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Senator MBNA Breaks Ranks on Alito Email Print

By sdf
11/06/2005 08:14:44 PM EST

It is unclear whether Harry Reid and other Senate Democratic leaders have decided to filibuster Dubya's genuflection to the Radical Right, Samuel Alito.  The official word is wait and see, which suggests (shockingly!) an examination of the record to see what arises before and during the proceedings (you know that whole quaint advise and consent clause), and, pehaps more importantly, to see how the political winds coalesce, to see what the likely results and ramifications of the likely showdown would be.  So far, it appears that the public is unconvinced, meaning that, unlike with Roberts, the potential for a movement of the winds favorable to opposition is indeed present.

Whatever it is that Democratic leaders are planning behind the scenes, what they absolutely do not need are stories like this one, entitled "Democrat Says Alito Unlikely to Face Filibuster."  (Or this one:  "Biden:  Alito Should Get Up-or-Down Vote.")

"My instinct is we should commit" to an up-or-down vote by the full Senate, said Biden, a member of the Judiciary Committee. "I think the probability is that will happen.

"I think that judgment won't be made ... until the bulk of us have had a chance to actually see him and speak to him," Biden told ABC's "This Week."

Why is this seemingly innocuous comment and the resultant headlines so irritating?  Well, let's count the ways.

  1. In political chess games such as this one, especially involving nominations, momentum is a critical factor.  The momentum behind Roberts developed quickly and quickly developed that aura of inevitability.  The Miers nomination first failed to take off, and this presented the opportunity for its sabotage (notice that the other side, and needless to say it was the other side revolting against their own presiden that doomed Miers, is never afraid to take advantage of such opportunities).  Alito, as I said above, is still hanging in the balance, and the possibilitiy of opposition coalescing is still present.

  2. It undercuts Harry Reid by displaying the usual utter lack of message discipline.  Whatever the Senate leaders are planning, they do not need to have Biden go off script and provide headlines favorable to Alito.  Nelson has already gone off the reservation, now, in a way, Biden has as well.  Soon Rove may be able to point publically to Democrats that will get him up to 61 for cloture, and the battle will be over before it is begun.

  3. Up-or-Down Vote.  Are you kidding me?  The Far Right did not let Miers get to committee, much less have the supposedly constitutionally required upperdownvote.  All of us knew that they would neverthless reintroduce it in their own inimitable way.  Why the f**k should a Democrat, any Democrat, help them re-establish this frame?  "See," they'll say, "even Democrats admit that the nominee has the right to an upperdownvote."

  4. Biden knew he shouldn't have said it the moment it escaped his mouth.  Look at the full quote:

"My instinct is we should commit," said Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., minimizing prospects of the Senate maneuver that would prevent final action on President Bush's choice to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

"I think that judgment won't be made until the bulk of us have had a chance to actually see him and speak to him. But I think the probability is that (a vote) will happen," Biden said on ABC's "This Week."

So Joe knows it is far to early to be saying this, that the entire process is still in front of them (and, we should add, the delay until January is unquestionably a boon to those who oppose Alito; the less quickly he is confirmed, the more can happen before then), but Joe has verbal diarrhea.  He is musing allowed, talking to his good buddy George Stephanopoulos, two guys in the Insiders Club (losers anteroom).

But that's not how the game is played, and Joe knows that's how the game is played (or else he is phenomenally stupid).  Joe just provided the Other Side with some valuable ammunition.

-- Stu


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Senator MBNA Breaks Ranks on Alito | 6 comments (6 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)
Biden is 50% trustworthy (none / 0)
Stick him on the TV two weeks in a row, and he's sure to "break ranks" on at least one of these weeks.  His efforts to "show his independence" end up being nothing but top-quality fuel for the right.

Of course, the high probability that he'll stray from the message is exactly why he gets ten thousand hours of face time each week.

by Devilstower on 11/06/2005 08:57:44 PM EST

true headline, 'Dem won't rule out filibuster' (none / 0)
That would be a much truer headline by AP than the one they came up with.

If you see the tv interview with Biden, you'll see that's the case.

If you watch the way the interview and his words play (instead of the way AP positioned them), you'll see the impression Biden gave this morning was that a filibuster will be possible against this guy, but it is too soon to say now.

And it's natural, early on, for a senator on the Democratic side to say, well, it's likely the nominee won't be filibustered.

Otherwise, if the Dems threatened or showed they were planning a filibuster (tipped their hand), the Republicans would start rallying people against the Democatic senators.  There would be a strong backlash that would make any possible filibuster all that much harder to get agreement on.

A mucy better headline for AP would have been "Biden does not rule out filibuster."

by joan reports on 11/06/2005 11:36:20 PM EST

Thanks, Joan (none / 0)
Since I didn't see the interview, it is good to hear how it actually played.  In fact, I almost wrote point four of the post above to say that it seemed from what Biden had said that he was stepping around the issue.

But on the other hand, while suggesting that there would be a vote might be natural, I still believe that the way Biden phrased it, the suggestion that Alito somehow naturally deserves an "upperdownvote" just feeds into the Republican frame.

And Joe should have known what would get the headlines (not just AP, by the way, but also Reuters and Bloomberg emphasized the "he's leaning toward a vote.")  Because the way the media works, and the way the Senate works, apparently, potentially, even half-heartedly straying from the reservation is much more "newsworthy" than saying what one would expect party leaders to say.

-- Stu

by sdf on 11/07/2005 01:25:34 AM EST

[ Parent ]
Jon Stewart will skewer what you ask for. (none / 0)
It undercuts Harry Reid by displaying the usual utter lack of message discipline.
To which I say, the hell with message discipline. When I see clips of the Republicans spewing identical words from 10 different people on 5 different shows, I think, "what a bunch of robotic, mindless morons."

I think the exact same thing when the Dems do it.

by roysol on 11/07/2005 01:05:42 PM EST

He might (none / 0)
I love TDS and have found his montages of Republicans spewing talking points utterly brilliant, but a certain degree of message coordination is still useful (and even necessary) in politics.  I think, as a whole, Harry Reid has been very good at herding the cats; and, finally, there is a difference between saying things in the exact same way (against which you are inveighing) and avoiding doing anything that would undercut the larger party strategy (which is more precisely what I am pointing to).

-- Stu

by sdf on 11/07/2005 04:13:57 PM EST

[ Parent ]
I don't think we need.... (none / 0)
"talking points"......but a basic strategy would be nice.  Refusing to talk about what the dems will or won't do about Alito is a strategic move, not a talking point.

I only trust Biden to do one thing, and that's whatever is good for Biden.

The Albany Project. The best damned blog about New York State politics.

by NYBri on 11/07/2005 05:03:17 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Senator MBNA Breaks Ranks on Alito | 6 comments (6 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
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