Schneider of CNN says alito is in... is that true?

[DemInDistress]

did alito win a Supreme Court seat? or does that gang of 14 have the final say? I'm a bit confused I thought
if 41 Senators filibusted this guy he wouldn't get the job. Can someone explain ?

[AX10]

1. Alito is NOT in.

The commmittee has to approve him and then the Senate will debate the nominee.

[Jawja]

2. It's the GOP

psyops saying it's a "done deal" and there's nothing we can do about it.

[mom cat]

29. Ignore all the nay sayers...Reid is saying that everything is still on the

table.

[karlrschneider]

3. I'm no relation but I agree with him.

Scalito will be in. Unfortunately.

[saracat]

7. Maybe not according to Durbin. The tide may be turning.

[karlrschneider]

18. Well, nothing would please me more than being wrong on this.

I just don't see a filibuster happening...or even if it did, accomplishing anything. :eyes:

[FreedomAngel82]

23. I remember either

reading here or hearing on another radio show that behind the scenes the GOP are really scrambling around to get votes for the guy. It seems many of them are feeling the heat too. But remember who the media works for and take what they say and flip it backwards.

[0007]

4. That effeminate asshole doesn't know dick shit. If he did he

wouldn't be working for White House, CNN.

[ClassWarrior]

5. Schneider is a RW think tank whore.

Nuff said.

NGU.

[shance]

12. Absolutely. is he a Heritage whore or American Enterprise whore?

I just can't remember which.

All these conflicts of interest and lies makes me one dizzy miss lizzie.

[Dinger]

42. I Think He Is An AEI Fellow,

and asshole fellow.

[debbierlus]

24. This is a GOP talking point

It is spin.

Dems can't stop him. They won't filibuster. ALL of the media has been saying that his nomination is virtually assured. Only problem is there scheme has served to ENRAGE a large part of the country to protest the nomination, so much so that a filibuster may actually happen.

It is also a setup. If the neocons paint it as though Alito is in, and then the dems obstruct (filibuster) it, they will whine and cry that dems are playing partisan politics.

It is sick.

And, it is obvious.

[Nimrod2005]

6. NO, not true another lying bastart

WTF? all crooks are out tonight?

[woodsprite]

9. They're gonna be hitting hard all weekend. Just put your earplugs in. n/t

[spanone]

8. Fair & Balanced.

[jsamuel]

10. media/GOP has been trying to convince both us and Dems in congress that we

have no chance of stopping Alito. The purpose is to make some Dems who are frightened of risky political moves to vote yes or oppose a filibuster.

[napi21]

11. Unfortunately, I agree with Shneider.

I wiah he was wrong, but unless ALL the Dems AND at least 1 Pub votes againt him, his nomination goes to the Senate floor. If it reaches a floor vote, ALL the Dems and a handfull of Pubs have to vote AGAINST him, and I just don't see that happening.

[depakid]

14. I think you need to do your math.

It takes 60 votes to force cloture on a filibuster. We can afford to lose Republicrat Nelson and a couple of others and still prevail without a single republican vote.

[napi21]

16. I know how many votes it takes for cloture. Just how long do you think

the filibuster can go on? I wasn't considering fillibuster because I don't think it's going to happen.

[depakid]

20. As long as anone wants!

That's why even the threat of one causes some Congresses to back down (like the Clinton & the Dems over the Fairness Doctrine) the last time they held a 59-41 majority.

[in_cog_ni_to]

27. 41 Senators could go for WEEKS.

What Is a Filibuster?

The filibuster comes from a Senate rule that it takes three-fifths of the Senate to cut off debate on certain kinds of questions. (For most of the Senate's history, the rule was two-thirds, so the rule has been weakened ... a little.)

The reason this is an important rule is because in order to take a vote, you have to cut off debate. Debate is cut off on all matters before either house of Congress just prior to a vote.

So there's nothing pernicious about the idea of cutting off debate. At some point, you stop arguing and take a vote, and then the majority prevails. Every act that ever passed Congress did so because debate was eventually cut off.

With a filibuster, the minority knows that the majority has enough votes to carry an act that the minority hates. So the minority refuses to allow debate to end in order to prevent the vote.

If you have 41 Senators who will vote to refuse to end debate, then you can keep the debate going forever, effectively ending any chance of a vote ever being taken.

Here's how it works, in theory. One of the minority Senators gets the floor, and then refuses to yield to anyone from the other side. Under Senate rules, any Senator can talk forever, if he wants.

So, as in the movie Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, a lone Senator can hold up a vote forever. Except for the problem that he needs to sleep. And urinate. Eventually he's going to have to leave the Senate floor.

However, if he has allies in his cause, he can yield to them. They then carry on the debate. And whenever the other side demands a vote on cutting off debate, all forty-one (or more) Senators on the minority side cast their vote to refuse to end debate. The filibuster goes on; the majority is unable to take the vote that would pass the legislation in question.

The urination problem is thus solved for the filibustering team. But the sleep problem isn't. Because the filibuster is war.

Therefore, the filibustering minority must always have its forty-one Senators available, day and night, as long as the filibuster continues.

But the majority side must always have at least 51 Senators on hand, because if the minority ever thought they had an actual majority of Senators who could reach the floor in time to vote, they would end their own filibuster, allow the vote, and win.

