Who's Voting For or Against Roberts?

[orleans]

as far as the dems go....

i would hope durbin & obama vote against

and why the hell is leahy voting FOR him???

kerry will vote against
reid against
kennedy against

"Other Democrats, including Tim Johnson of South Dakota and Max Baucus of Montana, also have announced their support. Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana are leaning toward voting for Roberts, and Kent Conrad of North Dakota is viewed as a possible vote for him as well."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5293558,00.html

[SammyBlue]

1. Patrick Leahy -- FOR the Fucker Roberts!!!

[Callalily]

4. Yes, Leahy is definitely

voting for Roberts. He claims that Roberts is a "man of integrity". :grr:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/22/politics/politicsspecial1/22confirm.html?th&emc=th

[last_texas_dem]

2. Also, New Jersey's Senators are voting against him

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1797977

I don't know what the hell Leahy is thinking...

[genius]

29. Corzine has the best record in the Senate. Who is this guy?

I'm from California. I'm familiar with his voting record but with nothing else about him.

[elsiesummers]

35. He's running for Gov of NJ now - forme CEO of Goldman Sachs.

I think they had a debate for NJ Governor last night (Sept 21st) at 8:00 PM - Corzine vs Forrester - and it is supposed to be available on cspan - so you might look at a video stream.

I like Corzine too - he reminds me of Robert Rubin when he speaks - also I hope he runs for president because I think would be very cool to have a bearded president because he could cause a fashion paradigm shift:). Seriously though, I think Corzine could some day be an interesting Dem Prez candidate because he could get the financial industry plus lots of other NJ/NY money behind him and also be a social liberal.

Edit: The debate link on cspan.org is on page two or three of recent programs on cspan #11 thru #20.

[fujiyama]

38. As was mentioned

Corzine was head of Goldman Sachs for a while. He became EXTREMELY wealthy and spent some 60 million dollars to win his seat in '00.

He has done well though and in a way I like the fact that he spent his own money. It shows that he really wasn't beholden to various interest groups.

It seems like he's reasonably well liked in NJ now which is great. I get the sense he's sick of being stuck in the minority in the senate, where it feels like there is little sense of accomplishment. I think that's why he's running for governor and has a likely chance of winning it.

[Hippo_Tron]

40. Corzine is the exception to the rule that the rich are conservative

When Corzine was running for Senate in 2000, one conservative pundit made the comment that he would be a more liberal senator than Ted Kennedy and Paul Wellstone. The guy was pretty much spot on.

Corzine is a solid Democrat on pretty much everything. He's voted against almost all of Bush's fiscal terrorist policies that ironically help the industry that he came from. He is a strong supporter of universal healthcare and fair trade. He voted against the IWR and has been very critical of Bush's war. He is also against the death penalty, which is extremely rare these days and he admits that it isn't even popular with his constituency.

When votes come out on legislation that supports the rich and powerful that somehow manage to get large numbers of Democrats to support it, Corzine is a name that you would expect to see on the list of Democrats who support it. About 99% of the time, it's not there.

Also I remember during the 2004 election using Corzine's name to dispell two myths with my conservative friends about John Kerry.

1) That he was the most liberal Senator

2) That he was the wealthiest Senator

As far as a presidential bid goes, I'd love to see it, but we all know how wealthy liberals from the northeast do in national elections these days. On the other hand, his fortune is entirely self-made, he grew up on a farm in Illinois, which is a lot more than almost any Republican can say. I guess it will all depend on how well he does as Governor of NJ. I'm certain that he will rival Eliot Spitzer and Brian Schweitzer as the nation's most progressive Governor.

[ladylibertee]

3. These Democrats seem to be in a tight position.Let's play a

game I like to call.." What the Hell are they thinking?"

Okay, we know that Judge "I think I'm Gawd" John Roberts was initially nominated to fill the position of Sandra"hate to see her go"Day O'Connor right?Well now that Chief Justice "Racist" Rehnquist has kicked the bucket"whew!",Roberts has been moved up to fill his position.Now,the Democrats "gotta love-em" are faced with having to confirm Roberts in the hopes that someone more "normal" gets nominated.Perhaps they are thinking that if they vote to confirm him,then bush will give them a more moderate to replace O'Connor to balance out the Supreme Court.That's a gamble.I mean,I know Bush "appeared to see the light" when he gave that September 19th speech, but the man still cannot be trusted.I cannot think of any other reason why any Democrat would vote to confirm.I wonder how many Democrats who vote to confirm are planning to run for re-election in 2006?If the American Democrats are as smart as I think we are, they will not be winning a re-election that's for sure.

[realFedUp]

5. Leahy's going with his "conscience", not his brain

Fortunately Feinstein will vote against him.

I have really had it with Democrats. Too many
huge issues and no opposition. I know the numbers
are smaller on the minority side, but their only
use right now is to oppose and in toto.

[genius]

30. No. Leahy is going with Robertson's conscience and corporate dollars

When you see something like this, you know that post-retirement deals are being made with corporations who want to gut the environment.

[realFedUp]

6. Cspan's mics picked up Spector reassuring Tom (rightwingnut) Coburn

in what I gathered is that Feinstein added a caveat to her speech
that Roberts would be confirmed, despite her vote.

[realFedUp]

7. Intelligence and competence.....

Lots of destructive people are intelligent and competent.

Not a reason to vote this guy in to one of the biggest jobs
in the U.S. that has no end except by impeachment.

