“Today, a senior Democratic aide admitted the filibuster is a “long shot,” and that some Democrats who have announced their intention to vote against Alito have signaled they will not support a move to filibuster the vote.
“There are a lot more people that want to vote no and think he’s not the right guy, and a lot less people who want to support the filibuster,” one veteran aide said.
“The myopia among too many Senate Democrats is stunning,” the aide said. “They can’t see this is the fight for the future of the Supreme Court. Three years from now if Justice Alito has rolled back the right to choose, Democrats should want to be remembered for fighting tooth and nail to stop this guy.
“This is a fight for history, you can’t just take the issue off the table,” the aide continued. “Does the country understand what’s at stake right now? Probably not. But they will when Alito does damage to our Constitution, and if we don’t fight now, voters will say a pox on both our houses.”
>One aide said part of the problem is that Democratic senators haven’t felt a groundswell of opposition from constituents. Polls show that Alito’s nomination is supported by most Americans.
“People aren’t engaged in this fight,” one senior aide said. “The reality is this isn’t something that American people are calling in droves about. We’re getting more calls in on NSA spying than we are on Alito. Still, one aide close to the Democratic leadership said that they hadn’t given up hope of a filibuster.
“Things change every fifteen minutes,” the staffer quipped.”-excerpted from the post on RAW STORY.
Take this as your cue to CALL YOUR SENATOR NOW. Cross-posted at www.seattlefordean.com and www.howieinseattle.com.
Update [2006-1-26 1:32:10 by howieinseattle]: Democrats.com says the “Alito 8” are blocking a filibuster. They’ve got the phone numbers and the likely suspects. The Rude Pundit tells it as you would expect him to:
“So here’s the question that the Rude Pundit has for Senators Daniel Akaka, Max Baucus, Joe Biden, Robert Byrd, Kent Conrad, Tom Harkin, Jim Jeffords, Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Frank Lautenberg, Patrick Leahy, Carl Levin, Joe Lieberman, Barbara Mikulski, Harry Reid, Jay Rockefeller, and Paul Sarbanes, who were there then and are there now: Do you wish you had filibustered Clarence Thomas now? Do you wish you had done everything you could even against the slim majority that supported Thomas?”
God Howie, are they all like the three monkeys??!! They have their ears shut and their eyes closed. NO wonder they can not speek! What a groups os monkeys we have nowadays….to be yellow spined to boot!
besides, just how many calls pn the phone and emails and petions do I have to make before they listen to me…and I know I am not alone in this, either..
While we have to generate the pressure on all Senators, the decision to filibuster (or not) will also be a leadership decision.
Call the Leadership Offices!
Harry Reid, NV Democratic Leader (202) 224-3542
Dick Durbin, IL Assistant Democratic Leader (202) 224-2152
Patrick Leahy, VT Ranking Member Judiciary Committee (202) 224-4242
Senate Democrats refuse to signal whether or not they will filibuster Alito. They appear to have 41 votes, since Ben Nelson (D-NE) is the only one of 44 Democrats who supports Alito. Jim Jeffords (I-VT) should oppose Alito, and 5 Republicans – Lamar Alexander (TN), Lincoln Chafee (RI) Susan Collins (ME), Olympia Snowe (ME), and Ted Stevens (AK) – are undecided.
(Call:
1-888-355-3588
or
1-888-818-6641
For extra credit, use the same numbers to call all the 2008 Presidential candidates who are sitting Senators – Evan Bayh, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Russ Feingold, and John Kerry – and tell them to either LEAD THE FILIBUSTER or FORGET ABOUT YOUR SUPPORT. You can also send that message to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (202-224-2447) and the Democratic National Committee (202-863-8000).
CALL YOUR SENATORS!
If Repug, tell them “No” to Alito; if Democrat: FILIBUSTER!
