They spotted their target.
They lined up their shots.
They squeezed the trigger...
And
19 - I said
NINETEEN - Democratic senators shot themselves squarely in the foot.
Senators Akaka (HI), Baucus (MT), Bingaman (NM), Byrd (WV), Cantwell (WA), Carper (DE), Conrad (ND), Dorgan (ND), Inouye (HI), Johnson (SD), Kohl (WI), Landrieu (LA), Lieberman (CT), Lincoln (AR), Nelson (FL), Nelson (NE), Pryor (AR), Rockefeller (WV), and Salazar (CO) turned their backs on the people who put them in office, not to mention the rest of the people of the country who loved the freedom they had.
By voting against a filibuster, and joining the ranks of the 55 goose-stepping Republicans who want to confirm Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court for a 74-25 vote, the 19 Democrats listed above have thrown in the towel and offered up a free pass to the "president" so he could finish destroying the Constitution at his own leisure.
Senators Kennedy and Kerry of Massachusettes both went through the motions to get a vote to continue debate, according to the Washington Post, but were well aware that the odds were against them. That didn't stop Senator Kennedy from making a passionate speech on the floor of the Senate this morning.
"Judge Alito's long record as both a Justice Department official and appellate judge leaves no doubt that he would expand executive power at the expense of basic individual liberties, limit constitutional protections for privacy, and restrict the ability of Congress to protect civil and individual rights," Senator Kennedy's prepared statement said. (I wasn't able to catch his speech on C-SPAN.)
Senator Kennedy also said, "Judge Alito's record strongly suggests he will not be the kind of Justice who will tell even the President that he has gone too far. He's been a longstanding advocate for expanding executive power, even at the expense of core individual liberties. He has been a strong supporter of the extreme theory of the 'unitary executive,' which would produce a major shift in the traditional balance of power from Congress to the President. This theory has been repeatedly cited by the Bush Administration as the legal rationale for its truly extraordinary claims of authority to ignore statutory limitations on its power and even to deny the right of judicial review of some of its actions. Judge Alito's statements show that he would expand Presidential power far beyond its current Constitutional boundaries."
Also speaking on the floor was Kennedy's fellow Massachusettes Senator John F. Kerry.
"[I]n this case, Judge Alito comes to the floor in a straight party line, particularly divided vote," Senator Kerry said. "In a divided country, at a time of heightened partisan tensions, at a time of ideology often trumping common sense or broad public interest, the President has chosen to send a Supreme Court nominee who comes directly out of a revolt by the ideological wing of his party in order to satisfy their demand for ideological orthodoxy."
He added, “Some people obviously delight in that. We’ve read about that today in the New York Times. And that is their right. But most don’t. Most don’t think that is the way to pick a Supreme Court Justice. It doesn’t mean it’s good for the country. It doesn’t mean it fills our current needs, and it doesn’t mean it is even the right thing to do."
He also pointed out that Alito was not the president's "first pick," saying that Harriet Myers' opposition came not from the Democrats, but from hard right Republicans. "They challenged her ideological purity with such conviction that the President capitulated to their demands and gave them Judge Alito instead—a nominee who they received with gleeful excitement."
Unfortunately, all was for naught. As it stands, from an update I just heard on
Air America Radio, Alito now has a total of seventy-four votes in his favor. I hope those Democrats who have decided that their political gains are more important than the people the represent are busy packing their offices. Many are already calling for their resignations. If they don't resign, the voters will push them out in the midterm elections this fall, possibly with a Democrat who actually posesses a spine, or an Independent. I wouldn't hold my breath to see them replaced with Republicans, though. A recent
ABC/Wahington Post Poll shows that 54% of voters would prefer a Democrat-controlled congress over Republican (38%) congress.
Speaking of polls, here are some other fun numbers to look at:
Dubya's job rating: 41% approve, 55% disapprove.
The Current, Republican-controlled Congress: 43% approve, 53% disapprove.
The Direction of the country: 33% think it's the right direction, 63% think it's the wrong direction.
Iraq: 39% approve, 60% disapprove.
Sounds to me like Dubya and his pals have their own feet in their sights, what with the Abramoff scandal, the Plame scandal, the NSA wiretapping scandal... So many more to choose from.
Hey, that reminds me... What ever happened to that "mandate" of Dubya's? You know...that
(questionable) 51% of Americans who thought he was the right man for the job? What happened to them?
Oh, right! They woke up.
All the best,
Derek
(DCF)
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