Two More Democrats to Support Alito for High Court (Update1)
Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Two Democratic senators representing states carried by President George W. Bush said they will vote to confirm U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr.
Alito picked up the support of Tim Johnson of South Dakota, who was re-elected in 2002 by 524 votes, and Robert Byrd of West Virginia. Nebraska's Ben Nelson, who also represents a so-called Republican-leaning red state that Bush carried in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, is the only Democrat to have previously announced support for Alito.
Byrd's announcement came just days after West Virginia businessman John Raese announced plans to challenge the veteran senator in the November election. Byrd and Nelson both face re- election. So does another Democrat from a state Bush won, North Dakota Senator Kent Conrad, who has not yet announced how he will vote.
``I refuse simply to toe the party line when it comes to Supreme Court justices,'' Byrd said in a floor speech. ``I hail from a conservative state. And, like a majority of my constituents, I prefer conservative judges.''
Today, three other red-state Democrats, Senators Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Tom Harkin of Iowa, said they will oppose Alito. They cited concerns about his support for expanded presidential power and what they regard as his hostility to lawsuits alleging discrimination.
Democratic Opposition
More than half the 22 Democrats who supported the confirmation of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. in September have now announced they will oppose Alito. Lawmakers in both parties predict Alito will receive fewer than a half-dozen Democratic votes.
CSPAN, the network that televises congressional proceedings on U.S. cable TV outlets, said Alito had support from 54 senators while 31 had declared their opposition.
Lincoln said she voted for Roberts because she was convinced ``he cared more about the rule of law than he did about ideology or political parties'' and that she doesn't have that same confidence in Alito.
Four other senators who supported Roberts, Democrats Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, Carl Levin of Michigan and Tom Carper of Delaware, as well as Jim Jeffords of Vermont, an independent, also said today they will oppose Alito.
While Johnson said he wouldn't have nominated Alito because of ``concerns across a broad range of issues,'' he doesn't ``believe that simple political ideology ought to be a deciding factor so long as the nominee's views are not significantly outside the mainstream of American legal thinking.'' Many Democrats have said Alito has taken extreme positions.
Abortion Rights
Democrats opposing Alito cite 1985 memos in which he said the Constitution doesn't protect abortion rights. They also say he would be too deferential to Bush's claims of expanded wartime power.
Byrd disagreed. ``Judge Alito told me that he respected the separation of powers and would not rule in support of a power- hungry president,'' the senator said. ``He struck me as a man of his word.''
Two other red-state Democrats, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Mark Pryor of Arkansas, haven't announced how they will vote.
Maine Senator Susan Collins, one of three New England Republicans who support abortion rights, said she would support Alito. Maine's other senator, Olympia Snowe, and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island haven't announced their positions. Snowe and Chafee both face re-election this year.
Johnson, like Nelson, Landrieu, Pryor and Conrad, said he opposes using a filibuster, a parliamentary maneuver that allows unlimited debate, to block a Senate vote on Alito. With those five, Republicans have the votes to stop any filibuster.
Some Democrats argued at their party's weekly caucus yesterday that even a failed filibuster attempt might generate more opposition to Alito by drawing public attention to the debate. Republicans control the Senate by a 55-45 margin and need 60 votes to end a filibuster.
Extended Debate
Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden, a Roberts supporter who opposes Alito, said he expects ``some version of an extended debate'' on the nomination.
Assistant Democratic Leader Dick Durbin told reporters that he ``can count votes'' and concluded that a filibuster of Alito ``would not be likely to succeed.''
In 2002, Johnson narrowly defeated Republican Representative John Thune to win Senate re-election. Two years later, Thune won election to the Senate by defeating Democratic leader Thomas Daschle by 2 percentage points.
Conrad doesn't face the same political dilemma as Johnson. He won re-election in 2000 with 62 percent of the vote and his prospects for victory this year received a boost when North Dakota's Republican governor, John Hoeven, declined to enter the Senate race.
To contact the reporter on this story:
James Rowley in Washington at jarowley@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: January 26, 2006 16:33 EST |
