WASHINGTON – Democrats lined up Friday for and against a last-ditch effort to block the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, with some opposing the call for a filibuster and others supporting it even as they acknowledged it was unlikely to succeed.
“Everyone knows there are not enough votes to support a filibuster,” said Democratic leader Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, who said he would nonetheless vote against ending debate on the president’s choice to replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
Reid, who had previously expressed reservations about a filibuster, described his decision to join the effort as a protest vote against Alito, a veteran federal appeals court judge from New Jersey whose confirmation to the Supreme Court is expected on Tuesday.
“I think it is an opportunity for people to express their opinion as to what a bad choice it was,” Reid said after a speech to the National Conference of Mayors.
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who along with Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., called for the filibuster, returned to Washington from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to lead the effort. In a speech on the Senate floor on Friday, he accused President Bush of trying to make the Supreme Court more ideologically conservative.
“The critical question here is why are we so compelled to accept, in such a rush, a nominee who has so clearly been chosen for political and ideological reasons,” said Kerry, who lost the 2004 presidential election to Bush.
Late Friday, Newsday reported that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., announced that she would vote to support a filibuster.
Under rules of the 100-member Senate, it takes 60 votes to end a debate. A filibuster occurs when at least 41 senators decide to block action by refusing to end the debate. While that many Democrats are likely to oppose Alito’s confirmation, several of them won’t support a filibuster.
Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., long an “undecided” vote on Alito, announced Friday that he would oppose the filibuster. He was joined by Democratic Sens. Ken Salazar of Colorado and Kent Conrad of North Dakota.
At least 53 of the Senate’s 55 Republicans plan to vote for Alito, easily giving the nominee the majority he needs. At least three Democrats have said they will also support his confirmation.
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