If the Washington lines are busy you can also call your Senators’ home offices (for info, click here:)< CALL YOUR SENATORS (Click here)
Get the word out about why Alito needs to be filibustered:
Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. (Click here)
People for the American Way has collected nearly 65,000 signatures to send to the Senate, please add yours: Save the Court Petition
John Kerry has endorsed this anti-Alito petition, signers’ names will be read into the Congressional Record:
http://www.johnkerry.com/…
Judy, Alexander of TN has already voted with the party. I could not expect anything less of him. He is just that way. This is why I have been voiceless in my state. Even my rep. is a blue dog democrat that votes more times than not with the repbulicans! What can I say any more. I sign the petitions and I call and write to them all. I go down the list, no matter what party they are. I have done this now for going on 6 years. I really am getting tired. I seem to be spinning my wheels for nothing; however, I keep trying. BTW, I appreciate all that you ahve done for the vote against alito. Hugs..
nothing is going to happen until unwanted babies are being left in trash cans and abortions are being carried out in the back streets by charlatans with mothers dying on a daily basis. I always hoped this cynical view of our populace was innaccurate. Now, however….
“One aide said part of the problem is that Democratic senators haven’t felt a groundswell of opposition from constituents. Polls show that Alito’s nomination is supported by most Americans.”
How depressing, but probably true …
Even scarier is that the system of checks and balances will go out the window along with our Constitution. The end of the U.S.A.
I have a bad feeling that irreversible changes have already occurred, and that the system of checks and balances has failed. What worries me most is when looking at our representatives and especially senators all I can think of is decadent Rome as it collapsed.
When one party controls both houses of Congress, then the party leadership controls the conference committee and can write the legislation anyway they wish. Combine this with the elimination of the filibuster (or, apparently, even the threat of ending it) and there are no longer any checks and balances between the two houses.
If the President is also of the same party, Then party headquarters writes, passes and signs all legislation.
The 2000 election gave them the Presidency. The 2002 election gave them both Houses. Alito will give them the Supreme Court for the next 30 or so years.
What are checks and balances? Karl Rove and Ken Mehlman now own our government.
…and not only that but the bleeding to death, we will ahve a rise in health care from septic shock syndorme from the fact that these women are trying the old ways of abortion.
The fact that this one man can aid in the dismantling of the constituion. There will not ever be a choice ever again for any of us man or woman..well, unless you have major $$$$$, that is..
Plus there will no way what ever to stop this everlasting warmongoring that is going on nowadays. When we are in prison wh will stand up for us then!!?? The laws of our society will change like we have never known!
They learned the power of one man (or was it woman?) with the one vote resulting in the selection of Bush as Prez back in 2000.
the remains disposal industry, and will come right on the heels of the Medicare D death wave. Savvy investors, take note.
Sorry Howie for my frustration here…I come from a state that gives to me no relief of anything much…My two senators are like, well republican that would not listen to me if I told them to duck froma flying object. now hope you understand.
One of my state’s senators is Tom Coburn. Nuff said.
Mr. Benjamin, I come from Tennessee, got ya beat..:o) NO really I am so tired of not being represented. I have no voice…however, I do understand…Hugs…
Yup. Gotta luv being a red-stater. 😉
It gets old, knowing that my senators don’t give a fuck, that their offices are generally staffed by True Believers, and that when elections are held, we get some lackluster candidate from the Dem party with about all the principle of a used car dealer and all the personality of a tree stump (2004 was a case in point, where the right Dem should have had a shot at defeating Coburn – who’s just to the right of Dr. Mengele).
I completely understand — I’ve got Kit Bond and Jim Talent. No representation whatsoever.
Our two Senators are thoroughly disgusting. Our Governor, bequeathed to us by Bush/Rove, is even worse. He makes Bush look competent. He is down at the Pat Robertson level.
But I must admit, Oklamoms’s Coburn puts them all in the shade. He is an irrational fool. The citizens of Oklahoma should sue him for defamation of the character of the averate Oklahoma voter.
In both states, the Republican Party was taken over by the extreme religious right two decades ago, and we now see the results.
FILIBUSTER THAT FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!
