[Mb-civic] Kerry Defends Senate Filibuster on Alito as 'a Vote of
History' - Washington Post
William Swiggard
swiggard at comcast.net
Sat Jan 28 05:16:43 PST 2006
Kerry Defends Senate Filibuster on Alito as 'a Vote of History'
By Charles Babington
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 28, 2006; A08
Sen. John F. Kerry cut short a European trip yesterday and returned to
Washington, where he was greeted with praise from liberal groups and
ridicule from Republicans for his role in postponing a confirmation vote
for Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr.
In a largely empty Capitol, Kerry (D-Mass.) defended his call for a
filibuster that effectively delayed until Tuesday the Senate
confirmation vote, which both parties say Alito will win. "Why are we so
compelled to accept in such a rush a nominee who has so clearly been
chosen for political and ideological reasons?" Kerry said in a 30-minute
floor speech. "This is not the vote of Monday afternoon. This is a vote
of history."
He departed by a back staircase and kept walking as reporters chased him
and asked why he had decided to interrupt his trip to a world economic
forum in Davos, Switzerland. "I knew ahead of time that if there was a
filing" to end debate, "I would be back," Kerry said before entering his
car.
Kerry, the Democrats' 2004 presidential nominee, is considering another
bid in 2008, and liberal groups that urged a filibuster will play
important roles in the early primary process. Those groups strongly
defended Kerry, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and others who refused
to end debate on Alito this week despite the urging of Senate Minority
Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.).
The Alliance for Justice "commends Senators Kerry and Kennedy for using
all the means available to them to continue to fight the Alito
nomination," said its president, Nan Aron. "We will continue to mobilize
activists to support these senators in their principled stand."
If 60 senators vote Monday to end debate, the chamber will vote Tuesday
on whether to confirm Alito, 55, to succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day
O'Connor. Reid told reporters yesterday that he will vote against
"cloture" -- or ending debate -- to emphasize that President Bush made a
"bad choice" in tapping Alito. But he added: "Everyone knows there are
not enough votes to support a filibuster."
Four of the Senate's 44 Democrats have signaled they are inclined to
vote to confirm Alito. Three of them -- Kent Conrad (N.D.), Ben Nelson
(Neb.) and Robert C. Byrd (W.Va.) -- face reelection this year in states
that Bush carried against Kerry. Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) also supports
Alito, and several other Democratic senators have said they will not
support a filibuster.
Republicans mocked Kerry's role in extending the debate from Europe on
Thursday, and they continued their sarcasm yesterday. The filibuster
strategy "was apparently hatched in Davos, Switzerland, where Senator
Kerry now is with those masters of the universe that are out there
trying to figure our world economy out," Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.)
said in a Senate speech, even though Kerry was back in Washington by
then. White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters, "Even
for a senator, it takes some pretty serious yodeling to call for a
filibuster from a five-star ski resort in the Swiss Alps."
Aides to Kerry noted that several GOP senators also attended the Davos
forum and that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) attended the
meeting last year. They said Kerry had planned to spend another six days
in Europe and was scheduled to speak in Ireland on Sunday.
Democratic activists said Kerry's actions will further endear him to
liberals who support abortion rights, oppose Bush's domestic
surveillance policies and desperately want to win the White House in
2008. But the filibuster drive is far less popular among Democrats
running in GOP-leaning states. For example, Rep. Harold E. Ford Jr.
(D-Tenn.), who is seeking the Senate seat being vacated by Frist, issued
a statement yesterday criticizing the filibuster even though the House
plays no role in judicial confirmations.
Only five senators, including Kerry, spoke during a brief Senate
session, and the chamber will be closed today and tomorrow.
Lawmakers devoted more time to outlining their agendas for the year,
often focusing on education. Democrats have "pledged to create a new
generation of innovators by calling for a qualified teacher in every
math and science K-12 classroom" and by urging engineers and scientists
to become teachers, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told
the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Republican senators, ending a two-day
Washington "retreat," said their education initiatives will stress the
need to prepare students for jobs in a global economy.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/27/AR2006012701405.html
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