More Senators Announce Opposition to Alito

[Wordie]

January 20, 2006

More Senators Announce Opposition to Alito

More Senators have announced their opposition to Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court. Encouragingly, no additional Democrats have announced support for Alito since Ben Nelson (NE). Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), the Democratic Whip, announced his opposition to a packed auditorium at Northwestern University School of Law. “In the record, the writings, the words, and the life of Samuel Alito, I searched for evidence of his caring heart – evidence that for the next two or three decades he would use his position on the Supreme Court to enlarge our freedom, protect our privacy, and respect the delicate balance of power and responsibility our Constitution creates,” said Senator Durbin. “At the end of the day, at this historic moment, I cannot say with confidence that Samuel Alito meets that test.”

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), in announcing his opposition, said, “Based on his record, I am gravely concerned that Judge Alito does not believe the Congress has the authority to protect the fundamental rights of all Americans.”

Other Senators who have announced publicly their opposition to Alito include Patrick Leahy (D-VT) (the Ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) (the only woman on the Judiciary Committee), Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Ken Salazar (D-CO), and Max Baucus (D-MT). Senators Leahy, Baucus, and Salazar all voted for John Roberts in September.

http://www.msmagazine.com/news/uswirestory.asp?ID=9477

[catmother]

1. i'd like to see some more names. where the hell is biden? nt

[Wordie]

3. They need to see this: Alito backed immunity for Nixon-era wiretapper!!!

To make matters worse, according to a memo released Dec. 23, Bush's Supreme Court nominee, Sam Alito, backed immunity in 1984 for a Nixon-era official accused of illegal wiretapping. With Alito breezing through his confirmation hearings so far, Bush will have an easier time getting favorable decisions from the high court.

http://www.utahstatesman.com/media/paper243/news/2006/01/20/Opinion/Column.Does.Bush.Really.Love.Freedom-1479262.shtml

I hadn't heard that before! Do the Senators know about it? They should!

[mom cat]

6. YOU HAVE HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD...Alito would do the same

thing now!

We must pull out all the stops and fight to the finish.
Here is one way:

CALL ALL YOUR SENATORS LOCAL DISTRICT OFFICES NOW TO OPPOSE ALITO

We have gotten many emails from our participants, asking "what more can we do?" Some have reported senators arbitrarily turning off their answering machines at night, or long waits on hold. Are they trying to hide from the thousands and thousands of their constituents who are raising their voices to demand that they filibuster the evasive Alito? Even if you have already sent your personal message by email or made some phone calls, we have added a FABULOUS extra function to the main action page where you can instantly lookup all your senators local district offices phone and fax numbers with just one click.

http://www.nocrony.com

SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT FILIBUSTER FRIDAY

If the other side can have a so-called "Justice Sunday", we can have our own "Filibuster Friday", and that day is tomorrow. In just the last 24 hours we have seen a major shift in momentum. Today, Senator Leahy came out with a very strong statement that he recognizes the immense threat to our freedom and democracy in allowing a dangerous and unpopular president to install a fifth and controlling vote to hold that our Constitution actually intended to create an executive dictatorship. Tomorrow we need to show our support for those senators who are starting to stand up now by hitting every phone they've got right down to the district level with our phone calls and faxes. Get all your numbers with one easy click at

http://www.nocrony.com

Those you who like to call in to progressive radio programs, we have all their call in numbers too at the site above in the right column. Call them and ask them to talk up Filibuster Friday all day and night long! Let's start early and snowball the thing all day long. Ask them to give out the easy to say and remember URL above as much as possible. Senators have said they are "undecided" on a filibuster. But we the American people HAVE decided and all our senators have to do it get it.

Some senators who are too still too cowardly to demand a filibuster are saying they will make Alito an issue in the 2006 election. It'll be an issue alright, in their OWN primaries! Any officeholder who will not stand up for this one must never hold public office in any capacity ever again. And the difference is whether you will stand up YOURSELF right now and make those calls to their local district offices. Make calls to the toll-free numbers 888-355-3588, 888-818-6641 and 800-426-8073 if you can get through there too.

It is not enough to vote "No." They must vote "Hell, NO!" It's called a filibuster. Filibuster Friday.

Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed to be ours, and forward this message to everyone else you know.

If you would like to get alerts like these, you can do so at http://www.usalone.com/in.htm

Or if you want to cease receiving our messages, just use the function at http://www.usalone.com/out.htm

[Lori Price CLG]

8. Thank you for those phone numbers - I just called, and voiced

my opposition to Alito.

Lori

[Zan_of_Texas]

27. Just talked with Sen. Harry Reid's office.

Reid's staffer says vote by Senate Judiciary could come on Tuesday, vote by full Senate could come Wed, Thurs or Friday -- Republicans want it before State of the Union, which is the following Tuesday, Jan. 31.

Staffer says filibuster is definitely under consideration -- nothing is off the table.

Okay, who here would be interested in going to, or organizing a rally for Tuesday or Wednesday at lunch time. In your town, and as many towns as possible in this country?

Let's see hands.

[mom cat]

43. Keep up the pressure this weekend too!

[meow2u3]

36. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior

It doesn't take a shrink to see that Scalito will enable Bushco to steal totalitarian power from the American citizenry.

[mom cat]

44. Fight like hell. We must stop this. Alito would interpret the law so that

anything * does is "legal".

[Freddie Stubbs]

14. Do you really think that Biden would support him?

[iconoclastNYC]

17. Why hasn't he come out and said no yet?

[Freddie Stubbs]

18. He likes media attention and will wait until the most opportune time.

[iconoclastNYC]

16. Laughing it up on MSNBC with Matthews as he smears

Michael Moore.

[cali]

2. Yesterday's news n/t

[Straight Shooter]

4. Thanks for the update.

I had not seen this release. DU moves so fast.

:thumbsup:

[Judi Lynn]

5. Good news reading no one since Nelson has acknowledged support

for this clown. Sure hope there won't be others. It would be fantastic to see some Republicans won't support the nomination.

[Wordie]

7. Now that's what I would like to see! eom

[0007]

9. There's a good possibility a few Republicans will vote against

Alito.

:bounce:
:hi:

[Robbins]

10. Alito

If he Is confirmed but with virtually all Democrats and possibly Jeffords voting against him we can
use him to campagin on with the coruption of the Republicans and the partisan activist court.

[John Q. Citizen]

23. Much better to filibuster and stop him. If the Repos go nuclear,

then we can fall back to your plan and have the added benefit that The Repos change the rules in the middle of the game, they are corrupt.

[The Stranger]

11. Kicked.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

12. To allow this murdering thief any more Supreme Court judges

would be criminal in itself. He and his misadministration need to stand trial before any more appointments are made.

[wordpix]

29. to allow Thief-in-Chief to get his unitary executive is to rip up the Con-

Constitution

[gratuitous]

13. Feeling a little lonesome, Sen. Nelson of Nebraska?

Maybe you need to meet with your party's caucus again, and get a little more information on why Alito isn't so neat-o.

[beltanefauve]

15. Anyone have info on Lieberman? n/t

[bettyellen]

20. his office isn't saying anything

but having not ruled out a filibuster and expressing serious concerns on alito, i think he's leaning heavily as a no

[wordpix]

28. office wouldn't commit to me, either

[f-bush]

19. Finally but.................

but the rest of these "real" Democrats need to voice their opposition also!

[nodehopper]

21. yes. but grrrr...Feinstein

said she would oppose but would not filibuster. CALL HER, California DU-ers, call her office now and tell her how you feel and let her think about how much people must care to call.. Supposedly each phone call considered to be an indication of how thousands feel.

Senator Dianne Feinstein
[phone]

[John Q. Citizen]

24. Correction. DiFi didn't say she wouldn't fillibuster but she did say

she was 'doubtful" there would be a filibuster.

And I agree with you that Californian Duers definatly need to call her offices and ask her to support a filibuster.

And call Sen. Boxer also.

[nodehopper]

31. not quite

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060116/ap_on_go_su_co/alito

WASHINGTON - A Democrat who plans to vote against Samuel Alito sided on Sunday with a Republican colleague on the Senate Judiciary Committee in cautioning against a filibuster of the Supreme Court nominee.
ADVERTISEMENT

"I do not see a likelihood of a filibuster," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif. "This might be a man I disagree with, but it doesn't mean he shouldn't be on the court."

