New York Times editorial bottom-line -- OPPOSE ALITO

[understandinglife]

Judge Alito's Radical Views January 23, 2006

<clip>

There is every reason to believe, based on his long paper trail and the evasive answers he gave at his hearings, that Judge Alito would quickly vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. So it is hard to see how Senators Lincoln Chaffee, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, all Republicans, could square support for Judge Alito with their commitment to abortion rights.

Judge Alito has consistently shown a bias in favor of those in power over those who need the law to protect them. Women, racial minorities, the elderly and workers who come to court seeking justice should expect little sympathy. In the same flat bureaucratic tones he used at the hearings, he is likely to insist that the law can do nothing for them.

The White House has tried to create an air of inevitability around this nomination. But there is no reason to believe that Judge Alito is any more popular than the president who nominated him. Outside a small but vocal group of hard-core conservatives, America has greeted the nomination with a shrug - and counted on its senators to make the right decision.

The real risk for senators lies not in opposing Judge Alito, but in voting for him. If the far right takes over the Supreme Court, American law and life could change dramatically. If that happens, many senators who voted for Judge Alito will no doubt come to regret that they did not insist that Justice O'Connor's seat be filled with someone who shared her cautious, centrist approach to the law.

Link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/23/opinion/23mon1.html?hp=&pagewanted=print

Message to Congressional Dems:

OPPOSE ALITO: FILIBUSTER.

WALK OUT OF SOTU.

And, then, let's talk about what we need to do to fix America.


Peace.

[bleever]

1. Like the Iraq War Resolution, Alito is a "Trust Me" vote.

Vote no.

[Canuckistanian]

3. Unfortunately, manys Democrats WILL trust

A careful tally should be kept.

These are the Democrats who should be challenged in primaries.

[Mind_your_head]

5. So very well said.....even though I've called/written my (our) Senators...

I'm gonna call them again tomorrow....yeah, the "Trust Me" vote.....and that trust will most likely be betrayed! (at least for those that have any sense to see!)

Vote "NO" Senators, Vote "NO" on Alito!

[John Q. Citizen]

2. I hope the Dems can put country above political gain and mount

a filibuster.

They better, or we will remember, and what looks like an opportunity to rope a dope Republican Senators will come back to haunt Democrats.

[Hissyspit]

4. Filibuster! Kick, Recommend and n/t

[mom cat]

54. Toll free numbers to the capitol..and more info:

CALL FOR A FILIBUSTER AGAINST ALITO



Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) is on record as having stated that he thinks we've got 41 votes against the Alito nomination.

Various activist citizen lobbies maintain toll free numbers so you can lobby your own senators on this issue. Call the Capitol Switchboard toll free and ask for your senator's office (both of them, one at a time, and if you live in a Republican-controlled state, even better yet):
1-888 355 3588
1-888 818 6641
1-877 851 6437

If you have some really good arguments against the Alito nomination to offer your senators, faxing is the best way to get "read." Find their fax numbers by clicking on your state here: http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/index.html

Need a good argument? Here's one: Samuel Alito throughout his professional career has demonstrated that he'll say anything and do anything to get the job he's interviewing for. He'll lie (if his testimony to date is to be believed), he'll cheat (taking the opposite view of his testimony on the bench, just as he has as a judge writing stinking dissenting opinions), he'll steal (by taking away our constitutional rights). After all, it's the new Republican Way.

[lindisfarne]

6. A "no" vote is meaningless. There must be a filibuster. If the Dems

don't attempt a filibuster, they might as all vote yes (or not vote, as a protest), as it won't matter.

[understandinglife]

7. I agree.

Peace.

[Wordie]

11. If we show our OVERWHELMING opposition, they won't use the nuclear

option, imho. They would be revealed as extremists, going against the will of the American people. That's why it's so important to keep calling and writing all the Senators!

[bunkerbuster1]

24. and SO WHAT if the Reeps' bluff is called?

so what if they "blow up the Senate" and do a cheezy-assed rules change to forbid filibustering (they'll claim it's restricted to judicial appointments, but we all know it won't be.)

