LIVE THREAD:Senate vote to confirm Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court;(UPDATE: Alito Confirmed 58-42)

The Senate convenes at 10:00am EST, and the final vote is scheduled to start at 11:30. It is expected that Mr. JUSTICE Alito ( gawd, that sounds sooooo nice) will be immediately sworn in at the White House, ( providing yet another boffo phot-op and sound bite) then immediately dispatched to the Supreme Court building for a meeting with the official SCOTUS tailor.

Happily there is little time for bloviating, er, speechifying today before the vote, though I suspect (expect?) some Dems will try to get in one last shot at Mr. Justice Alito.

A few observations for discussion today...

Let's be honest...Up until the last 15 minutes yesterday, 95% of us on the thread were all sweating it, convinced that the Dems were somehow going to pull it off..Indeed, we were wondering if the GOP could medivac Sen Ensign into the well of the Senate to heroically cast the deciding vote. So what happened? How were we all so wrong in guesstimating the vote for cloture? Is the Dem/lib monolith just a toothless paper tiger?

Which votes for cloture surprised you the most yesterday?

Any significance to the fact that neither Reid or Leahy spoke at the end, the time traditionally reserved for the leaders? They ceded it to the K&K boys..

Is the abortion issue no longer the powerful force we were told it was..is the pro-choice lobby finally defanged? Remember, while Specter did a superb job getting both nominees confirmed, it was only a few months ago that he pompously pontificated that it would be "exceedingly difficult for any nominee NOT 100% committed to affirming Roe to be confirmed." My, oh my, how times have changed..

So, since it is award season in Hollyweird, without further ado, here are my nominees for the best performances at the hearing, the ALITOS!!!

BEST Producer: Geroge W. Bush..he packaged the whole enchilada by winning in 2004 and keeping his campaign promise to appoint conservative nominees..

BEST Director: Karl Rove. I mean, is there ANY doubt here?

BEST Actor: Samuel Alito, for his portrayal of Jack Webb as a judge...strong, silent, nary a smile, nor a scowl.."Just the facts, senator"

BEST Actress:The bodacious lady is the bright red suit who was seen sheparding Alito around the halls and corridors of Congress. He did not get lost, did not miss ONE appointment with a senator. And her photogenic presence helped draw attention to the fact that Alito was indeed "making the rounds. "Ergo..she gets much of the credit.

BEST Screenplay: John Roberts. He wrote the script, which Alito followed faithfully..

BEST Supporting Actress: Martha Alito. She stole the picture with a brief, though very poignant tear-filled scene.

BEST Supporting Actor Sen Tom Coburn. His short, though powerful comments during the hearing, in defense of the unborn stood in stark contrast to the Democrats' plaintive defense of "choice."

BEST Musical Score: The "Gang of 14" They wrote a hit song, though when it was first released it was derided in most of the red states, it ultimately began a hit, and the 14 all sang from the same page almost all the time...

And now, because "politics ain't beanbag", with apologies to "The Biggest Loser!" here are my nominees for that title......

Not so oddly, it's really difficult. It's a target rich environment.

First, I don't consider Kerry and Orca losers her, per se. They accomplished their mission. They were determined to stake out the left-wing fringe of the Dem party, and attach it to Kerry as he tries again in 2008. The patient, i.e. the Dem party..may ultimately die, but this operation was a success..

Harry Reid proved yet again that his word is worthless, and that he cannot control his caucus..

Joe Biden proved yet again that Mark Levin's discription of him as the "dumbest man in the Senate" is far too kind. It should at the least be expanded to cover all of Congress..and considering the moonbats in the House, that goes a far ways..

Pat Leahy....Well, twice now he's led his troops into battle, and both times they've got their asses whupped. Hello! Hello? Time, perhaps, for a new general..I predict that Leaky will be moved out of the ranking member slot soon...someone has to pay the price for failure...and Leahy's head will roll,a nd soon

Ralph Neas, and Nan what's-her-name, and the whole gang at PFAW and NARAL..You no longer have any clout, leverage, juice...and the next time a SCOTUS vacancy comes up, well, let's just say that if Alito made you upset, you have NO idea what "upset " really is...

But the Biggest Loser hands down, goes to Lincoln Chaffee..He has, through incessant waffling, managed to get everyone in Rhode Island mad at him. He has ZERO political calculus, the faytal weakness of any moderate. He tried to straddle the fence, and he got a pole right up his "tuchus." His announced vote against confirming Alito will, I predict, cost him the GOP primary, and I say..good riddance..We may well lose the seat in the general election, after all, RI is a heavily Democratic state, but we gain seats elsewhere. But Chafee's exist from the Senate has the very salubruous effect of DIMINISHING the influence of the RINOs in the GOP caucus..

