Posted on 11/20/2005 10:16:45 AM PST by GeneD
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chance of a filibuster to halt the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel Alito rose on news he once opposed 1960s Supreme Court rulings on reapportionment based on the principle of equal voting rights, a top Democrat on the Senate judiciary panel said on Sunday.
Sen. Joseph Biden, a Democrat from Delaware, told Fox News Sunday that a decision by Democrats to filibuster would depend largely on Alito's answers during judiciary committee questioning scheduled for January.
Prior to the Warren court's decisions, some state legislators were elected on a geographical basis, giving thinly populated rural areas more political heft than urban centers.
"If he really believes that reapportionment is a questionable decision -- that is, the idea of Baker vs. Carr, one man, one vote -- then clearly, clearly, you'll find a lot of people, including me, willing to do whatever they can to keep him off the court. We don't know that. We have to hear it," Biden said. "That would include a filibuster if need be."
Asked if this increased the chances of a filibuster, Biden said: "Well, I think based upon that job application where he said he strongly held these views, yes."
Why, I remember when ol' Plugs, and sKerrry, and even Algore were just a bunch of yappy young pups back in the Reagan years. Dangerously ambitious young men to be sure, but braying hounds just like today.
<< GeneD
Senator Coburn said in a DVD he taped for our banquet since he was held up in D.C. for votes that there was no chance of a filibuster because they will not permit it for a Supreme Court nominee.
Biden is full of himself and trying to make hay with the left winged wacko's in his Party. >>
Biden is full of himself and IS the [Unhinged] left winged wacko in his Party.
Well ....
Except for all of the others.
He heeeeeeee! They grew older, and learned NOTHING!
Biden is interpreting that to mean that Alito is against voter districts containing roughly the same number of people, because he (and the Warren court) thought that only courts are enlightened and fair-minded enough to actually do that.
I hope your last thought every night is that our country will be shaped by these decisions for the next 100 years.
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
It's a beautiful thought. Question is will the "soft" Republicans unite behind their leader's choice?
Hmmmm.....what is this one person on vote insanity?
Presidential electoral college and US senate are fundamentally opposite of such a concept.
What you outline is proof that the founders did not intend that both houses of Congress operate under principles of proportional representation.
Why would the founders have required something of the states that they didn't require of the federal government, especially since the federal government is the creation of the states, not vice versa?
States should be allowed to have their Senates built along historical and geographical lines -- not along strictly population lines. It is a travesty that they were required to do something where the Constitution embodies precisely the opposite principle.
The Warren Court was flat-out wrong on this, and it is a decision that should have been overturned long ago.
One would like to think that Alito would have the balls to stand behind his earlier opinion, but he will doubtless be given the instructions to "dance", just as he has on abortion.
Pure infringement on states rights. He should be lauded for calling it right. Not filibustered.
I hope he explains his position clearly and makes a strong case for why he is right.
See #109. The same logic applies to electoral college.
What a bunch of dummy heads these DEMs are? The fact that they need to be constantly reminded of basic constitutional structure is proof that they dont' deserve to hold any power ever.
Go ahead, Biden. MAKE OUR DAY!!
Bring it on. Nothing could be worse for the Democrats than to filibuster a Supreme Court nomination.
Absolutely! I was thrilled today to hear Biden bichin about Alito's stand on the infamous "Cow don't vote" decision that over shifted both houses of each state legislature to overly represent metro-sexuals and under represent rural-sexuals!
This bad decision that has skewed the balance between people and places has been one of my most passionate causes. If it were to be revisited and overturned, Prop 77 in CA's special election would probably have not been needed at all!
But I fear you are right about the "dancing" orders. Maybe he could just nuance the whole thing like John Kerry... Oh no! Perish the thought!!!
I think it was Joel Klien on Chris Matthews syndicated show today that declared that Alito will be confirmed no matter what and that if Dems didn't like it, they needed to start winning more elections for a change!!!
"When the hearings on Samuel Alito were postponed until January, it was almost certain the only purpose for postponement was to find fodder for the confirmation opponents to use against him."
Exactly, big mistake.
It's getting late so I'll just bookmark this thread and get back to you sometime soon with some more analogies and examples of the desperately destructive effect this has had on property rights of rural America in particular.
That, however, is not the only thing that has been terribly crippled and thrown out of balance in our exceptional World Super-Power Superior Republic with it's currently mangled democratic process!!!
He is as full of it as the rats in the house were before the vote on pulling out of Iraq was forced on them.
Biden is incapable to telling the truth and writing something that is his own instead of stealing it.
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