She said she will not vote to confirm the appeals court judge, based on his conservative record. But she acknowledged that nothing emerged during last week's hearings to justify any organized action by Democrats to stall the nomination.

sounds like she is opposing a filibuster to me.

[John Q. Citizen]

34. Hey, maybe she's got some more information now.

According to mama cat, her office is now saying she hasn't ruled out a filibuster.

I say, until a Senator says, "I will oppose a filibuster," or "I will vote for cloture," don't rule them out. We are picking up steam, and the doubters still have plenty of time to come on board.

But we the people have to call them and ask them to do the right thing.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=196518&mesg_id=196767

mama cat has been very active in organizing folks to push for a filibuster and I bet she knows what DiFi's office is saying.

Of course at the end of the day we will see if the Dems do filibuster.

I sure hope they do.

[beltanefauve]

41. I called Di Fi's

in the early afternoon today, before your post, urging a filibuster. The staffer answered on the first ring and was very polite and said he'd relay the message. Oh, and asked for my zip code. But that was it. I have no idea what any of it means.

[Wordie]

45. Here's Feinstein's FAX number, email, and what she needs to consider:

Feinstein voted against Roberts and plans on voting against Alito, but was quoted by Associated Press as saying, "This might be a man I disagree with, but it doesn't mean he shouldn't be on the court." She also was quoted in the Washington Post recently saying she will not support a filibuster. Tell her why she must! Explain why Alito’s answers didn’t really answer her questions in the hearing!

She asked Alito, "If we have explicit authority under the Constitution to pass a law, and we pass that law, is the president bound by that law?" And he replied, "The president, like everybody else, is bound by statutes that are enacted by Congress, unless the statutes are unconstitutional, because the Constitution takes precedence over a statute." Remind her that, if confirmed, Alito himself would be the one answering questions of the constitutionality of laws, so this was a NON-answer.

Remind her that in 2000, Alito claimed almost limitless powers for the presidency and criticized other courts for limiting executive power. "The president has not just some executive power," he declared, "but the executive power - the whole thing." http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/13668358.htm

Direct link to the Senator's email contact page: http://feinstein.senate.gov/email.html
FAX: [phone]

[stevedeshazer]

22. Add: Sen. Wyden of Oregon - he says he'll vote 'no' on Alito n/t

[Straight Shooter]

32. I just called his office to commend him ...

And I stressed to the staffer that I wanted Wyden to be part of the filibuster if it comes to that. The staffer was very polite but definitely seemed in a hurry to end the call, and it was my impression that the reason was because the office is getting a lot of calls. I certainly hope so, and I hope the majority are recommending against Alito! :)

[goforit]

25. It is Time for unity.......80% of America abhors Alito!!! STAND TALL!!!!

[CottonBear]

26. Today's Alito whip count, 1/20 from DailyKos (will be updated regularly):

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/1/20/112015/385
Alito whip count, 1/20
by kos
Fri Jan 20, 2006 at 09:20:15 AM PDT
(*) denotes names added today.

Dems voting "No"

Baucus (MT)
Durbin (IL)
Feinstein (CA)
Harkin (IA)
Kennedy (MA)
Leahy (VT)
Mikulski (MD)
Salazar (CO)
Wyden (OR) *

Dems leaning "No"

Nelson (FL)

Dems voting "Yes"

Nelson (NE)

GOoPers voting "No"

None yet.

(This list will be updated regularly)
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/1/20/112015/385

[bettyellen]

35. tks c-bear!

[CottonBear]

39. You're welcome b-ellen! The Kos link rocks!

I'm gonna call my awful Republican GA senators, "Sack O' Shit" Saxby Chambliss (smeared Max Cleland :cry:) and idiot boy Johnny Isakson,
and tell them to filibuster the bastard!

[Czolgosz]

30. k & r -- Sen. Harkin got it right: "Judge Alito does not believe the

Congress has the authority to protect the fundamental rights of all Americans."

