Although Feinstein and Durbin may claim a filibuster will not be mounted against Alito, Harry Reid will determine if this is the strategy to be pursued during the Democratic Senate Caucus meeting on Wednesday. As of right now, or 5.20pm CST, only two Democratic Senators have voiced their opposition to an Alito filibuster. These Senators are Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Mark Pryor of Arkansas.
The body of this text is extended.
Here are the
defeatist remarks of the ostensibly Democratic Senator of Nebraska,
"So far, I have seen nothing during my interview with the nominee, the background materials that have been produced or through the committee process that I would consider a disqualifying issue against Judge Alito," said Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., a member of the Senate "Gang of 14."
Nelson, as many of us already know, will be running a difficult reelection campaign later this year. His comments are therefore not surprising, especially as one of his potential opponents, Don Sternberg, admonished him with the following:
Nebraska Senate candidate Don Stenberg (R) warned Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) yesterday that he can expect to get hammered if he votes against Judge Samuel Alito's Supreme Court nomination.
"It's a very important issue," said Stenberg, who is running against Ameritrade executive Pete Ricketts and former Nebraska Republican Party Chairman David Kramer in May's GOP primary.
"I think if Senator Nelson is not supportive of putting judges on the bench who will not legislate from the bench it will be very important," said Stenberg, who served as Nebraska's attorney general from 1991 to 2003 and has argued cases before the Supreme Court three times.
Kramer, referring to Nelson, added, "I don't think he can afford for political reasons to oppose a nominee like Judge Alito."
If you continue to acquiesce to such demands, Ben, you will never be able to cast a vote in good faith.
Mark Pryor of Arkansas has also announced his opposition to the filibuster. Here is how the Denver Post paraphrases the breathless words he ventriloquizes through his aide:
Another of the group, Democrat Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas, said he does not see extraordinary circumstances. "He hasn't heard that there's going to be one," Pryor spokeswoman Lisa Ackerman said. "I don't think there's interest in one."
The Family Council Action Committee's ten day, thirty-six city tour of Arkansas probably forced Pryor to cave. Here is the Northwest Arkansas Times's summary of this state of affairs:
Representatives from the Family Council Action Committee visited Fayetteville on Thursday as part of a 10-day, 36-city tour of Arkansas to promote the confirmation of Judge Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court.. "We are encouraging citizens here in Arkansas to get in touch with Sen. (Blanche) Lincoln and Sen. (Mark) Pryor and urge them to vote for the confirmation of Judge Samuel Alito," said Jerry Cox, president of the Family Action Committee. "A lot of people think the United States Supreme Court is out of reach for the everyday citizen, and that simply isn't true If people are concerned about who serves on the United States Supreme Court, now is the time to get involved; now is the time to call their senator and let them know."
Cox said the tour is focused on creating awareness about the Supreme Court. "Sen. Lincoln and Sen. Pryor have said that they want to hear from the people of Arkansas on this issue," Cox said. "This is in no way an adversarial tour toward Sen. Lincoln or Sen. Pryor. We are simply encouraging people to become involved in the process."
I am not sure how lying has become a family value, Mr. Cox. But thankfully, Blanche Lincoln has not articulated any statements on the Alito nomination. Perhaps Blanche is not convinced. Write her here in order to ensure she remains dissuaded by the Family Council Action Committee's deplorable tactics.
Mary Landrieu has not caved in to these interest groups. In fact, she has exchanged barbs with their spokespeople. Witness this entertaining exchange:
Focus on the Family Action Vice President of Government and Public Policy Tom Minnery renewed his call today that Sen. Mary Landrieu (news, bio, voting record), D-La., support a fair up-or-down Senate vote for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito.
Minnery's comments stem from criticism leveled by Landrieu spokesman Brian Richardson, who on Tuesday blasted a Focus on the Family Action ad campaign spotlighting Landrieu's refusal to do the will of those who sent her to office with regard to the Alito nomination. "If James Dobson's Colorado group is so concerned with helping the people of Louisiana," Brian Richardson said on Landrieu's behalf in an interview with the Bayou Buzz, "perhaps he could do more helping us recover from (hurricanes) Katrina and Rita and stop wasting money on negative, unproductive propaganda."
"The crassness of Mr. Richardson's comments is only rivaled by their inaccuracy," Minnery said. "Dr. Dobson and Focus on the Family have done much in the way of hurricane relief -- raising more than $1.1 million and using our worldwide reach to direct constituents to worthy agencies doing important work on the ground for Katrina and Rita victims.
"Mr. Richardson is using the plight of the hurricane victims to divert attention from his boss's refusal to help ensure Judge Alito gets the up-or-down vote he deserves. We produced our ads after Sen. Landrieu refused multiple requests to meet with the Louisiana Family Forum, our sister organization, to discuss the Alito nomination, meetings in which we hoped to persuade her to listen to those who put her in office, not those who wield the most power in her party."
Where should I begin? Should I begin with Mr. Minnery's sanctimony? Should I remind Mr. Minnery that Sen. Landrieu is very committed to rebuilding the city and the region Mr. Minnery's political and religioius associates have abandoned? Should I ask Mr. Minnery to justify his trivialization of the plight of Katrina victims when most of them comprise families, families he and his organization should support? Or should I congratulate Mary Landrieu for returning their bullets with a scud missile? Thank you, Senator Landrieu, for your crassness. I just hope you are more crass on the Senate floor on 20 January. Send Senator Landrieu your love and support at her website.
Daniel Inouye and Robert Byrd have been ominously silent. And Kenneth Salazar has declined to comment. But some pundits believe Edward Kennedy should expose Robert Byrd's deep past since he interrogated Alito's affiliation with CAP. Here I cite a paragraph from a Letter to the Editor published in The Seattle Times:
If Alito is to be held to a standard of explaining why he aligned himself with the heinous alumni group at Princeton allegedly advocating bigotry, shouldn't Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.V., be equally tasked with explaining his advocacy over many years in the Ku Klux Klan? I have yet to hear Sen. Ted Kennedy calling for such an explanation.
The desperation of the Republican Party is breathtaking.
Joe Lieberman, however, assured us that the filibuster is still an option. Thank you Joe for breathing a bit of fresh air into all of this confusion.
Landrieu, Bryd, Inouye, Lieberman and Salazar are still hanging in the balance. Contact them, and urge them to support a filibuster.