Judiciary Committee Vote on Roberts
As of this moment the WaPo reports that, on the Democratic side, Kennedy, Feinstein and Biden have voted No, while Leahy, Kohl and Feingold have voted Yes. All Republicans are expected to vote Yes.
That leaves Schumer and Durbin. Schumer will definitely vote No. He cannot afford to anger the pro-abortion interests in New York. Although I'm less familiar with the atmosphere in Illinois, my guess is that Durbin, one of the most liberal of Senators will also vote No.
Thus seven out of ten Democrats will have approved the nomination of possibly the most reasonable, non-dogmatic justice they could possibly have expected from this President. I'm betting that Bush will go for broke in the next nominee and make no attempt to mollify the Democrats. Why should he? He gained virtually nothing from the effort. All he needs to avoid is such a radical nomination that the Dems will filibuster and all 45 Dems stick together.
That leaves Schumer and Durbin. Schumer will definitely vote No. He cannot afford to anger the pro-abortion interests in New York. Although I'm less familiar with the atmosphere in Illinois, my guess is that Durbin, one of the most liberal of Senators will also vote No.
Thus seven out of ten Democrats will have approved the nomination of possibly the most reasonable, non-dogmatic justice they could possibly have expected from this President. I'm betting that Bush will go for broke in the next nominee and make no attempt to mollify the Democrats. Why should he? He gained virtually nothing from the effort. All he needs to avoid is such a radical nomination that the Dems will filibuster and all 45 Dems stick together.
posted by Joe Hogan at
12:22 PM
