Posted on 01/20/2006 6:19:56 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist told Republican Party activists on Friday night that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito was the "worst nightmare of liberal Democrats."
Frist, a Tennessee Republican, made the remark to fellow Republicans during a private tour he gave them of the Senate chamber when the Senate was not in session.
Frist was not available for comment following his remarks.
Asked about the senator's remark, Frist spokesman Bob Stevenson said that Alito "is a thoughtful mainstream conservative jurist who is well respected by his peers, by Democrats and Republicans alike."
Stevenson added, "There are liberals, many of them represented by the outside groups, who will do anything to kill any nominee put forward by this administration."
Democrats have expressed concerns the conservative Alito would push the nation's highest court to the right in areas such as abortion rights, civil rights and presidential powers.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on Tuesday on the Alito nomination and the full Senate intends to debate it next week.
Three top Democrats announced this week they would vote against sending Alito to a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. They are Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the senior Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Dick Durbin of Illinois.
No Democrat so far has said he or she would try to block a Senate floor vote on Alito through a procedure known as a filibuster.
The Republican National Committee was holding a winter meeting in Washington this week, and the 50 or so party activists from across the United States were invited by Frist to tour the Senate chamber.
I read today that Turbin is mouthing threats of a fillie. I think he might just be trying to whip up support. After all, he is the whip.
What do you suppose it's like to be inside that big fat head?
"why would Frist want to torpedo Alito?"
I have no idea, but I also have no idea why a Senate Majority Leader would blurt out a statement that helps his opposition, either.
the calculation on the filibuster is quite simple - if the Dems get even a whiff the the republicans cannot hold 50 votes to changes the rules, they will filibuster and they will be able to hold 41 votes to do so.
this has always been about our side holding 50 votes for the rules change, and having Frist out there saying stuff like this just makes support from the RINOs, who we need to hold 50, more tenuous.
I think they will filibuster no matter what. With all the money the RATS take from the homo and pro abort groups if they don't it's meltdown time.
No, you're not. It's like he's daring the Dems to kill this nomination. Frist IS AN IDIOT.
Now alito is going to be asked by every dem senator what did you tell frist to make him believe you were the dems nightmare.
I don't understand how anyone can be so dumb.
Who the hell leaked this. He was supposedly giving a private tour to republican activists.
Some friend to run to the media at the drop of a hat.
filibustering, if they know they are going to lose the rules change vote - makes no sense for the Dems.
50 people on a tour is far too large of a group to guarantee that no one would repeat what he said.
Wrong. This is about dems who have to run in red states this year, and hold their constituencies.
We will see.
Bush also brought this on.
Roberts was nominated for o'conner's seat.
Why in the world couldn't he have left him there and had him replace o'connor.
That would have left renquist's seat open and alito would be replacing a conservative.
There would be so much more pressure on the dems if the chief justice seat was open.
I know the dems could have even gone harder at him over fisa for a chief justice position but he would have had an easier time getting on with an opening and replacing a conservative.
I am so tired of hearing about O'Conner. Bush never got to replace renquist. Roberts was the moderate pick for O'Conner.
Roberts is far to the left of renquist anyway. For both nominees we had to hear how the nominee was replacing the swing vote o'conner.
Kennedy is still a swing vote on the court. The liberals got their two clinton judges and if the dems block alito the republicans better not hold those stupid wire tap hearings.
There are no red state dems except for ben nelson of nebraska.
Every one of these dems blocked a well qualified miguel estrada.
They are communists in red states.
If Durbin and Schumer want a filibuster they will get it.
Then we will have to depend on the likes of john warner, hagel, murkowski, specter overturning senate tradition.
Frist doesn't help that either.
the Dems can hold 41 on their side if it meant Alito was stopped (if our side cannot hold 50 for the rules change). the sheeple are clueless - few even will remember who Alito is (was) come November, if they even know now.
I wish they would get somebody with the nads to just get rid of the filibuster entirely. It is an absolutely crucial issue. The Senate is a broken institution. They aren't deliberative, they're a colossal ego factory that doesn't get anything done.
if there are 50 republicans who publicly announce, unequivocally, that they will support the rules change - then more Dems then just Nelson will bail on the filibuster, and they won't hold 41. we will get a simple cloture vote and that will be it.
I for one, cannot wait for Frist to step down and sink into obscurity, where he belongs. He is the apogee of ineffectual, majority Republican leadership.
that's just the committee vote - its going to come down straight party line in any case. if we can't hold our guys on the committee for Alito - he's done in any case.
With Hitlery's lurch to the right and Alito getting confirmed the RATS are headed for big trouble. Couldn't happen to a nicer? party.
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