Alito Confirmed

Alito was confirmed as the 110th member of the Supreme Court. My frustration yesterday stems from the lack of any effort to block Alito. Everyone knew that if a vote came on Alito, 50 were needed to confirm him (Cheney would break a tie), and the only way to block him was a filibuster.

Despite this, more people voted against Alito than voted against cloture yesterday. This is surprising. Did those Democrats who voted for cloture, but against Alito, not understand the situation as fully as everyone else in the world? Or do they want Alito to serve, but are trying to appeal to their right wing constituency? Either way, it shows the Democrats are either clueless about politics, or did not care if Alito was confirmed. We had John Kerry and Ted Kennedy calling for a filibuster, while the Democratic leader of the Senate- Harry Reid, publicly said it had no chance. We had 41 Democrats vote against Alito, precisely the amount needed to maintain a filibuster. If 4 members of the caucus defect, that is alright. But there was a possibility for a filibuster.

This shakes my confidence in the party. If Democrats are in a majority, does it mean they will work together to pass liberal bills? I'm not so sure. The only way I'll be alright with the party is if I can get a response from Chuck Schumer (as chairman of the DSCC), Harry Reid, and/or Howard Dean. I'll be calling tomorrow, hoping to get a press secretary or something, who can explain what happened. It’s either bad leadership, or we only have 25 liberal democrats. If it’s bad leadership, then in the long term I'll be with the Democrats, helping to get new ones elected to reshape the party. If the Democrats just don't care about liberal values, then I no longer have a party that represents me and is capable of liberal change. Hence the anger and talk of emigration yesterday; if I'm not accurately represented in congress, there is very little reason to stay, since the problem is deep rooted and will be long lasting.

PS: When you comment, I'd appreciate a name given, or at least age or location, just to give me an idea where you're coming from.