Good news/bad news-Lieberman to Oppose - Byrd to Support Alito

[kpete]

Lieberman to Oppose - Byrd to Support Alito

Good news/bad news on Alito. Word is that Joe Lieberman (D-CT) will opppose Alito when he comes to the floor later today. On the other hand, it appears there will now be at least 3 Democrats to break ranks and support Alito - word is that Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) will support Alito.

http://realvalues.blogspot.com/2006/01/lieberman-to-oppose-byrd-to-support.html

[mwb970]

1. Byrd to support?

Isn't he the guy who carries the Constitution in his pocket? Sheesh.

[kpete]

2. I was almost in tears when I called his office yesterday

guess that did not work

[Freddie Stubbs]

40. He needed more calls from his constituents, not

from out-of-staters.

[theHandpuppet]

41. I called -- and I'm a West Virginian

I'm only sorry it seems to have had no sway on the Senator's decision.

[unblock]

6. byrd is emminently porkable

he's VERY big on getting federal dollars for his state (and he's quite prodigious at it). which means the banana republicans can lure him over to the dark side every now and again in exchange for some nice juicy pork.

that said, he is also often a man of principle, particularly when the constitution is involved, and this news is very disappointing.

[Mass]

8. No surprise - Byrd is very social conservative and deferential to

powers, sadly.

I had hope that Alito's record on mines security would make the difference, but I guess this was not even enough.

[jonnyblitz]

14. yup, he is a virulent homophobe , too, sadly. nt

[TahitiNut]

39. Yep. Byrd has always been a conservative 'southern Democrat.'

His social conservatism and cooperation with mining interests have been long-established.

[woodsprite]

3. Anybody getting the idea that

the Dems are in conference saying "Look, we need to pull out so many Dem votes. You know, so it covers if any repubs vote against him. Gotta look good for GW. But lets mix it up this time. I think the constituents are starting to catch on."

I swear that's what's going on.

Maybe too tinfoil hat, but man, my hunches are PRETTY good.

[Jane Austin]

25. Huh?

This makes no sense to me.

[woodsprite]

33. Good Cop (Dems) vs. Bad Cop (Pubs)

Except in this scenario, they're guaranteeing the Bad Cop wins.

[Mass]

4. No surprise for Byrd - Good surprise for Lieberman.

[faithnotgreed]

9. why arent you surprised about byrd

to see him for and lieberman against has my head spinning

[Mass]

13. Look at Byrd's record on these issues and you will see he is very

conservative. A lot of people here mistake his opposition on Iraq for a liberal statement. It is not that.

You can forgive him as he is a man from another time, but dont be surprised.

[ISUGRADIA]

17. Byrd's always had crappy ACLU and Human Right's Campaign

ratings. One of the worst Democrats in the Senate in fact for those groups.

[faithnotgreed]

36. thank you

how sad and pitiful but all too typical i guess
seems mass is right - senator byrd is a man from another (southern) era which does clear up the confusing gaps

[enigami]

5. They obviously have dirt on Byrd

:shrug:

[Mass]

15. Why - Why do you refuse to see Byrd for who he is.

[patcox2]

30. Because rhetoric is all that matters. Hillary is a liberal, did you hear?

And if only they would vote NO with every fibre of their being (the english spelling renders the trite cliche so much trit-er) the dems could defeat Alito even if they have fewer votes.

[Quixote1818]

35. Are you saying he is a Dirty Byrd?

:rofl:

[Cooley Hurd]

7. Whaaaa? Have they "gotten to" Sen. Byrd??

Something in his past that they're holding over his head???

[WI_DEM]

12. No

on cultural issues Byrd is no flaming liberal and never has been. He believes in the right of the president to nominate and usually supports that person unless there is incompetnece or criminality found.

[Cooley Hurd]

31. But, he MUST see that the entire "co-equal branches" tenet is at stake!

As a "strict constitutionalist," Alito's ideas on unitary executive powers should scare the crap out of him!

I still don't get it... x(

[WI_DEM]

10. Really no surprise for Lieberman--he has always been consistently

pro-choice. NOt too big of a shock for Byrd--if that is what happens.

[Mass]

11. I know a lot of people are going to be surprise by Byrd, but there should

be no surprise there.

Yes, Byrd has been awesome on Iraq, but he is as conservative as Landrieu, may be more.

[Sparkly]

16. I'm surprised because

he's been such a staunch supporter of the Senate's role. Alito threatens to empower the Executive over the Senate in a way I thought Byrd would find unacceptable.

[Mass]

19. And he led the compromise that basically prevents the filibuster.

I cant tell you why Byrd voted like that. I know he was one of the few I was worried (with Landrieu and Pryor).

[Neecy]

20. I'm a little surprised, too

Giving this president unlimited powers seems to be something Byrd would be opposed to, and would outweigh his homophobia and deference to a presidential nominee.

Oh, well. Next time Byrd takes the Senate floor to point at the camera and thunder that we elected 'a president, not a king' I'll remember that it was Byrd's vote who helped make this little ninny a king.

[CityDem]

18. Byrd is old school

He has been through these confirmations many times. Unless the nominee has some serious ethical issues or is viewed as incompetent, Byrd will vote aye.

[ISUGRADIA]

21. well, he was one of 22 Dems who voted for John Roberts also

[quiet.american]

22. Given that Sen. Byrd carries around a copy of the U.S. Constitution --

-- it's really surprising to see him voting for a nominee who favors "the unitary presidency."

[Hubert Flottz]

28. I don't believe it!

If Mr Byrd backs Alito, I'll not vote for him in November.

[savemefromdumbya]

23. BYRD is senile - or a supporter of the 4th Reich? Has he been threatened

so Byrd supports the 4th Reich, surely not?

[HuskerDU]

24. I thought I had read where Byrd is so afraid of the nuclear

option, that he may be inclined to vote for Alito to avoid it.

[Benhurst]

26. Maybe Byrd ought to get around to reading that copy of

the Constitution he carries around in his pocket.

[Free the Press]

27. um, strictly posturing now. Alito to be confirmed - filibuster defeated.

Every Senator shall posture in such a way as to maximize their re-election probability.

[Ian David]

29. Call them ALL! Fax them ALL!

Call them ALL! Fax them ALL!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=248495&mesg_id=248495

[Ian David]

32. Byrd is speaking right now! n/t

[KoKo]

34. The man who spoke eloquently about Executive Authority w/Iraq Resolution

and helped spur a movement to defy Bush has now taken away with the hand he gaveth.

It was sad for me to see it. Ripped my heart out....

[rsinger]

37. Alito

Democrats.com is reporting that Kerry is trying to organize a filibuster. It's important to call the big players and keep the pressure on.

[rsinger]

38. Alito

There are 42 possible votes for filibuster. Salazar, Landriew and Feinstein must be persuaded to support it. Call them! Fax them! Don't let them off the hook.

[Rhiannon12866]

42. Wow! Kudos to Lieberman, who I'd long written off and I'm totally confused

about Byrd, who is a real hero to me. I've heard that he is up for reelection and is being trashed by the RW, but surely a man of his stature can do better than this...:-(