Kerry Gets Cool Response

NYT Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts could not attend the Senate debate on the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. on Thursday. He was in Davos, Switzerland, mingling with international business and political leaders at the World Economic Forum. But late Thursday afternoon, Mr. Kerry began calling fellow Democratic senators in a quixotic, last-minute effort for a filibuster to stop the nomination. Democrats cringed and Republicans jeered at the awkwardness of his gesture, which almost no one in the Senate expects to succeed.

Kerry is not stupid enough to think the fillibuster will succeed. He is just doing this to curry favor with the extreme left wing interest groups that want a fillibuster. However he is stupid if he thinks that means it is going to get the Democratic nomination in 2008. Hillary may or may not have it locked up, but if she does not get it, they certainly are not going to give it to Kerry.

"God bless John Kerry," said Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican on the Judiciary Committee. "He just cinched this whole nomination. With Senator Kerry, it is Christmas every day."

ROF, LMAO

Steve Schmidt, a White House spokesman working on the nomination, said Mr. Kerry's move "says a lot less about Alito than it does about the Iowa primary in 2008," suggesting that Mr. Kerry, who lost the presidential race in 2004, was playing to his party's liberal base in a bid to recapture its nomination.

WaPo reported Several prominent Democratic senators called for a filibuster of Samuel A. Alito Jr.'s Supreme Court nomination yesterday, exposing a deep divide in the party even as they delighted the party's liberal base. The filibuster's supporters -- including Sens. John F. Kerry and Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts -- acknowledged that the bid is likely to fail and that Alito is virtually certain to be confirmed Tuesday. But they said extended debate may draw more Americans' attention to Alito's conservative stands on abortion, civil rights, presidential powers and other matters.

Which will make the liberal interest groups even more angry when he gets in.

AP reported Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, whose confirmation seems certain in the Republican-run Senate, padded his modest Democratic support Thursday with endorsements by Sens. Robert Byrd and Tim Johnson.

The Byrd support was originally a surprise, until one realizes that he is up for election, and has a strong opponent, and the Senate really ticked off a lot of West Virginia voters with their behaviour toward Alito.

Alito already was assured the votes of the 55 Republicans in the 100- member chamber _ enough to be put over the top _ when West Virginia's Byrd and Johnson of South Dakota joined Nebraska's Ben Nelson in saying they'll vote yes.

Michelle Malkin asks Sen. Robert Byrd took to the Senate floor earlier today to criticize the manner in which the Alito hearings were conducted. Watch this and file it under "Even a broken clock is right twice a day." What's really going on with ol' Bobby?

Rush Limbaugh explains Sheets Byrd has gone off on the disgrace that were the judicial committee hearings. He said he has gotten e-mail from all over the state of West Virginia and all over the place talking about what an absolute disgrace it was to have to sit through this, that these have simply become made-for-TV hearings. He says the hearings were an outrage and a disgrace. Even the people who didn't support Judge Alito are sending Sheets Byrd mail, saying, "We didn't support the guy but this was an embarrassment." He talked about Mrs. Alito fleeing the hearing room to protect and maintain her dignity, leaving those in the hearing room with little of their own. Now, he hasn't mentioned any names, right? But, of course, he doesn't have to! He doesn't have to.