appose such and obvioulsy qualified jurist who was replacing a conservative only showed the public that Dems wouldn't accept any nominee, true or not. Take Feingold who voted for Roberts and will not vote for Alito. His opinion has merit becaus he can actually say "Look I voted for Roberts and will accept a resonable nominee from the president but this nominee does not meet my standards" (not a real quote). But people like Biden, Kennedy etc... only look like partisan fools who shouldn't be taken seriously.

    Re: Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito (none / 0) (#11)
    by ras on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 03:31:27 PM EST
    Kerry yodeled in his fb call from a ski resort in Switzerland. You gotta be mighty gullible to think it was anything but a pose. But it does sum up the single biggest prob w/the Dems: posing in general. It's killing the party. First the swing-voters figured it out and stopped voting for them and they became a minority. Soon, their own remaining base - excepting the wilfully gullible - will, too, and the party will split down the middle. Illustration: Lefties, if Souter retires next month and Dems vow to fight any "extremist and unaccptable" nominees, will you believe them? If Dems had believed their own rhetoric about Alito, they'd'a gone to the wall to stop him. If enough of their base believed it, they'd'a forced them to. Neither happened. This is very deeply divided party, and leaders like Yodeling John won't be able to mend those rifts - tho I'm sure he'll be able pose confidently and claim that he can. The split is just one or two election cycles away, if that, after it becomes apparent that the current arrangement is doomed to be a minority forever; a house divided and all that....

    Re: Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito (none / 0) (#12)
    by squeaky on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 03:31:55 PM EST
    Slado-
    ...what a dumb move it was for Dem's to fight so hard against Roberts.
    You mean that it was dumb for them to ask Roberts tough questions. I think that is their job, especially for a lifetime position. Would you hire someone, for life, whose work record was withheld, unavailable for examination, just because he seemed nice. I would not, I would make him or work hard to prove himself capeable of the job. Had he made his records available the process would have been less intense, or more, depending on what was in the records.

    Re: Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito (none / 0) (#13)
    by squeaky on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 03:48:59 PM EST
    kos has a very good analysis of the breakdown of votes for the Alito nomination. He also points out what we have to do in the next 10 months (hard work). Very clear and right on. Reality Check

    Re: Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito (none / 0) (#14)
    by Sailor on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 03:50:40 PM EST
    It doesn't matter whether the FB is successful or not. What matters is someone standing on principle and not making a political decision. Losing when fighting the good fight is not shameful; not even trying is why folks should be ashamed. $crew the politics, do what is best for the country, as you see it. (yeah, even at my advanced age I think altruism will eventually trump partisanship;-)

    Re: Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito (none / 0) (#15)
    by jimcee on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 04:18:43 PM EST
    Sailor, Ah, fighting the good fight. Sort of like being Lord Cardigan watching his Light Brigade '...charge into the Valley of Death...'. Hint, this isn't the 'good fight' it is just partisan posturing by Sen. Kerry et al. If you really want control of who becomes a Supreme Court Justice it is very simple all you have to do is win the appropriate elections. Either win enough Senate seats or win the presidency and there you go. As long as the Dems take thier general strategies from The Daily Kos they will not do well with the electorate. Trust me on that as I'm neither Dem or Repub. I'm just an indepenent voter who finds Kos's histrionics, bought and paid for by certain lefty partisans, to be beyond the pale of honest debate. Sen. Kerry calling it in from the Suisse Alps says about all that needs to be said about his seriousness in this debate. LOL.

    Re: Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito (none / 0) (#16)
    by Lora on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 04:29:26 PM EST
    Kerry "wants to?" Sorry but Kerry has disapponted me too many times to get excited about his "wanting" to do anything. Either you do it or you don't.

    Re: Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito (none / 0) (#17)
    by Sailor on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 04:36:03 PM EST
    No, The Light Brigade were ORDERED to charge by the idiots commanding them (See US in Iraq), if a subaltern had refused, he might have been shot, but his soldiers would have lived. THAT is the good fight. Since Dems aren't even at that risk, they should FB until the last breath absides from their bodies. Doing the Right thing is easy, doing the right thing is hard.

    Re: Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito (none / 0) (#18)
    by jondee on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 04:36:30 PM EST
    "Im independant neither Dem or Repub" trans: right libertarian who'll vote Dem right around the time hell freezes over. Yeah, youre non-partisan jimcee.

    Re: Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito (none / 0) (#19)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 06:43:59 PM EST
    jimcee - Sorry, but no one will believe you, as no one believes me. You are either with them or against them.

    Re: Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito (none / 0) (#20)
    by ras on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 06:54:36 PM EST
    PPJ/Jimcee, I believe you :) Jondee, You think that the Dem party is antithetical to libertarians? Agreed.

    Re: Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito (none / 0) (#21)
    by jimcee on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 10:02:30 PM EST
    Sailor, Although I've been warned off this conversation... The Light Brigade charged not because the were ordered to charge they were given the order and they charged because of their loyalty, thier honour and thier nationalistic pride. Oddly thier futile charge won the eventual battle, so there is always hope. But all that historical BS aside, The Left really, no REALLY, REALLY, doesn't understand how much they are leaving us old hippies behind. I don't care about most social things as I'm a libretarian but when the Dems present some praetorian symbiot as their last presidential candidate and want everyone to bow to his predictable rhetoric as honest debate I'm insulted. Did I mention I'm an old hippie? When I say old hippie I mean I like my guns,hunting and little gov't involvment in my life. A nice bowl and good food, home and family is all I want. So I'm some fascist dude or what? The Left lost me a while ago, the right has always worried me so honestly who am I to trust? Any suggestions et al?

    Re: Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito (none / 0) (#22)
    by Sailor on Fri Jan 27, 2006 at 05:01:50 PM EST
    jimcee, I'm not sure why you were warned off or by who, but I have to say that since I have become familiar with your posts I always take them seriously and try to respond in kind. That said I'm not sure I see the difference between what I said and what you posted:
    The Light Brigade charged not because the were ordered to charge they were given the order
    But you are correct in that it is OT, and and I would never want to become a boer, or even a fractious commenter;-)

    Report: Kerry Wants to Filibuster Alito | 22 comments (22 topical)