Sen. Ben Nelson (D?-NE) is going to back Alito

[rpannier]

Surprise, surprise, surprise. Nelson is such a fraud.

"Nelson said Thursday that he has seen nothing that would disqualify the nominee."

[rockymountaindem]

1. Nelson has to represent his constituency.

That consists of Nebraskans, or at least the ones who voted for him. If he believes they would want Alito on the court, then he has to take that into consideration.

Going on what I know of Nelson, however, I personally would not vote for him in any primary, so don't think I'm a fan of Nelson or anything.

[Catrina]

13. Sorry, I disagree

He has to do what's right. He is obligated to do what's BEST for his constituents. If they are too stupid, or too lazy or too ignorant to know that their rights are being taken from them, then he must speak for them. The way a responsible adult must for a child sometimes.

This man, Alito, thinks the president should have the powers of a king. He 'isn't sure if Congress or the president has the right to declare war????' And he will have the power to put that 'uncertainty' into law, if Nelson puts his career before his country.

This is a test now of those who believe in the oath they took:

I do solemnly swear to protect and defend THE CONSTITUTION OF THE US against all enemies, both foreign AND DOMESTIC

If he votes for a man who clearly either doesn't know his Constitution, or does and doesn't like it, he is a traitor, imo. And having a D after his name is not going to change that. No wonder we cannot stop the destruction of this country.

[BigYawn]

14. Except is it possible that the Nebraskans may not agree with you

as to what is good for them? Or is it possible that you
know better than them as to what is good for them? It is
entirely possible that you are smarter than entire Nebraska.

[CTLawGuy]

17. so people who vote overwhelmingly for Bush know what's good for them?

NT

[BigYawn]

18. Nope, but THEY must think it is right and all we can do is present

a short and concise agenda, similar to contract on America,
which will appeal to the notoriously short attention spanned
voters.

[Catrina]

22. Is the Constitution the law of the land or not?

All elected officials swear to defend and protect the Constitution. What's so smart about expecting them to do that?

Judge Alito has stated publicly that he is unsure of the Constitutional rights of the president regarding a declaration of war. How can that be? The Constitution is very clear on that issue, isn't it? It doesn't take a genius to read it.

So Nebraskans are faced with a Supreme Court nominee who will swear to protect the Constitution if he is confirmed, but he has told them that he is not sure what it says about an issue as important as who decides whether the country will go to war?? They elected Nelson to represent them. What was that oath he took again?

He has also publicly demonstrated that he has no respect for the 4th Amendment of the Consitution. It doesn't take a genius to realize that either. He has left a trail of evidence so that Nebraskans can judge for themselves.

Therefore I will repeat what I said already. If Nelson's constituents are too lazy or too stupid to read the law of the land, then it is his duty to do it for them. I think that's pretty simple.

How about you? Do you think the Constitution is still the law of the land? Or do you agree with Bush that it needs to be ignored so that he may do as he pleases? And do you think that a man who wants to be a SC Justice ought to know what the law of the land is? And, should we allow those, who like Alito, are not familiar with it, make a decision as important as this for the entire country?

I support those who are fighting to protect our Constitutional rights. I think most Americans do. You may defend those who would throw away all of our civil rights. I will not do that.

Sorry if my opinion of US citizens, too lazy or too partisan, too indifferent, or too willfully ignorant of what they are throwing away, offends you. They are throwing away MY civil liberties, therefore I will say what I think of them, while I still can if you don't mind.

[BigYawn]

30. My thoughts on following the constitution....

I agree 100% with you about following US constitution. I don't see
how any president can initiate military action against a foreign nation
without explicit declaration of war approved by the congress, as the
constitution is written.

However, I might know a little more than you about the islamists, having
grown up in a country with 120 muslims. A distinct minority of muslims
follow their religious doctrines as spelled out in koran. And that means
they are justified in killing of any and all non-believers of islam, which
in turn gives them the highest rewards in afterlife.

When you are dealing with such a fanatical foe, I don't believe we can afford
to spare any means at our disposal to get them before they get us. Please note
that on Sept 11, 2001 United States military had not attacked Afghanistan or
Iraq. Yet civilian targets were indiscriminately attacked on our soil. The
attackers could'nt have cared less if innocent men, women & children got
killed, as happened on 911.

With an enemy as ruthless and fanatical as that, I would rather have our
intelligence services be allowed to spy on any potential terrorist on US
soil. All of the 911 attackers were on US soil for some length of time.

Having said that I am categorically against spying on American citizens,
unless they are engaged in terrorist activities. That is where it gets
muddled because NSA & CIA really do not know who all the bad people are.
But there is no justifiable reason why they can not report to FISA court ALL
of the spying activities AFTER they are carried out, within a short period.
I think we can live with the possibility of the subversives obtaining a
record of who was spied on using the freedom of information act or leaks,
so long as the terrorist acts were uncovered in time to prevent an attack.

To summarize, we need strong oversight on who is spied on and why. But in
war situations, spying should be permitted before obtaining a warrant, so long
as the activity is recorded and approved by FISA court post mortem.

[fujiyama]

31. WTF?

You're basically saying the president has the right to have the NSA spy on whomever and then say, "Oh BTW here's the list"?

What a bunch of shit. Contrary to what you may believe, the FISA court doesn't take that long to process the warrants. It's almost a rubber stamp, but it's done for a reason. That's the point of oversight.

As for the "war situation", how long is this supposed to be? 5 years? 10 years? 25? This "war on terror" can be endless, because there is no sole enemy. It's a war on a tactic. Are you willing to allow the use of retroactive warrants for some unlimited amount of timE?

And yes, there are some crazy fanatical Muslims out there...And some of them want to kill Americans. What's your point? We also need intelligence to stop them, meaning that we may need wiretaps. Fair enough.

