Alito Votes
So far 83 Senators have announced their voting intentions in regard to Judge Alito. He has 54 affirmative votes locked up already, with 24 votes against. There's only three "crossover" votes: three Democrats -- Nelson of Nebraksa, Johnson of South Dakota, and Byrd of West Virginia -- have announced an intention to vote for Alito.
(Jeffords of Vermont is also voting no, but he's a essentially a Democrat now; since he is an Independent, he has to obey the Democratic caucus on some issues, else he is shunned entirely.)
I'm waiting for the Democrats to come out and say, "yeah well, Byrd's just a racist anyway."
Watching Byrd now on C-SPAN, making the case I made earlier, that there is no rational reason whatsoever to assert that Alito is in favor of the President having a broader scope of power than the Constitution grants (which is the main reason most prominent Democrats give for being against him).
Update: Heh, now Salazar says he is voting against Alito in part because he thinks we should have had a woman instead. He is "saddened" that in the 21st century, we don't have a quota system for the Supreme Court. And then he repeats the lie that Alito is in favor of enlarging the scope of executive authority (supporting the notion only with quotes he wrote while employed by the executive branch and ordered to do so, and his own incorrect interpretation of the Unitary Executive Theory). And then he gets to abortion, which is really what this whole thing, entirely, is about.
(Jeffords of Vermont is also voting no, but he's a essentially a Democrat now; since he is an Independent, he has to obey the Democratic caucus on some issues, else he is shunned entirely.)
I'm waiting for the Democrats to come out and say, "yeah well, Byrd's just a racist anyway."
Watching Byrd now on C-SPAN, making the case I made earlier, that there is no rational reason whatsoever to assert that Alito is in favor of the President having a broader scope of power than the Constitution grants (which is the main reason most prominent Democrats give for being against him).
Update: Heh, now Salazar says he is voting against Alito in part because he thinks we should have had a woman instead. He is "saddened" that in the 21st century, we don't have a quota system for the Supreme Court. And then he repeats the lie that Alito is in favor of enlarging the scope of executive authority (supporting the notion only with quotes he wrote while employed by the executive branch and ordered to do so, and his own incorrect interpretation of the Unitary Executive Theory). And then he gets to abortion, which is really what this whole thing, entirely, is about.
"It is the common fate of the indolent to see their rights become a prey to the active. The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt."
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