They're so big and bad, let them do it. It's time to make a goddamned stand for our constitution and for the rule of law, and against the friendly fascism of the past six years.

[Wordie]

25. If nothing else, it will show them to be extremist partisans!

But my hope is, that in the face of the overwhelming opposition that they are receiving from all the DU folks and others who are tirelessly emailing and faxing and calling like crazy, they would be hesitant to use the nuclear option.

Could Frist really muster such a partisan vote? I have doubts. The situation is much different than it was when Frist first threatened it. Frist doesn't have the sort of power that he did to strong-arm the Republicans into voting along party lines. Think of the Anti-torture Act - lots of Republicans voted for it, even though Bush opposed it. Even some Republicans who will vote for Alito may be hesitant to go along with such a draconian measure as destroying the filibuster. (At least that's what I'm hoping.)

[bunkerbuster1]

26. And too, consider the hay they can make if the Dems DO filibuster

Just thinking like a Reep for a minute, consider all the times they can bring up Mamalito crying, and Ted Kennedy being, um, Ted Kennedy. Think of all the bitching and moaning and "I'm the real victim!" nonsense they can pull if the Dems filibuster?

That's worth more than blowing up the senate, anyway.

I agree--I don't think they've got the balls to do it. Let 'em try though.

[maxrandb]

32. Huh??!!

as if voting for this guy would cause them to stop making hay?!

No matter how Dems vote on this guy, they are still going to be called "traitors, communist's, American hating cheese eating French surrender monkeys".

How is voting for this guy going to change that?

There is NOTHING TO LOSE HERE! What are the Dems going to lose?

- The respect of Rush Limpballs?
- The respect of Chrissy Matthews?
- The respect of James Dobson?

If the DEMS care about their constituents, this guy gets fillibustered. And yes, I have contacted both of my Senators, but since they are Dewine and Voinovich, unless I stroke them a $100,000 check, they don't care what I think.

[maxrandb]

33. SORRY!!

I missed the part where you said you were "just thinking like a Reep" for a minute. That part really does change the entire tone of your post.

Guess I picked a bad day to try to stop smoking ;0)

Hope you'll accept my regrets. Now, let's go get those Repuke bastards.

[bunkerbuster1]

37. nah, the occasional flame keeps me sharp

no worries.

[worldgonekrazy]

That is not ENTIRELY true

I bet the Dems can come up with around 45 no votes against Alito. Yeah, Ben Nelson is going to vote for him, but I think I read somewhere that Chafee will vote against him. So throw Chafee in with the other Dems and Jeffords and you've got 45. What does that mean? Alito still gets confirmed, but the Democrats could use that exceedingly high number of nay votes against him as a way to challenge his credibility right off the bat. "He got more votes against him than any other Supreme Court justice in history," Dems would say. Such a line of attack might make Alito more cautious in his extremism, at least right off the bat, lest he confirm the Dems' challenges to his very credibility.

Another possibility is that, to avoid this very scenario, the Bush Administration will blink and withdraw Alito's nomination. It is very unlikely, yes, but still possible.

Having said all that, if Alito managed to get on the bench, I don't give a damn how many people vote against him. So in the end I agree that a filibuster is necessary. I'm just trying to lay out how Dems who oppose the filibuster might be looking at it.

[lindisfarne]

45. Once appointed, Alito has no reason to be concerned about what

anyone thinks of him.

[orleans]

57. agree!!!

what rainy day are we saving up this filibuster for?

it's now or never!

a no vote is gonna land alito a seat on the court.

so do it! use it! SENATORS MUST FILIBUSTER

[wiley]

8. Why don't we focus today on stopping Alito?

He's not a moderate. He's not a Centrist. Repuglican Senators should keep hearing what the implications of what a vote for Alito will mean to this country.

[mom cat]

18. Let's make this ANTI-ALITO WEEK!

ThinK how hard we fight in an election for Congress. Think how hard we fight in a Presidential election... Well, this is the Third Branch of Government at stake. Fight as it our Democracy depended on it...it does!

[debbierlus]

19. I am with you - moderators - post the DU corps stop Alito post at top

Of the home page....