Chafee's both stupid and DUMB..a fatal combination in politics..He felt that he had to vote against Alito, becuase of supposed pressure from the pro-choice forces in RI...But any political novice could have told him on day ONE that any voter in RI who was a single-issue, (choice) voter, woudl NEVER vote for a Republican. So, Chafee screwed himself into the ground, and hopefully out the door of the Senate..I want, and expect, him to lose in the primary..

A special mention runner-up for Bigest Loser goes to Mark Pryor. Yesterday, this Gang of 14 member for a time announced that he was going to ABSTAIN on the cloture vote..Unbelievable!!! I'd guess that 95% of those who voted for him thought they were voting for his father... Next time they won't make the same mistake..

OK..that's the GOOD and the BAD of the Alito hearings... We still need the UGLY!!!! but for that, my fellow Freepers, post the pics......the BEST of the WORST,a as it were...

Note to maggief: Here's your chance to shine!! Post'em all...especially the Feinsteins.....(g)

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Allow me two brief personal observations...I'd never hosted a LIVE THREAD, until the first day of the Roberts' hearing, when I put one up, and wow...It is so strange to have hundreds of replies to you. You feel initially that you have to respond to all of them, then 10 seconds later you realize that's impossible..Anyway, we did it for each day of the Roberts' hearings and floor debate, and also for every day ( except one,when I lost power) for the Alito nomination. We' had fun, and we also now have TWO new Justices on the Supreme Court..

And it's my great hope that I'll be able to do this once, perhaps twice more, while W. is still in the Oval Office..

See you all tonight on the SCOTUS thread...who's gonna start it?

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One last thought....looking at the hundreds, if not thousand who have enjoyed out daytime vitual community during these hearings...let's not forget the person who makes FR possible..and thus gives us this forum..Jim Robinson....and makes it run soothly and seamlessly..so if you're NOT a FR financial supporter, please do so..if you are..consider making an additional contribution..Look., if you were on these threads, you might have rented a DVD, right..what's that cost..$5?..and the entertainment quotient here is sooooo much better..so if every person on the Alito thread these last few weeks kicked in what, $5 or $10 extra..why, in the words of Tip O'Neil...soon we'd be talking about "serious money"

So I need someone to post the fundraising link logo thingee...and if there was a way to somehow designate it as a special "Alito Victory Celebration" thank-you donation...that would be waaay kewl..

PING...

FYI..one last time

You've been summoned..(g)

mea maxima culpa

FYI...

This is a most propitious day for America.

yup ,... mea gulpa , also[burp]

Even though the outcome is a given, thanks to John "Buster" Kerry, this will be a much more satisfying victory than it would have been otherwise.

Worst Short Subject: Babs Boxer

The shock of the day was Kohl of Wisconsin. Can't remember him breaking from a party line vote before.

Merry Alitomas everyone!

Good morning.

Who shall swear him in? Roberts or Stevens?

Ah the smell of victory.

BTTT

In recognition of the terrible tragedy that this confirmation represents to our dear friends at DU and other sewers of Leftism, I'm going to serenade them this morning. They are music lovers, so some lyrics written with sensitivity to their political leanings might sooth their tortured souls. We are conservative, but compassionate.

(To the tune of "My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean)

My buddy lies on Brokeback Mountain
My buddy is waiting for me
My buddy lies on Brokeback Mountain
So bring Brokeback Mountain to me!

Broke-Back
Broke-Back!
Oh bring Brokeback Mountain to me, to me!!
Broke-Back!
Broke-Back!
Oh bring Brokeback Mountain to me, to me!!

(more to follow unless I'm hit with overripe produce)

Agreed.

A good day ahead.

Take a moment to think about poor Molly Ivins, and how she must feel - the terrible confusion resulting from the knowledge that "The Dumbest President Ever" has somehow once again managed to outfox all her heroes, beginning with poor "Ma" Richards, and including John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, and The Chappaquidick Kid himself, Ted Kennedy!

Oh, Molly! How DOES he do it?

Yesterday was awesome, and today will be better.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the democrats ask that the confirmation vote be delayed one day in honor of Coretta Scott King's death (she will be missed by America!) We all consider her a great woman, but it would fit the democrats well to take political advantage of her passing.

The neatest part of this whole thing is that President Bush has just under three years left in his term.

He could easily nominate two more to the US Supreme Court!