The Senate's top Republican decided Thursday to force a showdown on Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito early next week, with the two Democratic senators from Massachusetts pushing to block a vote.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist filed a motion to cut off debate on the Alito nomination after his Democratic counterpart, Minority Leader Harry Reid, objected to a move by GOP leaders to schedule a final vote on his confirmation Monday afternoon.
Frist's motion, which requires 60 votes under Senate rules, will come up for a vote at 4:30 p.m. Monday. If successful, senators will then vote on Alito's nomination at 11 a.m. Tuesday, with a simple majority of 51 votes needed for approval.
Frist's move came as Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts was lobbying his Democratic colleagues to filibuster the Alito nomination -- an uphill fight, given that none of the chamber's 55 Republicans have opposed his confirmation and three Democrats are on the record supporting it.
"Judge Alito's confirmation would be an ideological coup on the Supreme Court," Kerry said in a written statement.
"We can't afford to see the court's swing vote, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, replaced with a far-right ideologue like Samuel Alito."
Democrats.com has much more on this developing story, including regular updates.
**********
I supported John Roberts (see here, for example), but I simply cannot support Alito. I suspect that Alito will ultimately be confirmed, but his elevation to America's highest court would be, in my view, a detriment to American constitutionalism, not least because his extreme views on executive power, more relevant than ever in the age of the neverending war on terror, would upset the delicate checks and balances that sustain American politics.
Simply put, the president wants to get away with everything, including pre-emptive military action, the unlimited detention of terror suspects, the torture of detainees, and warrantless domestic wiretapping, and Alito would let him. Whatever Alito's right-wing views on other hot-button issues like abortion and the separation of church and state, his views on executive power alone are simply unacceptable.
They are grounds for opposition and they are grounds, more pointedly, for a filibuster. (No, the Democrats don't have the numbers to block Alito outright, but a filibuster would at least force Republicans to deploy the so-called "nuclear option". They shouldn't be able to put someone like Alito on the Court without a fight.)
Yesterday, The New York Times wrote that Alito's "entire history suggests that he holds extreme views about the expansive powers of the presidency and the limited role of Congress". And this: "A filibuster is a radical tool. It's easy to see why Democrats are frightened of it. But from our perspective, there are some things far more frightening. One of them is Samuel Alito on the Supreme Court."
I salute you, Senator Kerry, and I hope that your fellow Democratic senators join you. For what it's worth, there are certainly many of us in the blogosphere who stand with you.
**********
Others who agree:
Political Animal: "Senate Dems blew the Judiciary Committee hearings as a chance to educate the country about Alito's radical views on presidential power, and a filibuster fight would give them a second chance. They should take it."
Hullabaloo: "Kerry and Kennedy stepped up today. They aren't going down without a fight. This is worth doing and if we lose it, we should reward them and those who stood with them with our gratitude and support not another round of complaints about how they are a bunch of losers."
See also AMERICAblog, The Left Coaster, The Brad Blog, and The Mahablog. As always, The Moderate Voice offers a solid, detached perspective.
**********
MUST-READ: John Kerry posts at Daily Kos. Key passage: "I voted against Justice Roberts, I feel even more strongly about Judge Alito. Why? Rather than live up to the promise of 'equal justice under the law,' he's consistently made it harder for the most disadvantaged Americans to have their day in court. He routinely defers to excessive government power regardless of how extreme or egregious the government's actions are. And, to this date, his only statement on record regarding a woman's right to privacy is that she doesn't have one."
See also Senator Kennedy's statement here.
No comments:
Post a Comment