Posted on 01/19/2006 1:47:52 PM PST by The_Victor
WASHINGTON - Two Democrats who supported Chief Justice John Roberts said Thursday they would oppose Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito in next week's Senate vote.
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The conservative judge is expected to be confirmed, but with fewer votes than the 78 Roberts got in September.
Democratic Sens. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Ken Salazar of Colorado both questioned whether Alito would be independent of President Bush and the executive branch in his future rulings.
"At a time when the president is seizing unprecedented power, the Supreme Court needs to act as a check and to provide balance," Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a speech at Georgetown University's law school. "Based on the hearing and his record, I have no confidence that Judge Alito would provide that check and balance."
Added Salazar in a statement: "Judge Alito would place too much power in the hands of the president of the United States, at the cost of the protective system of checks and balances built into our Constitution.
The Judiciary Committee, which has 10 Republicans and eight Democrats — is expected to approve Alito's nomination Tuesday in a party-line vote. The full Senate is expected to debate and vote on the nomination that same week, with its Republican majority confirming the federal appeals judge.
Leahy, Salazar and Max Baucus of Montana — who announced his opposition to Alito on Wednesday — were three of the 22 Democrats who voted for Roberts' confirmation as the replacement for the late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, a conservative.
Alito is not expected to get that much support from the Senate's 44-member Democratic caucus. He was picked by Bush as the replacement for retiring moderate Sandra Day O'Connor, who was the swing vote on contentious issues such as abortion and affirmative action during her career on the court.
Several other Democrats are opposing Alito, including Tom Harkin of Iowa, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Barbara Mikulski of Maryland.
Sen. Ben Nelson (news, bio, voting record) of Nebraska is the only Democrat to announce that he will vote for Alito's confirmation next week. He also voted for Roberts' confirmation.
None of the Senate's 55 Republicans have announced opposition to Alito. Most _if not all — of them are expected to vote for his confirmation. They all voted for Roberts.
Independent Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont has not announced how he'll vote.
Alito is continuing to visit senators, spending time Thursday with Tom Carper, D-Del., and new Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J. Carper and Menendez have not taken positions on Alito's nomination. "I have reservations," Menendez said.
Sens. John Sununu, R-N.H., and John Warner, R-Va., announced their support for Alito after meeting with him Thursday.
"He understands the law and the Constitution extremely well, and I think one of the abilities he showed was to clearly describe how he ruled, why he ruled, and what factors were critical to particular cases," Sununu said. "That's an indication that his service on the court and his view of the Constitution is rooted in principle."
Added Warner: "In my view, Judge Alito's strong record and experience, coupled with his appearance before the Judiciary Committee, eliminates any question of the existence of extraordinary circumstances that would justify denying him confirmation by the Senate."
But he's not in as much trouble as sheets is
Bill Owens is watching you Ken Salazar.
Man that salazar really hoodwinked the hoodwinkables in Colorado.
Salazar is a lying, corrupt LULAC Democrat.
Coors would have lost a one-man race with himself. He ran a horrible campaign.
Leahy was hoping for Judge Cashman to be nominated-- Salazar for Ward Churchill.
Any bets on which two will announce opposition tomorrow... and the next day...
And how is it that he won the primary?
And he's part of the Gang of 14. But he just got elected, so he probably figures he can rely on the electorate to forget before he's up for reelection.
Just think, if he'd been defeated we'd have Pete Coors as our senator.
Why do people keep believing them?
alot of freepers are trying to elect casey
He ran a campaign pretending to be honorable.
We know better!
Put the screws to him and see if he caves. If he doesn't you have ammo to remove him and replace him with Coors or Bill Owens.
Or is his brother's district safe?
I will never ever donate one penny to Club for Growth again.
What?!? More info, please...
Washington, D.C. - The political action arm of Club for Growth, the nation's leading free-market advocacy organization with over 34,000 members, today endorsed sitting Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) in his bid for re-election to his San Antonio-based House seat. He is running against former Democratic Congressman Ciro Rodriguez and Victor Morales in the Democratic primary. This is the first ever endorsement of a Democratic candidate by the Club for Growth PAC."By voting for CAFTA, to repeal the Death Tax, to prevent huge tax increases, and for supporting school choice, Congressman Cuellar has become one of the House's most pro-economic growth Democrats," said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. "The House of Representatives would be better off with more Democrats - and even some more Republicans - who demonstrate Rep. Cuellar's commitment to their constituents' prosperity through economic freedom. It is particularly noteworthy that Rep. Cuellar cast these votes for a stronger economy despite intense pressure not to by some in his party."
"Former Congressman Ciro Rodriguez's record is a prime example of what we don't need more of in Washington," Toomey said. "During his eight years in Congress, he established one of the most anti-growth voting records, consistently supporting higher taxes, wasteful government spending, and a protectionist anti-trade agenda. He even voted against allowing poor families the freedom to choose the school their children could attend."
"While Congressman Cuellar's record isn't perfect, it is far better than his opponents' and his demonstrated commitment to pro-growth principles over politics is exactly what the Club for Growth PAC looks for in Congressional candidates, regardless of party affiliation," concluded Toomey, "It's why we're committed to helping elect him, and more legislators like him, to Congress."
http://www.clubforgrowth.org/blog/archives/028225print.html
http://www.clubforgrowth.org/blog/
Say it ain't so!
Thanks, Cboldt.
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