Thus the filibuster keeps both sides awake and available to vote. When filibusters actually take place, all these old politicos camp out in the Capitol, ready to be wakened at a moment's notice to go in and vote. They go to the bathroom in shifts, they eat in shifts, to make sure they always have enough votes to keep the other side from prevailing in either of the two potential votes: the vote to cut off debate, and the vote that the filibuster is trying to prevent.

[napi21]

31. Theoratecially, a fillibuster could stop Alito. However...

I don't think it's going to happen. I hope you all are right, and enough Dems do get together and stop him. I'll be the FIRST one to appologize to you for being a defeatist.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

[depakid]

13. And Democrats took money from Abramoff

CNN's gotten to the point where they'll will say anything to try to influence public opinion for the far right. They're worse than Fox- because people still give them some (undeserved) credibility.

If the Dems had any sense, they'd filibuster Alito for that reason alone.

[B Calm]

15. When we have to call or fax our Senators to vote down a fascist

corporatist to the Supreme Court, we have a really big problem!

[Vincardog]

17. Well B. we have a really big problem CALL and Write today and tomorrow.

Keep the pressure up against the Right Wing Nuts. No To the Corporate Police State.

[B Calm]

21. hmm.....

[DemGirl7]

19. Alito isn't in, there is still a chance

but what Schneider was doing was just saying that there is a good probability he will be confrimed, just like every talking head and radio personality is saying. I have to admit to myself, even though I don't want to, that it is probably true that Alito will be confirmed, but I still hold on to an ounce of hope that he will be defeated.

[FreedomAngel82]

22. Remember who the media works for

[pinto]

25. Hi DemInDistress. No, it's not a done deal. There's been no vote yet,

and no action re:filibuster. That'll all happen when it gets to the floor. I'm sure there's plenty of "discussion" going on in Democratic circles. There's some pretty clear scenarios, some likely, some less so, and you'll see them mentioned here...but just to answer you're question, Alito hasn't been confirmed.

[DemInDistress]

34. thanks pinto...

[Peggy Day]

26. Just keep calling and emailing your senators-remember they work for us /nt

[kevinbgoode]

28. It is CNN. . .Rightwingnut news lite.

I haven't watched that network in weeks. It's a good thing I dumped cable anyway - my list of blocked stations nearly hit half of my choices.

[Nikki Stone 1]

30. Schneider is trying to create a sense of inevitability

It's a way of stopping the opposition from making phone calls and sending emails. It's a way to get the Dems to fall in line.

Don't fall for it.

[bliss_eternal]

32. You know how CNN is.

Don't believe a word they say--until it's been said here FIRST.

:P

[DemInDistress]

35. thanks bliss.... I trust the content of the DU nt

[DanCa]

33. The only schnider I trust is John .

Dont listen to the cnn piece of crap.

[bliss_eternal]

36. DanCa--

You crack me up! :hi:

[DanCa]

46. Lol thanks. I was also going to say Pat Harrington

You know Schneider from one day at a time.

[upi402]

37. Schneider? The guy that torpedoed Dean for his crime of "YAAAARRRRGH!"

That simpering dumphuk.

mediamatters
Dec 19, 2005
http://mediamatters.org/items/200512190007

CNN's Schneider falsely claimed recent national polls all showed Bush approval increase

Summary: CNN's Bill Schneider falsely claimed that all recent national polls show President Bush's approval ratings increasing. In fact, one poll showed a decline.

[LiberalInGeorgia2005]

38. It ain't looking good

It all comes down to the gang of 14. We got Salazar, but the republicans got Nelson, DeWine, Graham, McCain and Warner. Also Specter (though he is not a member of the gang of 14.) If we don't filibuster (and does anyone really think the dems will), we're going to need 7 republicans to jump ship to win, and that just ain't happening.

[The2ndWheel]

39. This Senate confirmed

John Negroponte, twice, in 2005, by a vote of 98-2 for Iraqi Ambassador, and more recently as the central authority for spying. Alito will win.

[pstokely]

40. at least not yet

[dogday]

41. I didn't realize that Alito could be confirmed through the Media

When did that happen?

[Rockholm]

43. Didn't you get the memo?

[dogday]

45. No, noone tells me anything anymore

boo-hoo ;(

[Bucky]

48. Perhaps they think your phone is bugged

Since I have a teenage daughter, I don't worry about my phone being bugged.

[emlev]

44. Here are the toll-free numbers to call

888-818-6641, 888-355-3588 and 800-426-8073

All progressive organizations seem to agree that the most useful thing we can do is call senators. So let's do it! If you haven't yet, please do. If their voice mail is full for the weekend, call first thing Monday morning.

Think about what you can do to get more people to call. Then do it! Sitting around feeling hopeless is a luxury we don't have right now.

Make calls to progressive talk shows, urging them to give out the phone numbers regularly. There's a list of them with times and phone numbers here: http://www.nocrony.com (see the right column of the homepage).

For talking points, see this great post by Zan of Texas:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x197158#197768

If you need specific resources, ask here at DU!

What have you done, and what are you going to do?

[DemInDistress]

47. I did call schumer and clinton on friday and they

were receptive to my pleas. since alito wasn't forthcoming he doesnt deserve a Supreme seat for life. I also emailed a couple of other dems and i will email a few more. I have no friends to help me. I do what I can.
thanks for the feed back

[dchill]

49. NOT.

Schneider is a right wing think tank liar spreading a meme.