Alito is far, far outside the mainstream when he disregards 70 years of well decided Supreme Court decisions to reach his imperial conclusion that Congress lacks the authority to enforce laws regulating machine gun sales and family medical leave. Alito would replace the powers of our most elected Congress in favor of a President-King, and he has no problem ignoring the Constitution or countless judicial decisions to achieve that coup.

[zann725]

33. Leahy gave an amazing speech yesterday on his opposition to it.

n/t

[JerseygirlCT]

37. Question

If a filibuster won't happen, can't we pressure our Dem senators to pressure their moderate GOP colleagues to join in the "no" vote?

Snowe? Collins? Chaffee? the usual suspects?

Just a thought.

[Wordie]

38. Sen. Durbin Says Filibuster on Alito Still Possible

This thread goes into more detail:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=194080

Here is part of what the article said:
As the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, it's Durbin's job to count votes for and against Alito. He said he won't know until Tuesday if there are enough strong opponents to filibuster Alito's nomination.

"A week ago, I would have told you it's not likely to happen," Durbin said. "As of , I just can't rule it out. I was surprised by the intensity of feeling of some of my colleagues. It's a matter of counting. We have 45 Democrats, counting Jim Jeffords, on our side. We could sustain a filibuster if 41 senators ... are willing to stand and fight.

But your idea is still a good one. You might want to contact those Republican Senators who might vote no, and urge them to reject Alito. Here's a thread (with thanks to DU poster orleans) with some ideas on which Republicans to contact:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=2368101

[JerseygirlCT]

47. Well, mine are both Dems, but

I thought, especially for the Dems who've come out against using a filibuster, it might be good to suggest that they work on their colleagues.

Hey, all the better if he goes down on a vote.

But I'm glad to hear there's still hope. Always good to know, thanks!

[Wordie]

49. A filibuster is probably the only hope. See this for what you can do:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=106x26089
(DU Activist Corps)

[Wordie]

51. Whoops.

I see, upon re-reading this thread, that I've not read your suggestion correctly. You were saying that Dems might talk to their colleagues to try to convince them to vote no, and I was going on and on about what you could do - not what you were asking. My apologies for letting my enthusiasm get so far ahead of my reading skills! ::laughing at self::

It is very likely that the Dems are already trying to convince their colleagues, imo.

If the Republicans are able to get a vote for cloture (that would stop a filibuster, by ending the debate), the vote would go to the full Senate. Everything I've read says their greater numbers would mean that the Republicans would win it. To overcome a filibuster the Republicans would require 60 votes. But once the vote goes to the full Senate they can approve the confirmation with only 50. So that's why the filibuster is the best hope.

[JerseygirlCT]

52. That's ok

Yes, I know. It is a numbers game in the end. I'm just not feeling too certain that there's any chance of a filibuster. In which case, it would be good to see the Dems who won't filibuster at least held to the fire to work on this, you know?

I always feel a little queasy about the votes that go: well I did vote against him (because I knew it was absolutely safe to do so). Perhaps I'm still scarred by Lieberman's last minute behavior on Thomas.

If you're going to vote no, but won't go for the filibuster, then go out there and get us 7 Republicans (what we'd need at least, yes? If Nelson's the only Dem voting yes?)...

I know, I know. Not going to happen. I'd just like to see the pressure.

[MiniMe]

40. Add Barbara Mikulski to that list n/t

[fujiyama]

42. IMO the ones that need the most pressure are

Landreui, Nelson of FL, and oddly enough I'm never sure about Byrd. He's kind of an odd ball, but I hope the idea of Alito weakening checks on the executive branch will convince him to vote against him.

I think we can get most other Dems, even those that voted for Roberts, on board to atleast vote no. Once on board for that, a filibuster is somewhat possible...

We need to keep the pressure on all of them though.

[beltanefauve]

46. Byrd

comes from a state with recent mining accidents due to relaxed regulation and Bush* cronyism, apparent in his appointments on the Mine Safety Commission. In addition, allowing the family members of Sago to continue to celebrate on misinformation for three hours while the mine owners got their legal and PR team together and a SWAT team assembled was more than an outrage. Yet West Virginians (not all of them, of course) voted against their best interests in the last election. Sad lesson for these people, but "Katrina II" clearly illustrates how the Republican Party totally screws the poor. Meanwhile, Alito's record shows zero regard for the "little guy". Perhaps calling Byrd's office and framing things in this way would help the cause.

