Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Democrats "Standing Firm" on Alito
Yesterday, I tuned into C-SPAN and watched the debate end on the Alito nomination, and watched as they prepared for the cloture vote. C-SPAN had the vote count as 57 voting to end debate, and 37 voting against.
I was fully prepared to watch the vote go down party lines, not have enough votes to create a filibuster option, and Alito's nomination would be approved... again, along party lines.
What I was NOT prepared for was the final tally of the vote, which wound up being 75-25. This means that, during the course of debate, many Democrats realized that there weren't going to be enough votes to protect the filibuster option, and ran for cover instead of standing their ground.
Granted, the nose count of 37 was unofficial, but was based on public statements that had been made by various Senators and/or their staff.
I am SO TIRED of Democrats beating themselves!
How much scandal must be endured? How many lies must be told? How apocalyptic must our world become before the Democrats decide to stand up and do something about it, rather than running for cover?
Today, John Kerry sent out an e-mail:
Yesterday, 25 Democratic Senators joined our effort to filibuster the Alito nomination -- that's more votes to filibuster the Alito nomination than there were votes against Justice Roberts' nomination itself just a few months ago.
This, of course, combined with a penny will get you a gumball. Spin it however you like, it's disgraceful, and Harry Reid, John Kerry (who was supposedly "leading" the effort on the filibuster), and the Democrats should be ashamed.
He goes on...
It's hard to lose -- but it's important to fight for what we believe in.
It sure is... it sure is a shame that you couldn't convince more of your colleagues to believe that.
I want to thank the hundreds of thousands of you who signed our petitions, called your senators, wrote letters to the editor and, most important, refused to stand silent while President Bush worked to pack the highest court in the land with far right ideologues. We fought a fight that needed fighting.
Let's not go overboard in calling this "a fight" that you mounted. Joe Biden sitting there passing oral gas does NOT a fight make. Robert Byrd crossing the line does not a fight make. The Democrats did NOT fight this nomination. They assumed there was nothing that they could do, and rolled over from the outset.
And exactly HOW many times do you think the Democratic grassroots are going to come answer the call for phone calls, e-mails, letters, faxes, donations, et al... only to watch the elected representatives in Congress piss the opportunity away?
We made sure the nation knew the truth about the Alito nomination. We made sure America heard how a right wing ideological coup sandbagged Harriet Miers' nomination and replaced her with Judge Alito.
I'm sorry, but this just isn't true. If you walked up and asked the average person on the streeet if they knew "the truth" about the Alito nomination, you'd get a blank stare.
Forget the average American. Ask the average Democrat. The job was not done. Period.
I would thank the 25 Senators that stood their ground and remained true to their word. They are:
Bayh, Evan (D-IN)
Biden, Joseph R., Jr. (D-DE)
Boxer, Barbara (D-CA)
Clinton, Hillary Rodham (D-NY)
Dayton, Mark (D-MN)
Dodd, Christopher J. (D-CT)
Durbin, Richard (D-IL)
Feingold, Russell D. (D-WI)
Feinstein, Dianne (D-CA)
Jeffords, James M. (I-VT)
Kennedy, Edward M. (D-MA)
Kerry, John (D-MA)
Lautenberg, Frank R. (D-NJ)
Leahy, Patrick J. (D-VT)
Levin, Carl (D-MI)
Menendez, Robert (D-NJ)
Mikulski, Barbara A. (D-MD)
Murray, Patty (D-WA)
Obama, Barack (D-IL)
Reed, Jack (D-RI)
Reid, Harry (D-NV)
Sarbanes, Paul S. (D-MD)
Schumer, Charles E. (D-NY)
Stabenow, Debbie (D-MI)
Wyden, Ron (D-OR)
If you live in one of these states, make sure you do everything in your power to support these individuals as they come up for re-election. Unless that individual is John Kerry or Harry Reid.
As for the rest, to hell with them.
Posted by FleshPresser at 4:30 PM /
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