There are NOT 5 votes on court to overturn Roe v Wade, ONLY 4

[Proud2BAmurkin]

The three liberals plus Kennedy and Souter have all written that Roe v wade is settled law. It won't be overturned any time soon.

[pstokely]

1. They won't overturn it, they just undermine it

[boston bean]

2. It's not just about roe. It's about presidential power. nt

[Theres-a]

23. Amen

[Atman]

3. IT ISN'T ABOUT ROE V. WADE!

That is the distraction, the part Joe Sixpack can understand, so that is what is spoonfed to him. But the issue with Alito is presidential power, nothing more. Alito agrees with Bush's stance that the constitution gives the president the power to do anything he wants during wartime. Which Bush/Cheney say we're in a perpetual state of. Forget Roe V. Wade...that will be a slower, more incremental, insidious attack.

[Proud2BAmurkin]

4. Scalito is a fucking fascist but are there more than 2 other fascists on

on the court now?

[lastliberalintexas]

16. 5 in total

Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, Kennedy and Alito once confirmed. Kennedy might be somewhat moderate when it comes to choice, but he is rather pro-corporate in his rulings and sided with the majority in Bush v. Gore. Fascist? I don't know- I guess you can make that call.

But I would say that we'll have the most pro-corporate Court that we've seen in 50-75 years.

[Junkdrawer]

5. What Atman said.

:thumbsup:

[Cats Against Frist]

6. Agreed. Good observation.

They're just shoveling the Christian right the shit they like to eat, so much. The issue is the police and surveillance state.

[rurallib]

7. Agreed - Roe v. Wade is kind of a diversion

While all sorts of noise is directed to Roe v. Wade, the regressives will be taking away our rights and handing corporations victory after victory. And Roe v. Wade can still hang out there tostir up the unthinking rabble.

[Orangepeel]

14. yeah, and does Kennedy support that?

The original point is as relevant. Scalia, Thomas, Roberts and now, Alito will give a republican president any power he or she (yeah, right) desired and then take it away if a democrat becomes president (Scalia and Thomas, at least are demonstratively not hobbled by consistency).

But Ginsberg, Stevens, Souder and Breyer are on the side of the good, and, it is my fervent hope that Kennedy will get more liberal as the fascist four close ranks.

Yes, he voted for the 2000 appointment, but so did O'Conner, so if that's the standard, we didn't lose much anyway.

(besides, Roe v Wade is an issue of government power, if not presidential)

[BigYawn]

21. How old are Ginsberg, Stevens, & Breyer?

Google just told me Ginsberg is 72, Stevens is 85. WOW,
Ruth should be around for some time, John Paul may be
thinking retirement.

[Czolgosz]

8. 4 votes to make abortion illegal plus one vote to let the states out law

abortion by imposing any restriction the state sees fit to the point of making it unavailable in the state (e.g., laws which require that all abortions must be performed at a full service hospital and not a clinic, which is very clever since many states have zero hospitals that perform abortions).

The myth that Justice Kennedy is pro choice should go the way of the stork, the Easter bunny, and the tooth fairy.

[bettyellen]

28. thank you, i am so fed up with this BS hair splitting and the

fairy tales that roe can't be overturned.

[liberalla]

9. HOW MANY WILL VOTE TO EXPAND GEORGIE's POWER?

Got any idea about that?

[Skidmore]

10. What quicker way to ensure a police state than remove

women from the equation. You can always sell a freakin' war and weaponry to a bunch of men. Sorry, but it's true. Remove women from the workplace and schools, and what do you have? The same freakin' feudal mentality that brought us the Dark Ages.

[RagingInMiami]

11. It's about the feds breaking into our house and ransacking it

Before arresting us -- all without a warrant and probable cause.

[Skidmore]

13. It's about the feds violating something even more private and

without warrant or probable cause--the right of women to their health too. Do NOT discount this.

[Ian David]

12. Killing environmental protections causes miscarriages and birth defects

Alito will usher a Brave New World where live births are rare, and limbless children are common.

Environmental Abortion.

Killing the unborn by recklessnes rather than choice.

Alito: The Judge Who Created A Generation of Flipperbabies.

[jfern]

15. So?

There will be 5 soon enough. You think we're going to stop the next right-winger?

[MH1]

17. WAKE UP - IT WAS NOT FUCKING ABOUT ROE!!!!!!

Okay, sorry to yell folks. But that's how I feel and I am really pissed at how the Alito confirmation got made to be all about Roe v Wade. It's not, it wasn't, it never fucking was. We wrote our fucking death warrant on this nomination by making it about ABORTION.

I'd better follow Skinner's advice before I really start yelling.

But can someone please tell me WHY THE FUCK www.senate.gov doesn't have the roll call vote posted?

:argh:

[Skidmore]

20. Well apparently all the other rights were not important enough

either for them.

[MH1]

22. All the other rights didn't get HALF the attention in the media.

That is what I am so pissed about.

Maybe if there had been more clarity on just what damage Alito could do in these other areas, then more people would've woken up.

[Neecy]

27. The other rights are important, too

But what was so wrong about making this fight about Roe?

Despite what the corporate media drones say, Roe is overwhelmingly supported by the American public. Matthews likes to pin down Democrats with his "are the Democrats a pro-choice party?" gotcha line without mentioning that this is exactly where the majority stands, and it's certainly no dishonor to uphold choice.

Get mad about a lot of things, but Roe is a central issue for many of us.

