Archive: January 22, 2006 - January 28, 2006
Kerry Defends Senate Filibuster on Alito as 'a Vote of History'-The Washington Post
By Charles BabingtonSen. John F. Kerry cut short a European trip yesterday and returned to Washington, where he was greeted with praise from liberal groups and ridicule from Republicans for his role in postponing a confirmation vote for Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr.In a largely empty Capitol, Kerry (D-Mass.) defended his call for a filibuster that effectively delayed until Tuesday the Senate confirmation vote, which both parties say Alito will win. 'Why are we so compelled to accept in such a rush a nominee who has so clearly been chosen for political and ideological reasons?' Kerry said in a 30-minute floor speech. 'This is not the vote of Monday afternoon. This is a vote of history.'"...
By Fred Barbash | January 28, 2006; 6:41 AM ET | Comments (39)
Republicans Clear the Way for Alito Vote-AP
By Jesse J. Holland "Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito enjoys sufficient bipartisan support to surmount any Senate filibuster attempt by minority Democrats, Senate leaders said Friday. A final vote making the New Jersey jurist the nation's 110th Supreme Court justice is scheduled for Tuesday, hours before President Bush gives his State of the Union address to Congress and the nation."...
By Fred Barbash | January 27, 2006; 2:44 PM ET | Comments (13)
Reid: Not enough votes.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid admitted Friday he and fellow Democrats lack the votes to block President Bush’s nomination of conservative appeals judge Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court. “Everyone knows there is not enough votes to support a filibuster,” Reid said, referring to the procedural roadblock that some Democrats said should be used to put off a vote on Alito. The Nevada Democrat said, however, he would vote for such a measure to at least send a message of opposition to the nominee. That vote will come Monday with final confirmation set for Tuesday. “I think it is an opportunity for people to express their opinion as to what a bad choice it was to replace (retiring Justice) Sandra Day O’Connor” with Alito, Reid told reporters after a speech at a Washington hotel....
By Fred Barbash | January 27, 2006; 11:28 AM ET | Comments (38)
Democrats Split Over Filibuster On Alito-The Washington Post
By Charles Babington "Several prominent Democratic senators called for a filibuster of Samuel A. Alito Jr.'s Supreme Court nomination yesterday, exposing a deep divide in the party even as they delighted the party's liberal base. The filibuster's supporters -- including Sens. John F. Kerry and Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts -- acknowledged that the bid is likely to fail and that Alito is virtually certain to be confirmed Tuesday. But they said extended debate may draw more Americans' attention to Alito's conservative stands on abortion, civil rights, presidential powers and other matters."...
By Fred Barbash | January 27, 2006; 3:26 AM ET | Comments (26)
Frist Calls for Vote
The Associated Press is reporting that Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) has announced the Senate will have a vote on Monday to end the debate on Samuel Alito's nomination. Frist said, "It is time to establish an end point" in the debate over President Bush's selection to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, according to the AP. The Senate will vote Monday on cutting off debate. If Alito's supporters get 60 votes in the 100-member body, the confirmation vote will follow on Tuesday....
By Lexie Verdon | January 26, 2006; 5:45 PM ET | Comments (38)
More Democrats Get Behind Alito Nomination
The AP reports: "Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, whose confirmation seems certain in the Republican-run Senate, padded his modest Democratic support Thursday with endorsements by Sens. Robert Byrd and Tim Johnson. Alito already was assured the votes of the 55 Republicans in the 100-member chamber _ enough to be put over the top _ when West Virginia's Byrd and Johnson of South Dakota joined Nebraska's Ben Nelson in saying they'll vote yes."...
By Fred Barbash | January 26, 2006; 2:07 PM ET | Comments (43)
More Alito ads target Arkansas senators-Arkansas News
Alison Vekshin: Yet another organization is adding its voice to a growing chorus of interest groups targeting Arkansas senators with advertisements aimed at swaying their vote on Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. The Family Research Council, a Christian conservative group, launched a radio ad in Arkansas on Wednesday urging listeners to call Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, both D-Ark., and ask them to support Alito. The Arkansans are considered key swing voters on the nomination because they are Democrats from a "red state," one that voted for President Bush in 2000 and 2004....
By Fred Barbash | January 26, 2006; 11:05 AM ET | Comments (11)
Bush Meets With Alito's Clerks
President Bush met this afternoon with a group of former clerks for Judge Samuel Alito. The president said that the group included both Democrats and Republicans and that they uniformly support the Alito nomination, arguing that Alito is not motivated by politics in his decision. "They are uniquely qualified to assess what kind of Supreme Court Justice he would be," Bush said. ". . . [H]e has the strong support of all 54 of his former clerks, regardless of their political beliefs. Judge Alito has earned broad support from his fellow judges on the 3rd Circuit." He again called on the Senate to vote quickly on the Alito nomination. The official White House transcript of the president's remarks can be found in the Continue Reading section of this posting....
