Sen. Obama Criticizes Filibuster Tactic

Well at least he has some sense, as opposed to John Kerry. It would appear that the prospect of becoming president has apparently just ruined John Kerry's ability to formulate a coherent strategy. Nobody in their right mind believes that stopping or stalling Samuel Alito from becoming a Supreme Court Justice will translate into the votes needed in 2008 to first win the Democratic Party nomination and then the presidency. This kind of story illustrates why conservative pundits can get away with calling liberals elitists and their audience eats it right up, even though the accusation cuts both ways. Clearly Kerry is out of touch with the same contingent of voters that awarded his rival, George W. Bush the presidency. These are the people that don't even know who Sam Alito is, let alone that he'll be potentially fillibustered. Even if Kerry were to succeed, in two years wil this particular event even matter to the voters? Of course it won't.

It breaks down like this: for those that categorically will not accept Alito as a Supreme Court nominee and would react positively to a fillibuster, Kerry already has those votes. It's like religious or economic conservatives who were upset with Bush for a variety of reasons, it's not like we had anyone else to vote for. Opting to appease your solid base when they have no viable alternative candidate is a wasteful strategy.

The rest of the voters he would have to pick up to win in 2008 are generally people who don't want to see people like John Kerry marring any part of the government process. Plain and simple, short of nominating the cleaning lady (as Ann Coulter would say) we just want the Senate to get on with the confirmation process and then get back to work on the issues that actually mean something to us.

Obama hit it right on the head when he says, "There is an over-reliance on the part of Democrats for procedural maneuvers." That is absolutely true. The Democrats are losing elections year after year mostly due to their inabiity to persuade the vast majority of Americans that their views make a lick a sense. Now I'm somebody who can appreciate many of the liberal ideas and have called for their enactment myself. However, if I have to stand next to the people wearing Scream masks and all of that, I'll take my chances with the corporatists.

Here's the story:

To more effectively oppose Supreme Court nominees in the future, Democrats need to convince the public "their values are at stake" rather than use stalling tactics to try to thwart the president, said a senator who opposes Samuel Alito's confirmation.

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., predicted on Sunday that an effort to try to block a final vote on Alito would fail on Monday. That would clear the way for Senate approval Tuesday of the federal appeals court judge picked to succeed the retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Democrats fear he would shift the court rightward on abortion rights, affirmative action, the death penalty and other issues.
"We need to recognize, because Judge Alito will be confirmed, that, if we're going to oppose a nominee that we've got to persuade the American people that, in fact, their values are at stake," Obama said.

"There is an over-reliance on the part of Democrats for procedural maneuvers," he told ABC's "This Week."

Sens. John Kerry and Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts are urging fellow Democrats to support a filibuster, citing in part Alito's conservative record on abortion and deference to executive power.

Alito's supporters must produce 60 votes to cut off a filibuster; an Associated Press tally shows at least 62.

The AP tally also shows that at least 53 Republicans and three Democrats intend to vote to confirm Alito; that is well over the required majority.

President Bush said Saturday in his weekly radio address that senators should have an up-or-down on a nominee "who understands that the role of a judge is to strictly interpret the law."

Obama cast Alito as a judge "who is contrary to core American values, not just liberal values."

But Obama joined some Democrats, including Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Charles Schumer of New York, in expressing his unhappiness with the filibuster bid.

"There's one way to guarantee that the judges who are appointed to the Supreme Court are judges that reflect our values. And that's to win elections," Obama said.

Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., said he, too, would support the filibuster attempt but agreed that it was not particularly wise.

"I think a filibuster make sense when you have a prospect of actually succeeding," Biden said on CNN's "Late Edition.""I will vote one time to say to continue the debate. but the truth of the matter" is that Alito will be confirmed, he said.