Free Republic

Final confirmation of Supreme Court nominee expected Tuesday WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Judge Samuel Alito stands just one step away from a lifetime appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court after a spirited ninth-inning campaign by some Democratic senators to block his nomination fizzled Monday evening.The final vote on Alito's nomination is now scheduled for Tuesday morning, and, with at least 57 senators on board, approval is virtually assured.Alito's supporters in the Senate, as expected, cleared the final roadblock Monday when senators, by a vote of 72-25, decided to cut off debate and proceed to a final vote, rebuffing an attempt by...

"Senator Clinton will vote against cloture, thereby supporting the filibuster of Judge Alito’s nomination," said Philippe Reines, press secretary to Sen. Clinton.

Filibuster Alito by John Kerry Do I support a filibuster? The answer is yes. Yesterday Senator Kennedy and I spoke with our colleagues about it. I don't have a shred of doubt in my opposition to Sam Alto's nomination. I know Senator Kennedy does not either. He has truly been a great leader in the effort to oppose Judge Alito. I spent a lot of time over the last years thinking about the Supreme Court and who America needs on the highest court in the land. So I don't hesitate a minute in saying that Sam Alito is not that...

OPPOSITION Democrats have gained a one-week delay for a key Senate panel's vote on President George W. Bush's Supreme Court nominee, Samuel Alito. Senator Patrick Leahy, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the panel's Republican chairman, Senator Arlen Specter, had agree to hold the vote on January 24 instead of today (local time). "I have assured Chairman Specter that no Democratic Senator will hold the matter over on January 24," Senator Leahy said. "He does not anticipate that any Republican Senator will seek to hold it over at that time." Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee...

WASHINGTON - President Bush’s nominee to the Supreme Court to replace Sandra Day O’Connor appeared to be skating on thin ice Wednesday, even though the president hasn’t yet revealed who the nominee is. In the war of nerves leading up to Bush's announcement of his next high court nominee, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid and other Democrats were signaling Wednesday that the filibuster — extended debate in order to kill a nomination — is an option they might use.

Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2005 11:48 p.m. EDT Hillary Clinton: Bush Ruined Bill's FEMA 2008 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency was better organized to deal with disasters like Hurricane Katrina while her husband was president - an approach, she said, that was "rejected" by President Bush. "FEMA was the lead agency during the Clinton administration; it was in charge," Mrs. Clinton boasted during a conference call with reporters. "James D. Witt, the director, understood how to deal with emergencies."

WASHINGTON — The top Senate Democrat today called for an investigation into the way the government dealt with Hurricane Katrina, including whether President Bush's Texas vacation interfered with the response. Republican chairmen pledged to focus on recovery now and investigate later. In a letter to the Senate's Homeland Security Committee chairwoman, Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada pressed for a wide-ranging investigation and answers to several questions, including: "How much time did the president spend dealing with this emerging crisis while he was on vacation? Did the fact that he was outside of Washington, D.C., have any effect on the...

Democrats shift strategy on Roberts Plan to use Katrina to highlight racial and economic divide By Rick Klein, Globe Staff | September 7, 2005 WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats said yesterday that they will invoke the vast disparities in income and living conditions laid bare by the Hurricane Katrina disaster to sharpen their questioning of Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. at his confirmation hearings next week. The scenes of devastation featuring primarily poor African-American residents in New Orleans have highlighted the widening gap between rich and poor, said Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts. With Roberts having urged...

Members of the Senate Democrats’ K Street inner circle are predicting that as many as 25 Democrats will vote to confirm John Roberts as chief justice of the United States. Several attendees of the Monday Group, as Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) biweekly lobbyist meetings are known, said the Democrats could suffer politically if their Roberts strategy misfires. Left-wing ideological groups are pressuring Democratic lawmakers to expose Roberts’s conservative record without workable grounds for a fight, Monday Group lobbyists said. “It’s not a good thing for Democrats to be dragged into a visible, high-profile battle on him for weeks...

Sen. Mary Landrieu threatened the president of the United States with physical violence on Sunday, saying that if he or any other government official criticizes New Orleans police for failing to keep civil order in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina - "I might likely have to punch him - literally." "If one person criticizes [our sheriffs], or says one more thing, including the president of the United States, he will hear from me - one more word about it after this show airs and I - I might likely have to punch him - literally," Landrieu railed on "ABC's "This...

