Letters to the Editor
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Now is the time...
There are battles you fight even knowing that you will lose, because of their importance in the war. This is such a battle. Democrats really have no choice but to go to the mat against this nominee, whose ideology-- like that of Scalia and Thomas-- would roll back progress made in this country over a century. Democrats who don't face that reality, and opt to preserve an illusion of interparty comity are idiots. Will some conservative (not "moderate") Dems vote against a filibuster? I don't know, but now is the time to find out what they value more: the core values of their party, or their standing in the eyes of the GOP. I think the voters of Connecticut, for example, would be very interested in seeing whether Joe Lieberman will stand with his party or with the GOP.
Tim also fails to mention the main reason the Republicans in the "Gang of 14" were most concerned: Harry Reid's threat to require strict (i.e., slow) parliamentary procedures, which would grind business in the Senate to a halt.
In the words of Margaret Thatcher, now is not the time to get all wobbly, Tim. It's not a question of how much to fight a losing battle, but how best to fight it.
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Nuclear Future
I've got a couple of questions about this. If the nuclear option is invoked, is that rule change "permanent", in the sense that it stands until some future similar action is taken to change it again? If so, would this be a rule that the Democrats would like to have if they were in power, say after 2006? (if that's possible), or is it really not a good idea to have this rule change from a high-minded checks and balances point of view?
If Alito is destined to be confirmed and is noxious enough to make the Dems vote against him in unison, the question becomes: Do the Democrats a) Very loudly and clearly take the high road and avoid the nuclear option (loud and clear isn't really our strong suit), b) Filibuster a la Abe Fortas and make what political hay they can now of the Republican extreme measures taken, and possibly use this rule ourselves later in a much-dreamed-of future Democrat controlled Congress/Executive.
Of course, this assumes we don't have a mass exodus from the Supreme Court before we get the presidency back.
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Fight, fight, fight
The Democrats need to fight, and fight hard. I doubt they can win against Alito, but if they go balls to the wall and fight this one out, win or lose, I think they have a better chance of winning down the line -- in 2006 and 2008. If they puppy out, as is their wont, I believe we'll see further party-breaking defections from disgusted voters tired of seeing their interests compromised by callow Democrats.
Bottom line, if I don't vote for Democrats, Republicans win. But if I do vote for Democrats and they don't fight the Republicans, I might as well have not voted for them. Democrats need to show some backbone, or I'll go back to being an ineffectual Green. The net result will be the same, but at least I'll be voting for someone with integrity.
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Make Dewine go nuclear
It would be insane for the Democrats to let DeWine, Chafee and Snowe walk away from this without a clear vote, up or down, on whether they support Roe. They need to make a cloture vote a vote on whether or not the radical fundamentalists who rejected Harriet Miers without even bringing the nomination to a vote are going to select the next Supreme Court Justice.
Let DeWine threaten. Make him do it. Make him break up the Gang of 14, violate the rules of the Senate, take the filibuster off the table.
All in order to install a Supreme Court nominee chosen by Jerry Falwell, who blamed US morality for 9/11, and the people who believe that Katrina was God's punishment for New Orleans' iniquity.
Send DeWine to the votes against Hackett with this policy position. Go ahead. Make my day. Bring Dick Cheney to the floor of the Senate to declare just who runs his party and therefore the Bush government.
Let Chafee take NARAL's endorsement and then destroy the rules of the senate over this candidate.
Let Snowe defend her position as a New England moderate in a long-standing tradition of independence from political vicissitudes while she lets extremists dictate who's gonna be on the Supreme Court.
Nuclear option indeed.
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get those dukes up
It's hard to imagine any blue state Democrat voting to confirm Alito. The question is if they will go so far as to support a filibuster...personally, I can only hope so. Now is the time to fight..even when Alito makes it through and the filibuster is gone, it will come to the dem's advantage in 2006 or 2008 at the latest. The Republicans are remarkably short sighted to get rid of the filibuster at a time where their public approval is so low.
Plus, their fighting for Alito can be marketed by Democrats as indicating how out of touch Republican politicians are with the greater population, which supports the right to choose. This will go along nicely with the strategy of painting them as generally corrupt.
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when to fight?
I am so sick and tired of hearing that democrats should just sit this one out. Keep the powder dry for the next fight. Which God-damn fight? The NEXT one never appears if we listened to cowards like you. What this nation needs is a knock down, drag out to remind those both at the base of the democratic party and the gop that there IS some fight in us still. Quislings like yourself seem loath to rock the boat lest we upset ... who exactly?
Who the hell are the democrats in danger of angering? Fox news? Do you even look at the polls?
Please, do us in the 58% a favor. YOU sit this one out. If you don't have the backbone for a brawl then at least get out of the way for those that do.
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forcing the nuclear option
The Democrats should filibuster Alito. Stand up, announce to the world that the idiot in the White House is simply not competent to name anouther Supreme Court judge and/or that Alito will not do. If the Republicans in the Senate are foolish enough to overturn 200+ years of tradition, after the 2006 midterms elections they may find the Democrats in control of the Senate - a good bet as a matter of fact, at the current rate of Republican scandal making.
The Democrats first act in the newly constituted Senate? Issue subpoenas and have a two year investigation of Plamegate, Iraqgate, Nigergate, Yellowcakegate, WMDgate, etc etc. The Republicans would be unable to filibuster to derail the investigation, and the West Wing of the White House coulde be turned into Leavenworth East, with everybody from Cheney and Bush to Rumsfeld and Feith breaking rocks where the Easter eggs used to roll.
It's time to call the Republicans bluff. I don't believe that moderate Republicans wopuld be crazy enough to ditch the filibuster just to get a right wing A-hole like "Scalito" ensconced on the Supreme bench.