Judiciary Democrats Vote Solidly 'No' on Alito
In a straight party-line vote (10-8), the Senate Judiciary Committee voted this morning to approve Alito's confirmation, sending the debate to the Senate floor.
"The strong statements from Democrats on the Judiciary Committee demonstrate that the confirmation of Judge Alito is too risky for a nation divided in a time of crisis," said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority.
"This unusual straight party vote on a Supreme Court nominee shows that the Republican Party has moved too far to the right, deserting basic women"s rights and individual rights, and it shows a willingness on the part of Republican Senators to give the President a blank check in expanding presidential powers, even to the extent of breaking the law, such as in the domestic surveillance," Smeal continued.
"Women in this nation must recognize that the dominant force in the Republican Party has decided to take away women's fundamental right to an abortion. We cannot continue to fool ourselves and call some Republicans pro-choice when they continue to vote to empower those who would take away our rights," Smeal said.
GET THE INSIDE SCOOP with The Smeal Report and the New Leif blogs at MsMagazine.com
TAKE ACTION Call your Senators and urge them to oppose Alito
DONATE 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
good news above from the feminist wire.
i called c.i. to make sure i wasn't stepping on a topic. at present, c.i.'s goals are to 'eat dinner in a few hours and go to bed.' i'm going to hit on something that c.i.'s stressed in the gina & krista round-robins since they started their special 1s on the committee vote. if the democrats did not hold, if they did not vote in unison, it was over, alito was a judge.
if they broke ranks on this vote, they provided cover for the nelsons and every other spineless accommodating democrat to vote in favor of alito on the senate floor. the 8 held. they drew a line. 1 they were forced to draw.
and now that the line's been drawn, democrats in the senate are either going to have to prove they can work together and stop this nomination or admit that they have no use to the party.
the line is drawn.
so the nelsons better decide if they're a part of the democratic party or not.
the party better decide whether or not it stands for anything.
if they want to collapse from their own spineless nature, that will be noted. it will be remembered.
there is real anger over the fact that they didn't fight john roberts. there is real anger over their inept performance during the alito hearings. we've seen a pattern of promises that all quickly are broken. voters are fed up.
if the democratic party can not impose discipline and stop the confirmation of alito, there's little point in them making another tepid speech that we're all supposed to find 'inspiring' and 'firey.'
so where we stand after today's vote is that the 8 held together.
if there's some thought that 'now it's over' and they can go off and vote on the floor however they want, they better wet a finger and stick in the air to gauge the way the wind's blowing.
this anger won't disappear if the democrats on the floor of the senate can not hold together the way they did on the committee.
and i'm not sure that will give, for instance, 1 senator a pass if they vote no but the confirmation takes place. in fact, i think we'll take it out on many of those running in senate races.
for them to be effective, they need to work as a team and, if they're not doing that, i'm not sure what use they are.
harry reid is no leader. he needs to become 1 or step down. it's not just a title to put next to your name, it requires real leadership. that means imposing discipline. if he's not up to the job, hand it over to some 1 who is.
i want to think all my readers who've done their part. all your work forced the 8 to stand together. they can spin it any way they want but feingold stood with the 8 and he hasn't done that before. dianne feinstein went from her 'just because i don't like him doesn't mean he shouldn't be on the supreme court pass the iced tea, dear' comments to a no vote.
you did that.
we're not done yet.
but take a rest because this is going to be a big fight and we're going to need all of our energy.
you moved the mountain. the committee dems held. now we've got a bigger mountain to move and for that we'll need all of our strength and energy so take some down time and get ready for the big battle.
i know a lot of you reached down deeper than you ever had before and you did things that you'd never done before. i am so proud of you. we'll take it further in the next stage but for now, get some rest.