By Lexie Verdon | January 25, 2006; 4:52 PM ET | Comments (21)
Video: Senate Democrats Oppose Alito Nomination
Senate Democrats charged Wednesday that Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. would be too deferential to presidential power. Click below for video excerpts: var movieSrc = "http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/player/player2.swf?whichMode=normal&justify=center&playad=no&mediatype=stream&postdir=apdaily&postvideo=012506-12v&cuesfile=none&autoplay=no&starttime=0&endtime=0&largerver=none&image=012506&playlistxml=none" ; //URL OF WHERE .SWF MOVIE IS PUBLISHED var movieWidth = "427" ; //FLASH MOVIE AND BACK-UP GRAPHIC WIDTH var movieHeight = "300" ; //FLASH MOVIE AND BACK-UP GRAPHIC HEIGHT var backupGraphic = "no" ; // If you have a backup graphic "yes" or "no" var graphicSrc = "" ; var graphicLink = "" ; //requiredVersion: Change this to 8 to test your alternate text. var requiredVersion = 7; // version the user needs to view site (max is 7, min is 2) var useRedirect = false; // "true" loads new flash or non-flash page into browser // "false" embeds movie or alternate html code into current page // set next three vars if useRedirect is true... var flashPage = "flash.htm"; //...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | January 25, 2006; 3:53 PM ET | Comments (9)
Alito Debate Underway in Senate
The Senate has begun what is expected to be a week-long intermittent debate on the confirmation of Samuel A. Alito, Jr., for the U.S. Supreme Court seat being vacated by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. The Republican leadership is hoping for a vote before the President's State of the Union address on Jan. 31. Click here to watch live video. Click here for Charles Babington's preview of the debate from today's Washington Post....
By Fred Barbash | January 25, 2006; 11:38 AM ET | Comments (18)
Video: White House Urges Quick Vote on Alito
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said Tuesday that Samuel Alito is "someone the American people can be proud of," and he deserves a swift up or down vote from the Senate. Click below to watch the video: var movieSrc = "http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/player/player2.swf?whichMode=normal&justify=center&playad=no&mediatype=stream&postdir=apdaily&postvideo=012406-25v&cuesfile=none&autoplay=no&starttime=0&endtime=0&largerver=none&image=&playlistxml=none" ; //URL OF WHERE .SWF MOVIE IS PUBLISHED var movieWidth = "427" ; //FLASH MOVIE AND BACK-UP GRAPHIC WIDTH var movieHeight = "300" ; //FLASH MOVIE AND BACK-UP GRAPHIC HEIGHT var backupGraphic = "no" ; // If you have a backup graphic "yes" or "no" var graphicSrc = "" ; var graphicLink = "" ; //requiredVersion: Change this to 8 to test your alternate text. var requiredVersion = 7; // version the user needs to view site (max is 7, min is 2) var useRedirect = false; // "true" loads new flash or non-flash page into browser // "false" embeds movie or alternate html code into current page...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | January 24, 2006; 5:52 PM ET | Comments (5)
Committee Approves Alito for High Court
The vote is 10-8 for Alito along party lines.The Roberts vote in the committee was 13-5. Biden(D)-NoBrownback (R)-YesCoburn (R)-YesCornyn (R)-YesDeWine (R)-YesDurbin (D)-NoFeingold (D)-NoFeinstein (D)-NoGraham (R)-Yes.Grassley (R)-YesHatch (R)-YesKennedy (D)-NoKohl (D)-NoKyl (R)-Yes.Leahy (D)-NoSchumer (D)-NoSessions (R)-YesSpecter (R)-Yes Click here for transcript of today's judiciary committee proceeding. ...
By Fred Barbash | January 24, 2006; 10:19 AM ET | Comments (139)
The Commitee Vote
Biden(D)Brownback (R)Coburn (R)Cornyn (R)DeWine (R)Durbin (D)Feingold (D)Feinstein (D)Graham (R)Grassley (R)Hatch (R)-YesKennedy (D)-NoKohl (D)Kyl (R)Leahy (D)-NoSessions (R)Specter (R)-Yes Kennedy-10:16-No: "The Supreme Court is the guardian of our most cherished rights and freedoms," he said. It is to be an "independent check" on the other branches, Kennedy stated. "Today we have a president who believes torture can be an acceptable practice....a president who claims he has the capacity to spy on Americans on American soil," he said. "We cannot count on Judge Alito to blow the whistle" when the president is "out-of-bounds," Kennedy said. Hatch, 10:05-Yes: Republicans approved Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in deference to President Clinton's right to choose his nominee. Democrats should do the same in the case of Judge Alito. "It seems that some on the left cannot abide a judge" who interprets the constitution strictly. "A judge like this is bound to make us legislators act like,...
By Fred Barbash | January 24, 2006; 9:33 AM ET | Comments (58)
SJC vote on Alito set for 9:30
The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to meet starting at 9:30 this morning to vote on the nomination of Samuel A. Alito Jr., to the U.S. Supreme Court. Most observers expect a 10-8 party line vote, with the nomination moving to the Senate floor as early as Wednesday. Return to this site for live coverage of the vote. ...
By Fred Barbash | January 24, 2006; 6:27 AM ET | Comments (3)
Bush Makes Pitch for Vote
President Bush, answering questions at an appearance at Kansas State University today, was asked about the nomination of Samuel Alito. He urged the Senate to give the nominee a vote quickly. Alito "is a very, very smart, capable man. I mean, when you talk to Sam Alito, you think smart judge," Bush said. "He's written a lot of opinions. His judicial philosophy is clear and his judicial temperament is sound." Bush said although he had heard "gossip about a filibuster," he believes that Alito has the support of the group of 14 senators who have pledged to stop filibusters of judicial nominees except in extraordinary circumstances. "There has been no sign of any extraordinary circumstance except for this extraordinary thing, he's extraordinarily capable to serve on the Supreme Court," Bush said. The president urged an "up or down" vote and said the Senate is scheduled to take up the matter...
By Lexie Verdon | January 23, 2006; 2:45 PM ET | Comments (17)
