Posted on 01/18/2006 11:07:58 AM PST by areafiftyone
Court nominee Samuel Alito has the confirmation vote of at least one Senate Democrat but several other Democrats said Wednesday they had lingering questions about the nominee and will vote against him.
Before Senate Democrats met to discuss the nomination, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., emerged from a morning meeting with Alito and said he would vote against President Bush's Supreme Court nominee as too far outside the mainstream of judicial thinking.
"He's just not right for Montana, he's just not right for America," Baucus said. "He's very polished and he answered all of the questions I was going to ask. There is just a little too much inconsistency."
Baucus said he is concerned that Alito leans toward giving too much power to the executive branch and has wavered on the right to privacy. He said he was also concerned about Alito's membership in Concerned Alumni of Princeton, which discouraged the admission of women and minorities at the Ivy League school.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., also said she would vote against Alito. "I have a lot of unanswered questions," Mikulski told reporters after attending the swearing-in of new Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J. Alito's eventual confirmation appears assured. The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote next Tuesday on Alito's nomination to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who often casts the swing vote on controversial cases. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., has announced that debate on the nomination will begin in the full Senate on Jan. 25.
Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress, announced Tuesday in a statement that he had made up his mind to support Alito "because of his impeccable judicial credentials, the American Bar Association's strong recommendation and his pledge that he would not bring a political agenda to the court."
All 10 Republicans on the panel have endorsed Alito, assuring him of approval even though most of the eight committee Democrats are expected to oppose his confirmation.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., was expected to officially announce his position on Alito in a speech to Georgetown University on Thursday. Leahy and two other committee Democrats - Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl, both of Wisconsin - voted for now-Chief Justice John Roberts' confirmation.
Alito is meeting several senators over the next couple of days, including Menendez and Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia on Thursday. Menendez has not said how he'll vote on Alito, while Warner said Thursday that he "fully expects" to vote for his confirmation. Nelson, who is seeking re-election this fall in his Republican state, said in his statement that he has "supported more than 215 of President Bush's nominations to the federal bench, including Chief Justice John Roberts."
Because he smears his opponents, claiming they're homosexual?
(That's exactly what he did in the last election.)
So is the pork what keeps getting him elected?
This means that the next time there is a Democratic President, the Republicans in the Senate can safely vote against their nominee if they are lefties.
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I believe that's MISS BM!!
Yes, his seat is up in 2008. The outgoing GOP gov of Montana in 2002, Marc Racicot, would have been favored to beat Baucas in 2002 had he entered the race, but he said he wanted to go into the private sector to make enough money to provide financial security for his family. You can't fault a man for that, but I wonder if he will consider a run in 2008? I know some have said he had RINO tendencies, but as Baucas' vote against Alito proves, a little bit of conservative is better than none at all.
There has also been speculation that Baucas will retire once this term is up, but its also thought that significant Dem gains this Nov would convince him to run again. The best case scenario is for the GOP to at least hold their margin this year, and thus possibly dishearten Baucas and convince him to hang it up. But an open seat would be no guarantee for the GOP, as Conrad Burns struggled to win reelection in 2000, (and that was before the taint of scandal was on him), and a Dem won the governorship in 2004 in spite of Bush's landslide win in the state.
A lot of sheep and sheepherders, my friend, a lot of sheepherders. Who according to the movie "BrokeBack Mountain" are looking for a change in partners.
""He's just not right for Montana...."
I'm really sure most Montana residents feel the same way.....not.
Baucus has decided to listen to Howard Dean and Harry Reid over the people of the state he is suppose to represent. Hopefully, though doubtful, people in Montana will remember this.
"It is much easier to count the rats who will vote for Alito. I have not heard any come forth....unless you count Specter ?!?"
Ben Nelson (D-NE) has said he'll vote to confirm Alito.
And Judy Martz turned out to be a great governor for MT
Yes, I knew Judy well enough, a hard working Lady. Marc Roscoe was a hard act to follow. The great tragedy of her time in office was losing Paul Sliter, he was really a great guy; we had what amounted to a full state funeral for him. He would have made a GREAT governor, instead we got BS. Ah well, GOD moves in mysterious ways, his wonders to perform. Perhaps Judy should have pushed coal-to-oil technology harder as BS is doing. Five years to get on-stream is too long as it is. Do you know about the Karrick process? It purports to be even more efficient than the other process. I have the IE article on it if you are familiar with that field, and would like to look at it. I have LOTS of relatives in the SE corner of the state(broadus)who would LOVE to see that technology come to their area.
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