But get a warrant beforehand!

[rockymountaindem]

21. WTF???

That's the same reasoning the Pretzeldent and his cronies use when people like you and me decry what they're doing. They say "they don't know what they're doing and we have to protect them, even if it's against their will". The same damn thing.

Look, it sucks when a lot of people (in this case, Nebraska voters) disagree with you. But since this is a democratic republic, we can't call on elected officials to just do what they think is best, but to listen to their constituencies.

Anything less is undemocratic.

[renie408]

25. It sucks, but you're right.

Makes you wonder why DEMS in Nebraska would want Alito any more than Dems anywhere else.

[Catrina]

26. The Constitution, The Bill of Rights, is undemocratic? How so?

All US citizens are supposed to be familiar with the rights granted to them in the Constitution. Are you saying that Bush is a supporter of the civil rights of all Americans?

All I am asking is that a man who wants the job of sitting on the highest court in the land, understands the Constitution. How does that make me 'just like Bush'? Please give me an example of George Bush upholding the constitutional rights of all Americans. Is Guantanamo Bay, constitutional? Is torture constitutional?

Is it constitutional to hold an individual in secret locations, without charging them with a crime, without access to any court or their family, friends etc? How am I 'just like Bush' when I totally oppose him and am demanding that our representatives uphold the constituion and make sure that all citizens can depend on the protections of the Constitution to prevent these abuses by any president? You're just not making any sense.

Alito ruled that that the traumatizing strip search of a ten year old girl, without a warrant, was justifiable. Do you agree with that? Do you think that the government should be able to enter your home without a good reason and without a warrant? Maybe because your neighbor doesn't like you?

How about Alito's position that the president alone can declare war? Do you agree with that? If so, explain then why we need Congress?

I stand by what I said. If Nebraskans or freepers or anyone else are so ignorant of what they are giving up, then it is the duty of their Representative to do what he swore to do and what they elected him to do, even if it means losing his job.

Or maybe you'd rather just get rid of that pesky Constitution? As Bush said, a dictatorship would make his job 'a heck of a lot easier'.

I'm not interested in what's good for freepers and other Bush supporters, I'm interested in protecting civil liberties. What are you interested in doing? Allowing Bush supporters to thrash your civil rights? In case they might think you're thrashing theirs? Well, if it's theirs or mine, I'll take care of mine, if you don't mind.

[Straight Shooter]

2. Maybe it would help if Nelson would open his eyes. n/t

[shance]

3. Florida has got a week to change his mind and change his vote.

Let him hear from you all week long.

[rpannier]

4. Ben is a Nebraskan

[ISUGRADIA]

5. you got the wrong Senator Nelson

[shance]

9. My apologies** Then I would say Nebraskans have a week!

n/t

[AndyTiedye]

6. If He Does, I'd Call Him BENedict Arnold Nelson

[BigYawn]

15. I diagree, I would call him a heckuva smart politician

and I would rather have a democrat senator from Nebraska
instead of a repuglican anyday.

[PWRinNY]

28. Sure except

Ben Nelson tends to vote even more reliably republican than Hagel does.

I sent a message to him anyway, imploring him not to sell out his constituents' Constitutional rights, civil liberties, and our Democracy by voting for Alito.

What's more - I don't believe Nebraska is as red as the talking heads would have us believe. Every single Nebraskan I know is extremely anti-Bush. Not that I know that many Nebraskans, maybe a dozen or so, but enough to make me think they're not happy with their republican representation.

[ChiciB1]

7. I'm Almost Sure "My" Nelson Here In Florida Will Do The Same!!

[graywarrior]

10. Yeah, I'll be surprised if he doesn't.

[ChiciB1]

12. Hi There!!

Hey, did you here the news on CNN today??? Sarasota, FL is Numero Uno, as in NUMBER ONE as the meanest city in the U.S.A. to the homeless!!

That's a really huge "get" and not one to be proud of!! Totally amazing!!

[graywarrior]

19. What a surprise, huh?

[Gloria]

8. Can they explain any way Alito may be GOOD for this country??

Screw it, I'm so pissed off....

[BigYawn]

16. Alito could turn out to be another Souter?

If you recall NARAL was vehemently against Souter
confirmation.

[AndyTiedye]

20. Yeah, Right

[Rainscents]

11. I hope lot of pro-choice thugs and dems from his state will call this

baster!!!

[Robbins]

23. Nelson

Why does he call himself a Democrat? He votes with Bush nearly all the time.

[FogerRox]

24. SHUT THE SENATE DOWN filibuster email nelson tell thim to do it

[rasputin1952]

27. I'm here in Nebraska, and I have sent e-mails and made phone calls

to both Nelson and Hagel stating my displeasure with Alito. I have stated that I believe he will be an "activist" Justice...he'll be a RW activist though...and THAT is the worst thing this nation could ever see.

Most of the people I talk with, the average citizen in my city of some 21,000+ city, thin that bush is a serious tragedy as a president, and this administration is the worst they've ever seen. Sure, there are some diehards that think bush was 'anointed by God' to lead the nation...but they have become few and far between.

Nebraskans vote R because they don't know anything else. Most people here believe that if their lineage voted R, it must be the right thing to do. Every time I ask "why?", I never get an answer; I get foolish looks...they've never been questioned like that before.

Nelson is not the best Senator as far as D's go...but the people of Nebraska put Bob Kerry in the Senate, and they are still proud of that moment of enlightenment.

About the e-mao;s and phonecalls...MAKE THEM to your Senators! Keep the pressure on. We might get Alito...but we sure can make sure we will hold those who vote for him to account.

[AtomicKitten]

29. The new Zell Miller - less crazy but just as disloyal. nt