Democrats Divided on Alito
WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito has caused a rift among Senate Democrats, with some planning to vote for the conservative judge while others remain undecided.
Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska announced Tuesday he will support Alito, the second Democrat to do so. Nelson said he will support Alito “because of his impeccable judicial credentials, the American Bar Association’s strong recommendation, and the fact that I’m running for re-election in, like, the most Republican state in the union.”
Nelson’s statement was issued from a highway rest stop near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where he was assisting Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist in an emergency heart transplant. The two men were on the way to a housewarming party at Sen. Trent Lott’s temporary vacation home on the Florida coast.
Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut was the first Democrat to announce his support for Alito. “I have just returned from my fourth trip to the Senate in the past 17 months and can report real progress there,” he wrote in an Op-Ed piece in the Wall Street Journal entitled, “Alito Must Be Confirmed.” He argued that “it’s time for Democrats who distrust President Bush to acknowledge that he will be the commander in chief for three more critical years, and that we undermine presidential credibility at our nation’s peril.”
Alito met Wednesday with several undecided Democratic senators, including Bill Nelson of Florida and Ron Wyden of Oregon, at which time the senators received GOP ballcaps and refrigerator magnets. Alito planned to meet Thursday with Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware and Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey.
“I’m not a fan of Alito,” said Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada. “I wish more Democrats would line up to oppose him. Unfortunately, it’s just very difficult to compete with the Republicans when it comes to the swag and the house parties. They’ve really got that stuff down.”
