The Hoopla, Part One
Ok, so the Democrats plan to extend debate and shoot down the Alito nomination both failed. Time for a look into the whole thing.
I'll refrain from examining the Republicans right now because the party has basically been in lockstep with the President since 2000. There are going to be a few surprises with them and I don't see anyone there fighting for Bush's spotlight in the next two weeks; not with tonights SOTU address, the warrantless wiretapping issue and the Abramoff Scandal still looming.
So I'm going to dig into the Democrats a bit. Let's start with the cloture vote (the vote to extend debate on whether Alito should be a Justice). A "yes" meant end debate, a "no" meant continue. It went like this:
Then there was the vote on Alito's confirmation. The Democrats who voted for Alito were:
So let's look at how this pans out.
Sen. Bryd is experiencing some high, safe numbers so it doesn't look like W. Va. cared that he was taking a conservative stance on the issue. Ditto for Sen. Conrad ,Tim Johnson and Ben Nelson in their respective states. We're not talking about a bastion of liberal thought either; these guys were lucky to win in such traditionally "red" states.
I can't speak for those who run the Democratic Party, but I suppose if I could ask the leaders and strategists a question, it would be, "Who would you rather have in a red state: a Conservative Democrat or a Moderate/Conservative Republican?" Answer that question and you may see some gains in the 2006 mid-term elections.
But the bottom line is: don't expect Democrats to vote in blocks anytime soon. It's not happening. Too many Democrats have too many different ideas (despite what Republicans and most of the media may think) and its the fact that everyone has an idea that makes it hard to choose. Democrats in Congress need to start prioritizing; they need to narrow down the list of issue to three or five and start a grassroots&media blitz if they ever want to have some extra lunch buddies on Capitol Hill.
I'll refrain from examining the Republicans right now because the party has basically been in lockstep with the President since 2000. There are going to be a few surprises with them and I don't see anyone there fighting for Bush's spotlight in the next two weeks; not with tonights SOTU address, the warrantless wiretapping issue and the Abramoff Scandal still looming.
So I'm going to dig into the Democrats a bit. Let's start with the cloture vote (the vote to extend debate on whether Alito should be a Justice). A "yes" meant end debate, a "no" meant continue. It went like this:
Akaka, Daniel K. (D-HI) Yes
Baucus, Max (D-MT) Yes
Bayh, Evan (D-IN) No
Biden, Joseph R., Jr. (D-DE) No
Bingaman, Jeff (D-NM) Yes
Boxer, Barbara (D-CA) No
Byrd, Robert C. (D-WV) Yes
Cantwell, Maria (D-WA) Yes
Clinton, Hillary Rodham (D-NY) No
Conrad, Kent (D-ND) Yes
Dayton, Mark (D-MN) No
Dodd, Christopher J. (D-CT) No
Dorgan, Byron L. (D-ND) Yes
Durbin, Richard (D-IL) No
Feingold, Russell D. (D-WI) No
Feinstein, Dianne (D-CA) No
Harkin, Tom (D-IA) NV NV
Inouye, Daniel K. (D-HI) Yes
Johnson, Tim (D-SD) Yes
Kennedy, Edward M. (D-MA) No
Kerry, John F. (D-MA) No
Kohl, Herb (D-WI) Yes
Landrieu, Mary L. (D-LA) Yes
Leahy, Patrick J. (D-VT) No
Levin, Carl (D-MI) No
Lieberman, Joseph I. (D-CT) Yes
Lincoln, Blanche L. (D-AR) Yes
Menendez, Robert (D-NJ) No
Mikulski, Barbara A. (D-MD) No
Murray, Patty (D-WA) No
Nelson, Bill (D-FL) Yes
Nelson, E. Benjamin (D-NE) Yes
Obama, Barack (D-IL) No
Pryor, Mark L. (D-AR) Yes
Reed, Jack (D-RI) No
Reid, Harry (D-NV) No
Rockefeller, John D., IV (D-WV) Yes
Salazar, Ken (D-CO) Yes
Sarbanes, Paul S. (D-MD) No
Schumer, Charles E. (D-NY) No
Stabenow, Debbie (D-MI) No
Wyden, Ron (D-OR) N0
Then there was the vote on Alito's confirmation. The Democrats who voted for Alito were:
Robert C. Byrd (W. Va.)
Kent Conrad (N.D.)
Tim Johnson (S.D.)
Benjamin E. Nelson (D-NE)
So let's look at how this pans out.
Sen. Bryd is experiencing some high, safe numbers so it doesn't look like W. Va. cared that he was taking a conservative stance on the issue. Ditto for Sen. Conrad ,Tim Johnson and Ben Nelson in their respective states. We're not talking about a bastion of liberal thought either; these guys were lucky to win in such traditionally "red" states.
I can't speak for those who run the Democratic Party, but I suppose if I could ask the leaders and strategists a question, it would be, "Who would you rather have in a red state: a Conservative Democrat or a Moderate/Conservative Republican?" Answer that question and you may see some gains in the 2006 mid-term elections.
But the bottom line is: don't expect Democrats to vote in blocks anytime soon. It's not happening. Too many Democrats have too many different ideas (despite what Republicans and most of the media may think) and its the fact that everyone has an idea that makes it hard to choose. Democrats in Congress need to start prioritizing; they need to narrow down the list of issue to three or five and start a grassroots&media blitz if they ever want to have some extra lunch buddies on Capitol Hill.
Comments