[Mb-civic] Kerry Defends Senate Filibuster on Alito as 'a Vote of History' - Washington Post

[William Swiggard]

Kerry Defends Senate Filibuster on Alito as 'a Vote of History'

By Charles Babington
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 28, 2006; A08

Sen. John F. Kerry cut short a European trip yesterday and returned to 
Washington, where he was greeted with praise from liberal groups and 
ridicule from Republicans for his role in postponing a confirmation vote 
for Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr.

In a largely empty Capitol, Kerry (D-Mass.) defended his call for a 
filibuster that effectively delayed until Tuesday the Senate 
confirmation vote, which both parties say Alito will win. "Why are we so 
compelled to accept in such a rush a nominee who has so clearly been 
chosen for political and ideological reasons?" Kerry said in a 30-minute 
floor speech. "This is not the vote of Monday afternoon. This is a vote 
of history."

He departed by a back staircase and kept walking as reporters chased him 
and asked why he had decided to interrupt his trip to a world economic 
forum in Davos, Switzerland. "I knew ahead of time that if there was a 
filing" to end debate, "I would be back," Kerry said before entering his 
car.

Kerry, the Democrats' 2004 presidential nominee, is considering another 
bid in 2008, and liberal groups that urged a filibuster will play 
important roles in the early primary process. Those groups strongly 
defended Kerry, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and others who refused 
to end debate on Alito this week despite the urging of Senate Minority 
Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.).

The Alliance for Justice "commends Senators Kerry and Kennedy for using 
all the means available to them to continue to fight the Alito 
nomination," said its president, Nan Aron. "We will continue to mobilize 
activists to support these senators in their principled stand."

If 60 senators vote Monday to end debate, the chamber will vote Tuesday 
on whether to confirm Alito, 55, to succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day 
O'Connor. Reid told reporters yesterday that he will vote against 
"cloture" -- or ending debate -- to emphasize that President Bush made a 
"bad choice" in tapping Alito. But he added: "Everyone knows there are 
not enough votes to support a filibuster."

Four of the Senate's 44 Democrats have signaled they are inclined to 
vote to confirm Alito. Three of them -- Kent Conrad (N.D.), Ben Nelson 
(Neb.) and Robert C. Byrd (W.Va.) -- face reelection this year in states 
that Bush carried against Kerry. Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) also supports 
Alito, and several other Democratic senators have said they will not 
support a filibuster.

Republicans mocked Kerry's role in extending the debate from Europe on 
Thursday, and they continued their sarcasm yesterday. The filibuster 
strategy "was apparently hatched in Davos, Switzerland, where Senator 
Kerry now is with those masters of the universe that are out there 
trying to figure our world economy out," Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) 
said in a Senate speech, even though Kerry was back in Washington by 
then. White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters, "Even 
for a senator, it takes some pretty serious yodeling to call for a 
filibuster from a five-star ski resort in the Swiss Alps."

Aides to Kerry noted that several GOP senators also attended the Davos 
forum and that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) attended the 
meeting last year. They said Kerry had planned to spend another six days 
in Europe and was scheduled to speak in Ireland on Sunday.

Democratic activists said Kerry's actions will further endear him to 
liberals who support abortion rights, oppose Bush's domestic 
surveillance policies and desperately want to win the White House in 
2008. But the filibuster drive is far less popular among Democrats 
running in GOP-leaning states. For example, Rep. Harold E. Ford Jr. 
(D-Tenn.), who is seeking the Senate seat being vacated by Frist, issued 
a statement yesterday criticizing the filibuster even though the House 
plays no role in judicial confirmations.

Only five senators, including Kerry, spoke during a brief Senate 
session, and the chamber will be closed today and tomorrow.

Lawmakers devoted more time to outlining their agendas for the year, 
often focusing on education. Democrats have "pledged to create a new 
generation of innovators by calling for a qualified teacher in every 
math and science K-12 classroom" and by urging engineers and scientists 
to become teachers, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told 
the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Republican senators, ending a two-day 
Washington "retreat," said their education initiatives will stress the 
need to prepare students for jobs in a global economy.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/27/AR2006012701405.html
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