Judiciary Committee Votes Tomorrow on Alito; Filibuster Possible, Says Durbin
Tomorrow, two days after the 33rd anniversary of Roe v Wade, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Samuel Alito, a Supreme Court nominee who in 1985 wrote that the Constitution does not protect a woman's right to an abortion. Women's rights leaders and activists rallied last night at the Supreme Court in support of the landmark Supreme Court ruling.
"Since we last gathered to commemorate Roe v. Wade, two seats have opened up on the Supreme Court, and George W. Bush has used both opportunities to nominate judges whose records show a disdain for privacy rights and individual liberties," said Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women. "The Senate is poised to vote on confirming Samuel Alito, who would replace Sandra Day O'Connor, a justice whose vote has upheld women's rights for nearly 25 years. How quickly the fate of women's reproductive rights could turn in this nation."
Already, at least nine Senators have come out publicly and strongly against Alito's confirmation, including four who voted in favor of confirming John Roberts as chief justice. In an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), the Democratic Whip, said that a filibuster was possible.
"A week ago, I would have told you it's not likely to happen," Durbin said. "As of [Wednesday], I just can't rule it out. I was surprised by the intensity of feeling of some of my colleagues. It's a matter of counting. We have 45 Democrats, counting [Vermont independent] Jim Jeffords, on our side. We could sustain a filibuster if 41 Senators ... are willing to stand and fight."
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Make an emergency contribution to the Feminist Majority's Save Roe Campaign. We must be a strong voice in this crucial fight to save Roe and the Supreme Court for women’s rights.
Media Resources: Feminist Majority; NOW statement 1/22/06; Chicago Sun-Times 1/20/06
that's from today's feminist wire.
c.i.'s noted it, elaine's noting it, mike's noting it. elaine's trying to be sure we all note it because we need to get the word out. they need to hear from us tomorrow, the senators. they need to hear from us before they vote, while they're voting and after they've voted.
they need to get that this isn't a minor thing or something we're going to forget.
it's past time to light a fire under them and make them show that they're representing us and not just taking our votes and money.
'what if they stab us in the back?' that's what jodi wondered in an e-mail. if the people who have counted on our support aren't there for us tomorrow then we've learned who we can count and who we can't. we've learned that even with people concerned about civil rights, civil liberties, reproductive rights and seperation of power screaming for their senators to stand up, that we won't be listened to, that our concerns and rights are of no interest to them.
will it make the loss any better? hell no.
but if they won't wake up, the people who are supposed to represent us, we still will.
if they're not going to be there for us yet again, empty words about what they'll do after the november elections will be revealed as empty words.
maybe that means some of us will vote green? or maybe we'll run other candidates against them in the primaries?
but we won't be fooled and we won't fool ourselves into thinking they're there for us.
