[MNJohnnie]

Specter, Graham and De Wine. McCain sounding wobbly. Go ahead and filibuster Dems, there is a nuke in your future!

[Ninian Dryhope]

He's in like Flynn!

[Clintonfatigued]

Bush has made the Democrats an offer they can't refuse.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

I wonder how much longer it's going to be until political assassination is the only tool left to the Democrats?

[BushMeister]

What I've been saying for days (though not as well as Barone, of course): the 10 Dem Senators in "red" states up for re-election in '06 and '08 would have to be nuts to oppose a qualified, experienced conservative judge, especially after the deference shown Clinton in votes on Ginsburg (96-3) and Breyer (87-9).

Now if we could only get the people in these states to realize that continually electing Dems to the Senate and voting strongly for Republicans for President is schizophrenic...

[right-wingin_It]

eh...Italian Americans?...I find it too hard to buy what this author is saying. Italian is not the issue, but religion is - such as if his Catholicity is his foundation for his conservativism. Bottom line is that he is conservative, so many conservative Catholics (Italian or otherwise) like myself will support him.

[Senator Goldwater]

"He was U.S. attorney for New Jersey, a high-pressure job in a state where corruption is—how shall we say this?—not unknown"

You gotta love Barone.

[ChildOfThe60s]

I understand the reasoning here, and figure it is probably fairly accurate.

But, gee whiz, in reality what does having italian blood have to do with the price of tea in China? Nothing. It is an extremely sad commentary on our society when attributes such as the birthplace of one's parents are considered part of qualifications for such a [or any] position.

And the real irony here is that the people that put the most stock in sex and race as qualifications (i.e. Bush should have appointed a minority or woman for balance) are the first to claim we shouldn't single people out because of their race and/or sex. But that is all they do, all of the time. And republicans do a very poor job of challenging them on it.

[billorites]

Isn't playing the race card in support of Judge Alito as odious as doing so in opposition to his appointment?

[fish hawk]

Lucca Brassi is for him too!

[zendari]

If I was ginsberg or stevens I would quit now, hoping that they would get a more "moderate" nominee.

[Billthedrill]

I don't think the whole Italian ethnic thing would have come up at all (except perhaps to be derided as a cheap ploy on the part of the Republicans) if the DNC hadn't raised the issue themselves by a remarkably stupid insinuation that Alito had been soft on Mafia figures. That was just the sort of political thumb-hammering we are beginning to expect out of a party in utter disarray.

I hope they do filibuster - that'd be even worse. The DNC blew this one before it even began.

[nopardons]

bttt

[krazyrep]

I find it highly doubtful that the Demolibs will filibuster.

First, at least two Republican members of the "Gang of Fourteen" have openly stated they would not support a filbuster. DeWine is up for re-election next year, and his son's defeat in Ohio after the first Gang of Fourteen fiasco sent a clear message from Ohio voters they aren't going to put up with any more nonsense from him. Graham is up for re-election in '08, and he has no doubt gotten an earful from his constituency. Even if every other Gang of Fourteen member sides with the Dems, that leaves a 50-50 tie on the Consitutional Option, with Cheney's vote the tie-breaker. Bye-bye filibuster.

Given that, the Dems won't want to waste the filibuster fight on someone who would only replace a relatively conservative Justice. With the distinct possibility of Stevens and/or Ginsburg retiring, they'd be much wiser to save the big fight for that nomination, which would have a far larger impact on the right-left makeup of the Court. My gut tells me Ginsburg and Stevens will try to hang on at least until after the '06 elections, if not those in '08, hoping the Dems will pick up enough seats to regain control of the house (or regain the Presidency in '08) or at least make the Constitutional Option impossible.

I think we'll hear the required whining and moaning and smearing by the Demolibs, after which Alito will be confirmed by a comfortable margin.