-snip- HIGH COURT SUCCESSOR Rehnquist's death raised the possibility the hearings on Roberts' nomination could be postponed and gave Bush the opportunity of nominating Roberts as chief justice, a possibility administration officials have talked about in the event Rehnquist died. Sen. Edward Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), a Massachusetts Democrat, said the consideration of successors to Rehnquist and O'Connor should be held off to allow the Bush administration and Congress to focus on the Katrina disaster. "We should proceed carefully and appropriately in filling these important vacancies. With Justice O'Connor committing to stay until her replacement is named, we can...

Senate Democrats want to draw out the confirmation of federal Judge John G. Roberts Jr. to the Supreme Court as long as possible, but they expressed little hope that they can prevent him from reaching the high court. The White House has called for hearings to begin in late August, according to Judiciary Committee sources, while the panel's Democrats want to postpone them until September to give them and their supporters time to build a complete dossier on Judge Roberts.

Complaint Against Kerry, CBS Dismissed By SHARON THEIMER, Associated Press Writer 7 minutes ago Election officials have thrown out a complaint against John Kerry's presidential campaign and CBS over a now-discredited story that questioned President Bush's National Guard service. The Federal Election Commission, in a 6-0 ruling, said there was no reason to believe the allegations raised by the Center for Individual Freedom over the story that aired on CBS' "60 Minutes Wednesday" in September. The politically conservative group contended the report amounted to an illegal election-time advertisement against Bush that was financed with corporate money; that CBS improperly coordinated...

Statement Of Senator Barbara Boxer On The Nomination Of Judge John G. Roberts July 19, 2005Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today issued the following statement regarding the President’s nomination of Judge John G. Roberts to replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the United States Supreme Court: "Without prejudging the nominee, I do believe Judge Roberts’ record raises questions about his commitment to the right to privacy, protection of the environment, and other important issues. "With so many rights of the American people hanging in the balance, this Supreme Court nomination deserves a thorough and in-depth evaluation. "Justice...

JOIN the National Organization for Women (NOW), Wednesday, July 20th at 10:00 am for a demonstration against the nomination of anti abortion rights John Roberts to the United States Supreme Court! Dirksen Senate Office Building - Senate Swamp Constitution and First St SE 10:00 am The United States Senate must NOT confirm John Roberts. Let's show our support for women's rights.

John Kerry on Roberts Nomination FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: David Wade or April Boyd July 19, 2005 Statement by John Kerry on the Nomination of John G. Roberts to the Supreme Court "Americans deserve a Supreme Court that is fair, independent, ethical and served by justices committed to our constitutional freedoms rather than an ideological agenda. Justice O'Connor refused to use her position as a means to advance a political agenda. In replacing her, we must be confident Judge Roberts will do the same. "We know Judge Roberts is no Sandra Day O'Connor, and the White House has sent a...

On MSNBC a little while ago, they had a story about the "politics of the CIA leak". The reporter was interviewing Pat Buchanan and Democratic strategist Peter Fenn. What follows is the best transcript I could piece together quickly. I've quoted Fenn word for word. PAT BUCHANAN: It's very, very serious...There is a credibility problem for the press secretary...There is no legal problem for Rove...Reporters in Washington have a gleam in their eye and smiles on their faces, and there's a reason for it...Pat Fitzgerald hasn't been digging for two years and judges haven't been sending reporters to jail because...

Senator Lindsey Graham made it very clear on the Hannity radio show today. If some conservatives thought he would get wobbly in the Supreme Court battle, that fear should now be abated. Graham will support the Constitutional option if the DemocRATS try to filibuster a qualified candidate because of ideology. Graham noted that it was not done with Scalia or Ginsberg. It has never been done that way. He further noted that the President, who was elected twice, made it clear that he most respects Scalia and Clarence Thomas. That is the type of pick Graham expects.

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX WED JULY 06, 2005 11:09:22 ET XXXXX SEN. SCHUMER CAUGHT ON CELLPHONE: 'WE ARE GOING TO WAR' OVER SUPREME COURT **Exclusive** Senate Judiciary Committee member Chuck Schumer got busy plotting away on the cellphone aboard a Washington, DC-New York Amtrak -- plotting Democrat strategy for the upcoming Supreme Court battle. Schumer promised a fight over whoever the President’s nominee was: “It's not about an individual judge… It's about how it affects the overall makeup of the court.” The chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee was overheard on a long cellphone conversation with an unknown...

Democrats are prepared to filibuster to block any anti-abortion nominee proposed to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said Tuesday. "The filibuster is on the table. It's been on the table for 200 years," Boxer said when asked what methods could be used to block a Supreme Court candidate who would seek to overturn Roe v. Wade, the three-decade old decision legalizing abortion. -SNIP-Boxer called a threat to legalized abortion an "extraordinary circumstance." "It means a minimum of 5,000 women a year will die. So all options are on the table," she said. Boxer...