[realFedUp]

8. Kennedy speaking....says he won't confirm

this is all on cspan 3....you can watch at cspan.org

[Mass]

9. Feinstein and Boxer will vote NO, so will Corzine and Lautenberg

[NYCGirl]

10. Biden is voting against. NT

[realFedUp]

12. Biden's speaking now....nt

[Silverhair]

11. Simple answer. They want to be reelected.

Johnson - South Dakota - Deep Red State
Baucus - Montana - Deep Red State
Nelson - Nebraska - Deep Red State
Conrad - North Dakota - Deep Red State
Landrieu - Louisianna - More red that blue state.

Get the point?

[realFedUp]

13. Maybe they aren't worth Dems voting for again

I'm tired of staying with a party whose leadership
worries more about the other party's voters.

[Silverhair]

27. So do you think a super liberal will get elected in

the Dakotas? We lost a Democrat there in the last election because the voters found him to be too liberal.

Will you be happier with a larger Republican lead in both the House and the Senate?

[Hippo_Tron]

41. Leahy - Vermont - Dark Blue State

Feingold - Wisconsin - Purple state, but he had a fairly easy time being re-elected.

I think that these are the two votes that people are really wondering about.

[realFedUp]

14. DeWhiner on now....

volume off...can just imagine.

[realFedUp]

15. Sessions on now....how do these rightwingnuts get on this committee

volume off...can just imagine.

[Shrek]

16. Feingold will vote in favor n/t

[realFedUp]

17. whhhhhaaaaaaaaa?

had to turn the volume back on....is Feingold going
to trust this guy after all the materials provided
this committee?

[jillan]

18. WTF? I thought for sure he would have voted no!

[Mass]

19. No surprise - Feingold always vote YES except in extreme cases

He voted for Ashcroft. It is not that he agreed with him, but, as principle, he thinks the a president should get his nominees.

[Mass]

20. Kohl YES

[genius]

31. When is he up for re-election? He's got a terrible voting record.

[realFedUp]

21. This is a Supreme Court lifetime job, not a cabinet position

Someone who be around long after Bush dries up.

This shouldn't be up to the President. This should
be up to the American people via Senators since
we'll have to live with this person's decisions
for the rest of our lives.

[Mass]

23. I am not saying he is right - I am saying it does not surprise me.

[orleans]

36. aren't you sick of that insane logic? i know i'm so sick of it i could

puke!

it's not like a cabinet appointment--it's a thirty year screw to the country!!! in such a case the answer is NO--bush does NOT get to have his favorite because it's going to devastate the country for decades!!

what the hell are some of these senators thinking? why don't they give a shit about this country anymore???

(sorry--venting here i guess--nothing personal, you know)

[realFedUp]

22. The Dems are making good arguments for voting against and yet....

Leahy and Feingold voting for based on "trust".
Come on...continue being Charlie Browns.

We stopped playing their game a long time ago.

[realFedUp]

24. I've had it. Adios Democrats. nt

[Mass]

25. Schumer NO

[Mass]

26. Durbin NO - Democrats vote: NO 5 - YES 3

[genius]

28. Boxer and Feinstein will oppose him.

[elsiesummers]

32. Feingold (1)idealistic or (2)repositioning to RT for prez primary.

(1) Idealistic belief that Prez should get to pick nominees. This harkens back to the Ashcroft "yes", and also reminds me of Hillary's comment to Feingold regarding CFR and the pot of gold that Republicans and especially Bush were going to get out of it in 2004. After a Dem Senator meeting it was reported in some gossip page she said "Live in the real world, Russ."

(An aside, the column also claimed she said to Edwards, "John, you just stand there and look pretty." So, she wasn't being particularly generous to some of her fellow senators, that day. Also seems like, concerning both of these candidates, she mays see them as naive and idealistic and not pragmatic, so not worthy of her respect.

(2) I noticed that Feingold did a terrific job questioning Roberts. In an obvious play to position to the right for the primaries he asked a question on the 2nd amendment and made an unnecessary comment about how he himself "believes in the individual right to bear arms." If he was using the questioning of Roberts to position to the right it is logical that he might also use the confirmation vote to position to the right.

[genius]

33. Feingold's Pres bid is dead. I'll vote 3rd party before I support

someone who places Operation Rescue in charge of the U. S. Supreme Court for the next 40 years, and I've never voted 3rd party.

[Mass]

34. case (1) - He has an history of voting for the president candidate.

[Hippo_Tron]

42. I don't think that McCain/Feingold hurt dems in 2004

Well actually that's not 100% true, it hurt them in the sense that their convention was 5 weeks before the GOP's convention. And in that 5 weeks was when the Swift Boat Assholes began their attack. Kerry, although I think he could've responded better, had his hands tied because he needed to save his money for after the GOP convention.

But other than that, the fact is that the GOP has more wealthy people and more corporationswho can pour soft money into campaigns than the Dems do.

[orleans]

37. Obama will vote AGAINST

"September 22, 2005 (WASHINGTON) - Illlinois' Democratic US senators say they're voting against John Roberts' confirmation as chief justice of the Supreme Court.

Senator Barack Obama told the chamber Thursday that he finds Roberts "humble" and "decent." But he says the judge appears to have used his skills on the bench for the strong "in opposition to the weak."

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=3468700

[orleans]

39. debbie stabenow will vote against

"I believe that his philosophy undermines our most cherished and fundamental rights, liberties and freedoms as Americans, and for that reason, I will be voting no on his nomination next week," Stabenow said. "

http://www.freep.com/news/latestnews/pm6207_20050923.htm