Posted on 01/27/2006 8:38:03 AM PST by ken5050
The Senate meets at noon today, again in Executive Session, for the 3rd day of debate on the nomination of Samuel Alito to SCOTUS. Not sure, what, if anything, will happen today..Will there be a filabuster?..will anyone show up..might be work while checking out the beginning of the session, to get the lay of the land....
LOL The Deadzone!
What kind of filibuster is this we are seeing? It is almost amusing. Where are the Senators? I was here last night. I followed three Republicans talking. We were supposed to be in session until 8. Nobody from the other side of the aisle showed up to talk. I am not sure there are any around today to complain. They are supposed to be telling us why this man should not be on the bench. We have been here for 2 days, and fewer than 25 Democratic Senators have come to the Senate floor. It has been a pretty vacant situation. Republicans shut down the Senate each night. Nobody seems to want to come and raise the issues and debate them. If they want to filibuster, if they have serious concerns, I suggest they come down and express it. Let's talk about it.My colleague, Senator Specter, during the Judiciary Committee hearings gave the Democratic Senators every opportunity they desired to raise, for as long as they wanted to, any issues they had with Judge Alito. He allowed them to call a whole host of witnesses who would be critical. The truth is, I don't think any of them knew Judge Alito. Most of them had axes to grind one way or the other from some political agenda they had. Even out of that group, I don't think but one or two actually said they were against him. Laurence Tribe raised some concerns, but he never said he was against the nominee or that he should not be confirmed. He is a professor himself, and he knows the legal expertise Judge Alito brings to the court.
If you have something to filibuster about, come on down. Why put us through this? Senator JOHN CORNYN has called this effort needless and strange. That is a good definition. Other words come to mind: pointless, political.
The Democratic leader, Senator HARRY REID, went before the Democratic caucus, according to the New York Times, just last week and urged his colleagues to vote against this nomination. They made it a political agenda item to block this nomination. Is it Presidential politics or politics in general? I submit both. Senator Reid's spokesperson, when asked, said: Well, they want to get as many votes as they can against him to make it an issue in the election--for politics, not a question of whether the judge is ready, qualified, and able to serve.
Maybe this is some sort of theory that, We can reward our base--the National Abortion Rights Action League, the People for the American Way, the Alliance for Justice, some of those leftwing groups that have been driving the process for years. Maybe it will keep them happy. Maybe they will keep sending money. Maybe they will keep attacking George Bush and saying he is appointing extremists to the bench. Maybe that is what they are trying to do.
There is no basis to object to this nominee. There is absolutely no justification for denying him an up-or-down vote, which is what the filibuster attempts to do. We can all agree, I suppose, that it is an international filibuster because it was apparently hatched in Davos, Switzerland, where Senator Kerry now is with those masters of the universe trying to figure out the world economy. Maybe they ought to spend more time trying to get gasoline prices down than worrying about conjuring up a filibuster of a judge as able as Judge Alito. They are not here in the Chamber, and that is what we have every right to expect.
When they took roll call for the day, not one elected official was in the room. There was a few aides running around punching the buttons to state if that person was present or not. Debate over a bill amounted to an official taking the podium in front of an empty room and saying, "This is my bill and I hope you will vote for it." Then he would leave the room. Some one opposed would then come in, take the podium and say, "I am opposed to this bill and hope that you will vote against it." Then leave the room. A few aides would then push the buttons to vote for all of them. It was all a big joke with just a few people going through the motions. Our representative was in the balcony talking to us the entire time the vote was going on. He had no idea if the proper vote was cast on his behalf.
I was only a senior in high school at the time and it really left me sick to think that this is how our government was run.
The next time we are hit, this quote should be made into a 500 ft long flag and flown over the attack site in perpetuity.
Gotcha, and you know it is coming only a matter of time as long as GWB leaves the border wide open. How about this Sheriff: Mexican army played role in standoff
"There is a brand new book coming out that had PROOF that the 2004 election was a fraud...and that Bush stole another election.."
Well since Bush was not elected either time, he can run 2 more times, right?????
I think that would be an excellent thing we should propose...
The dems now have a conspiracy that Bush is secretly getting Congress to change the Constitution to make the 2 term limit changed anyway....so, they already think he is trying to go around the rules (again, sigh)
I don't know about you...but, at this point, I can't think of one person that I will trust our country with...except maybe Cheney, and he has already said he won't run...
"After we get Diebold to throw the mid-term election, we'll have enough votes in Congress to change the Constitution and we'll remain President. BWAHAHAHA!" Karl Rove.
OH...yeah, that Karl Rove...he is into every kind of diabolical goings on.
Kerry actually accused him of whispering in Alito's ear that all he had to do was say whatever he needed to get confirmed...
I didn't see Rove sitting by Alito...but, I guess Kerry did...which is really weird, since Kerry isn't on the judicary committee....LOL
What time is the cloture vote scheduled for?
Yes, I want to know too. When are Senators voting?
430 est
Karl Rove was actually the cause of Kerrys Purple Hearts... Did you know he was in vietnam and I assume still is on some days...
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