..besides, I am here not as a democrat, I am an independent..but more so I am a human being. We deserve more than this piece of crap. I would even welcome any one of those democratic aids and their bosses here to hear us and what we want to say in person! I actually challange them to this! I think they know, they just need an excuse for their misbehavior. Sorry, I am loosing faith in the democrats fast. They just do not give me much to use my ammo on. I would fight along side of them for most of anything, but not if they want me to do point all the time for them..They have got to know what is going on..they are not stupid…well..that might beg to be debated on here. I want to see actions not just words all the time…I am just plain and simple tired of being tired of it all.
it seems we have to put up with all the lying fromthe republican party, so my question is why do we have to tolerate it from the democrats too? There is no excuse what so ever, and I really mean that. I am frankly getting quite disgusted with them all. I am looking forward to the new blood coming to congress…hope they can awaken the ol ones up to reality…
Go see Reed Hundt on Maurine Dowd. He lambastes her and the NY Times editorial board quite thoroughly, although perhaps to politely.
His comments apply to the entire spectrum of the media.
“>One aide said part of the problem is that Democratic senators haven’t felt a groundswell of opposition from constituents. Polls show that Alito’s nomination is supported by most Americans”.
Obviously the Senators are not getting their messages. I am losing hope here folks. We scream and yell, write and call, fax and fax. Isn’t anyone in their offices keeping track of the numbers? I don’t get it. My son and I were talking about it tonight. Why aren’t more people outraged to the fact the our country has been taken over by Fascist? WHY? They can’t be bothered to miss a fucking episode of Wife Swap or American Idol.
on Raytheon letterhead.
For those of you like me not knowing what Ductape is talking about(or am I the only one that doesn’t know?)go here to see what Raytheon does:
http://www.raytheon.com/feature/sba05_hsecurity/
may be wondering why your politicians do not seem to listen to you, even though you have praised them, worked for free for them, and sent them money that you could have spent on your family, or on families less fortunate than you.
http://www.theyrule.net/
Even the hollow yet ambitious phmony Mary Landrieu has made some sort of idiotic statement today saying she saw nothing about Alito that caused her to think a filibuster would be appropriate for.
Last week I deliberately refrained from predicting she’d step forward to somehow undermine the filibuster process, (this was right after Ben Nelson’s predictable announcement in favor of Alito). I refrained because I didn’t want to be too negative pre-emptorily, a propensity I frequently exhibit.
And, foolishly, I allowed myself to think that, being a woman, Landrieu might actually step up and do the right thing.
Now, once again, I find that whenever I overestimate the awareness and integrity of congressional Democrats my hopeful optimism is betrayed.
is for all intents and purposes now a Republican. We can expect more votes for R issues accordingly as she feels the necessity to kiss Rs ass with hopes of getting some funds to repair her state.
No doubt a significant percentage of her democrat constituency has left the state. Still, no excuse for siding with the fascists.
Yes! I always figured her for a principle-free fraud set loose in an environment where ambition usually triumphs over principle anyway.
this is about the ability to govern liberally at all.
And when the Democrats throw away the Court, they throw away the primary reason for us to support them.
It was Gingritch holding the Republicans together to oppose universal healthcare thatr sparked the Republican Revolution ten years ago. If He had appeased Clinton, that never would have happend. What Dem realy belives caving in will help them win another term in office. Even Pat Buchannon has been saying he wishes the Dems would stand up and fight. (Or, at least he was a year ago, I haven’t watched TV news in about that long.)
yes, we do. and we need a rove and a few more rush limbaughs, too. only our people will be attractive, both aesthetically and spritually!
It all depends what you believe. I don’t believe they’re not getting the message, like I damn sure don’t believe george was re-elected. It’s just a convenient excuse, so we’ll settle down and say “Oh, I guess it’s my fault for not doing enough.”
This reminds me of all the warnings about me running water to brush my teeth, while the golf courses pour gallons over their fairways. They got the message, it moved some votes. But battle can be painful, who wants to fight?
Quotes from unidentified people are meaningless.