The DU corps were activated last week to call, fax, sign petitions, and spread the word to stop Alito. That post should be at the top of the home page until this is over. NOTHING is more important then stopping Alito.

All the links and actions should be kept front and center!

Thanks!

savethecourt.org

[mom cat]

21. Great idea!

[Wordie]

27. I'll second that. n/t

[Lorien]

36. I agree! n/t

[Imagevision]

34. Kicked-recommended!!

[redacted]

9. K&N! Sending copies to my senators and representative NOW.

[Wordie]

10. Here are some ideas of HOW to oppose Alito:

Here are some threads with some good ideas:

Great anti-Alito petition sites for STOP ALITO WEEK:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2384990

Alito ain't over by a LONG SHOT...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=recent_posts

Complete Idiot's Guide to Stopping Alito:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x209361

And this is a great resource thread, for additional ammo in composing your letters:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=106x26392

It's a great article, understanding life. Thanks for posting it. ALITO MUST BE STOPPED! (Yes, I'm shouting it!) I'm really glad the NYT ran this article.

Recommended.

[understandinglife]

14. Thank you for posting this list!!

Peace.

[DemReadingDU]

12. K&R

[babylonsister]

13. K&R! Dem Congresscritters, I hope you're reading this. nt

[mom cat]

15. SIGN ANTI-ALITO PETITIONS HERE:

Anti Alito Petition list:

http://www.oneamericacommittee.com/opposealito

http://www.democrats.org/alito

https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?id=367&page=UserA

http://www.ppaction.org/campaign/roberts_roeCall/forwar

http://www.usalone.com/alito.php

http://www.moveonpac.org/stopalito

http://ga4.org/campaign/alito_petition

http://www.workingforchange.com/activism/action.cfm?ite
(then search for Alito petition…on list of petition actions)

http://www.naral.org/

http://www.emailtocongress.com/no_rightwing.htm

http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/ccr/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=2104

http://ga3.org/campaign/opposealito

[McCamy Taylor]

29. Done

[mom cat]

35. Thanks!

[VP505]

53. Here is another link

from John Kerry http://www.johnkerry.com/action/alito/

[JackintheGreen]

16. Unfortunately for me

I'm in PA. No matter what I say, Santorum is gonna be sucking Alito's ass.

[AzDar]

17. Same here in Arizona..but you have to try, anyway.. Lots of 'National'

petitions to sign. NGU!

[Wordie]

23. It's important to let even deluded Republicans know how OVERWHELMING

the opposition to Alito is, so email and fax and call them anyway! It's important!

[muchacho]

20. vote no, walk out, kick ass....

[understandinglife]

22. That should be on a T-Shirt worn by every Congressional Dem ...

... and their staff before the end of this week!!

A slight modification:

FILIBUSTER
VOTE NO
WALK OUT
KICK ASS

I'm sure many at DU could design a neat graphic to accompany your slogan ...

Thanks!


Peace.

[McCamy Taylor]

28. NYT opposes Alito? He aint confirmed yet.

[ClintonTyree]

30. We cannot let the "gang of fourteen" dictate.....

when the Senate Democrats can filibuster and not filibuster. Of course, the Republican "gang" is going to say NO to a filibuster which makes it all the more important that the Democrats in the "gang" stick together and tell them to take a flying leap. If the Dems cave on this on, that's it. I'll find a new party because the Democrats will not have represented me on this issue (along with many others).

THIS IS WHAT WE CAN EXPECT WITH THE CONFIRMATION OF ALITO!

[Imagevision]

31. DEMS SHOULD WALK OUT WITHOUT ANY COMMENT ON ALITO

tHE MEDIA WILL TAKE THIS TO THE NEXT LEVEL -- C'MON DEMS, STOP BEING PUSSIES!!

[CAcyclist]

38. I'll bet if just 3 or 4 Democrats decided on their own

to start a filibuster, then the rest of the Democrats would come around to their side and keep the filibuster going. Once one is started, even if the more conservative Democrats didn't want to do it, they wouldn't be likely to just allow the Republicans to stop it.

I say we work on the 3-4 most likely Democrats to filibuster on their own - my best guess would be Boxer, what others?