[MH1]

35. Because it's a relatively small portion of the population that will be

affected by the loss of the right to choose abortion. And a significant number of them don't know, or refuse to admit, that it will affect them.

Menawhile, when we lose regulations of clean air and clean water, when we lose the ability to impose meaningful penalties on corporations that make or market unsafe products, when we lose the Family and Medical Leave Act and similar legislation, it will affect everyone and their children.

They should've made it about saving children from harm. Not about the right to choose an action which many consider the murder of a child.

I am pro-choice, btw. I think the idea that abortion is murder is absurd. However it is an idea held by a large and growing segment of the population, and we have to accept that fact. And I don't give a damn what the polls say - I've canvassed in my neighborhood and I know that people who think abortion should be legal are incredibly complacent, while those who think it should be illegal are incredibly activist. Between that and the first sentence of this post, that is why abortion is a losing issue for democrats. I know and you know that being anti-choice signals a whole lot of other bad stuff about a nominee. We need to bring that other bad stuff home to people, and we'll be more successful.

[AndyTiedye]

24. I Don't Know About You, But I Wrote Mostly About the "Unitary Executive"

I sent this:

Alito supports the "unitary executive", in which the President
usurps the role of Congress.

Our Founding Fathers did not want a unitary executive.
They had just fought a Revolution to get rid of the unitary executive of
King George III. They wrote checks and balances into the Constitution to
ensure that we would never have a unitary executive here. For over 200
years, it has worked.
====
and this:

NO ALITO! UNITARY EXECUTIVE IS UNAMERICAN!

Are we a nation of laws? Is the President above the law?
The Supreme Court is likely to be deciding this soon.

Alito subscribes to the doctrine of the "unitary executive",
which would grant vitually unlimited power to the President.

The Founding Fathers knew what a threat unchecked executive
power could be. They had to fight the American Revolution to
free themselves of a "unitary executive" (King George III).

They strove to build checks and balances into our Constitution
to ensure that we would never have a "unitary executive" here.
This has served us well for over 200 years,
through the Civil War and the gravest of external threats.
Alito would toss it aside to make us safer from "terrorists".
If he does, the terrorists have won.

Please vote NO on cloture for the debate on Alito.
Please vote NO on the "nuclear option" if it comes to that.
Please Vote NO on Alito if the nomination comes to a vote.
========
and this:

Alito's interpretation of the Constitution would replace the
separation of powers with a "unitary executive".

Our Founding Fathers had experienced a "unitary executive"
before, under the English King. They fought the American
Revolution to get free of it. They carefully crafted the
US Constitution to ensure that we would never have a
unitary executive here. For over 200 years it has worked.

If we give that up now on account of the threat of "terrorism",
the terrorists have won.
========
and this:

The idea of someone like Alito on the Supreme Court terrifies me.
He supports unlimited executive power (the "unitary executive").
That's called a dictatorship where I come from.

Alito Must Not Be Confirmed!
========

[BurningDog]

30. I have to agree with this.

I wish that issue would get settled one way or the other, so that lawmakers would be forced to focus on more important issues.

[AndyTiedye]

34. It Will Never Be Settled

What you are asking is for us to cave in on reproductive freedom altogether.
Let them ban abortion, birth control and all that and don't even try to do anything about it.
That is the only way the issue will be "settled" -- unconditional surrender.
We're not going to do that, so the issue will never be settled.

[BurningDog]

36. Not necessarily.

The best way for the issue to be settled would be a constitutional amendment explicitly stating a right to privacy as its currently defined legally.

[0rganism]

18. A toast to the health of Justice Stevens, may he live forever

Murkin, you are just full of apologetic juices today.

[Proud2BAmurkin]

19. if Stevens dies we're all fucked 9 ways to sunday

nt

[mmonk]

25. It will be piece meal by states.

Other rights and constitutional checks and balances are in jeopardy.

[mydreamcametrue]

26. Thank you very much.

[Gregorian]

29. Furthermore, all is not lost. The court will change.

The other justices aren't all in agreement with Alito. And they most likely shift their views to compensate. It's the only good thing I can think of right now. Except maybe the chance that an act of God will intervene in our country's madness.

[MrDem12]

31. How dare you mix God and politics.

>Except maybe the chance that an act of God will intervene in our country's madness.

What the hell is that? We must abide by the strict separation of religion and politics.

[ladjf]

32. Within ten to fifteen years, new contraception methods will

render the abortion debate moot.

[bush_is_wacko]

33. Roe V. Wade was never my concern to begin with...

Roe v. Wade may not ever be overturned but the states already have the right to make it near impossible for anyone to actually have an abortion and many have done just that. When they shut down all the Planned Parenthoods, which they are also already doing, and take away the right to an abortion women and BABIES will die horrible deaths. I've seen the end result of a nearly full term fetus being "terminated" by it's own mother. It ain't pretty and I hope to hell every baby that is aborted that way ends up on the doorstep of all the pro-life churches around the country but I don't think Alito will have anything to do with the reason why it starts happening again.

My concern is that Alito isn't going to make it easy to get shit-heads bush and cheney convicted of the crimes they have committed, INCLUDING warrantless wiretapping. That has been my only major concern over his nomination from the very beginning. He could very well sway the courts in that direction. This man has outright stated that he believes the executive branch should have more power than all other branches. He may not have admitted to it during his hearings but he's said it before and THAT is the reason he was nominated. BushCo knew they were in trouble. They saw this particular nomination as an opportunity to try and get favorable rulings.