I'm not one of his constituents, but I'll try it anyway.

[Wordie]

50. Great ideas!

As many approaches as possible are a great way to do this.

Here's another link w/more ideas about approaching Byrd...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=106x26339
(by GrpCaptMandrake, it's got some good ideas, and was inspiring to me.)

If you look on his website, you can see what issues are important to Byrd:
http://byrd.senate.gov

And I'll post my own letter to Byrd here too:
January 21, 2006

Dear Senator Byrd:

As a prominent leader among Senate Democrats, your voice is admired and respected because of your long congressional tenure, your willingness to stand up for what is right, and your deep love of our country. Yet you are an inspiration not just to the Senate Democrats, but to all those who value our noble American institutions and valued rights, for which so many have sacrificed, and stand up to protect that document upon which they are based, our Constitution. Therefore, it is in light of your role as elder statesman of the Senate that I am writing to you about the Alito vote. Although I am not, strictly speaking, a constituent, I am depending upon you as a respected representative of our entire nation to lead this fight.

If confirmed, Judge Samuel Alito, although possessed of stellar credentials and remarkable intelligence, would pose a serious threat to the balance of powers between the branches of our government, a balance that must be maintained at all costs. Judge Alito's answers in the recent confirmation hearings were unsatisfactory. Alito was asked, "If we have explicit authority under the Constitution to pass a law, and we pass that law, is the president bound by that law?" And he replied, "The president, like everybody else, is bound by statutes that are enacted by Congress, unless the statutes are unconstitutional, because the Constitution takes precedence over a statute." On the face of it, that sounded like an appropriate response. But when one thinks about it more carefully, there is a hidden danger lurking in his statement, because as a Supreme Court Justice, Alito himself would be the one determining the constitutionality of any such law.

There is much reason to presume that if confirmed, Alito would percieve the Constitution as allowing the president to assume greatly expanded powers. It was he, in his tenure with the Reagan White House, who developed the concept of the "signing statement," which President Bush is now using to assume powers never granted to the executive by the Constitution. It is crucial that we determine how might a Supreme Court Justice Alito rule if a challenge to the constitutionality of the signing statement were to come before the Supreme Court? Nothing in his reply gave us a clue to the answer to that question. During the entire hearing, he never clearly defined his views on the scope of the president's constitutional authority versus the constitutional authority of Congress. How could such a nominee be confirmed with such grave questions remaining about his committment to maintaining the balance of powers the framers of our Constitution so wisely provided for our great nation?

Senator Byrd, you once wisely said this: "As long as there is a forum in which questions can be asked by men and women who do not stand in awe of a chief executive and one can speak as long as one's feet will allow one to stand, the liberties of the American people will be secure."

Judge Alito must not be confirmed. I ask you not only to vote against him, but also, as you have done so many times in the past, to stand up again and with passion and wisdom lead the Senate in securing our nation's valued liberties and traditions. Please stand up, Senator Byrd, and vigorously support a filibuster of Judge Alito's nomination.

Thank you for your consideration of my request, and for your many years of dedicated service to our country.

Sincerely,

[beltanefauve]

56. Eloquently worded,

Wordie! Your moniker suits you!

[JerseygirlCT]

53. With his respect for the constitution, I'd think fears of Alito cementing

Bush's grasp of evermore executive power would be all the convincing Byrd needs to vote no.

But I could be wrong. And heck, there are so many reasons to vote no!

[savemefromdumbya]

48. Crack that whip - Whip

we need 100% AGAINST Alieto

[Doremus]

54. I called my two Ohio repukes - Voinovich and Dewine - yesterday

Told them I represent a bloc of three registered voters in my household and we would like it if JUST ONCE our senators would vote OUR conscience for a change.

Fat lot of good it'll do, but it felt good anyway.

[ourbluenation]

55. oh you know my girl Boxer won't vote for him. Cali - 2 no's. eom