[savemefromdumbya]

49. That's an interesting concept!

[Edward Copeland]

39. Abortion stuff to watch without Alito on the court

South Dakota looks to ban abortion

http://edwardcopeland.blogspot.com/2006/01/south-dakota-cant-even-wait-for-scotus.html

Dubya tells pro-lifers they will prevail

http://edwardcopeland.blogspot.com/2006/01/dubya-cheers-on-abortion-opponents.html

[VP505]

40. If this quote

from Bu$h doesn't make it clear what the agenda behind the Alito nomination is nothing will: WASHINGTON - "President Bush told abortion opponents Monday that they are pursuing "a noble cause" and predicted that their views would prevail eventually."

[understandinglife]

42. Welcome to DU.

Peace.

[hiley]

41. thanks

:)

[Megahurtz]

43. I fear all hell will break loose if this guy gets in. n/t

[greiner3]

44. So you are advocating that the Dems do what they used to;

Be proactive and not reactive? That would take about 20 major egos getting together and acting for the common good and not for individual acts. Sounds good, I'm all for it. But how can we get 'them' to?

[understandinglife]

46. "But how can we get 'them' to?" By being unrelenting in urging them ...

... to be proactive for the common good. As Al Gore eloquently noted on January 16, 2006:

But there is yet another Constitutional player whose pulse must also be taken and whose role must be examined in order to understand the dangerous imbalance that has accompanied these efforts by the Executive branch to dominate our constitutional system.

We the people are - collectively - still the key to the survival of America's democracy. We-must examine ourselves. We - as Lincoln put it, "ven we here"-must examine our own role as citizens in allowing and not preventing the shocking decay and hollowing out and degradation of American democracy! It is time to stand up for the American system that we know and love! It is time to breathe new life back into America’s democracy!

Thomas Jefferson said: "An informed citizenry is the only true repository of the public will" America’s based on the belief that we can govern ourselves. And exercise the power of self-government. The American idea proceeded from the bedrock principle that all just power is derived from the consent of the governed.

The intricate and carefully balanced constitutional system that is now in such danger was created with the full and widespread participation of the population as a whole. The Federalist Papers were, back in the day, widely-read newspaper essays, and they represented only one of twenty-four series of essays that crowded the vibrant marketplace of ideas in which farmers and shopkeepers recapitulated the debates that played out so fruitfully in Philadelphia.

And when the Convention had done its best, it was the people - in their various States - that refused to confirm the result until, at their insistence, the Bill of Rights was made integral to the document sent forward for ratification.

And it is "We the people" who must now find, once again, the ability we once had to play an integral role in saving our Constitution.

Link: http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Text_of_Gore_speech_0116.html

Thus, I've urged folk to contact the Congressional Democrats and urge them to walk out of SOTU as the first proactive step to clarifying for all Americans that Bush's lies and his crimes, and those of his neoconster minions, will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted.


Peace.

[Lorien]

47. Kick n/t

[high density]

48. I agree with everything but calling O'Connor a "centrist"

"Not as far right as Alito" would be a better way to describe her. She might respect a woman's right to choose, but that doesn't make her a centrist (why does the media think this??)

[stanfordlawschool]

50. booyah

yeah, fillibuster will work: http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/23/alito/index.html

[FogerRox]

51. SHUT it DOWN

SHUT THE SENATE DOWN

IF THEY SHUT THE SENATE DOWN

WE MARCH ON DC, LIKE IN THE UKRAINE

[The Onyx Key]

52. Are the following poll results BS?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/23/AR2006012301219.html?nav=rss_nation/special



I don't know much about the polling organizations and political bias. Thanks.:dunce:

[pat_k]

55. Hear, Hear!! -- There is NO Middle Ground!

Alito Nomination

Three Options:
FILIBUSTER, Vote to Confirm, OR Get Out!!

*************************************************************

State of the Union

Send Them Invitatiions! (To Walk Out)
---------------------------------------------



URL for two per page: january6th.org/files/InvitesSOTU.jpg

[Wordie]

56. kick

[orleans]

58. great thread here. kickin it! n/t