Reuters reports Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats lack the votes to block Judge Alito's confirmation:
"Everyone knows there is not enough votes to support a filibuster," Reid said, referring to the procedural roadblock that some Democrats wanted to use to put off a vote on Alito.
Even after Senators Feinstein and Reid flipped flopped and decided they would now support Kerry's filibuster against Alito, there are still seven Democratic Senators who have said they will not support a filibuster against Alito's confirmation:
Then there are the three Democrats who have announced they will vote for Alito's confirmation - Byrd, Johnson and Ben Nelson.
No Republican senator will support Kerry's filibuster. Even the two Republicans that haven't revealed whether they will vote for Alito's confirmation, Chafee and Snowe, say they will oppose a filibuster.
According to the Boston Globe, Kerry won't find more than 30 votes:
But high-ranking Senate aides said the best Kerry and Kennedy can hope for is to persuade 25 or 30 Democrats to sign on -- well short of the 41 votes they need to lock in unlimited Senate debate and kill the nomination.
Reid said he would support Kerry's filibuster "to at least send a message." Sadly, the message is that the Democrats are obstructionist sore losers.
California Yankee continues to track Senators' positions on Alito's confirmation here.
UPDATE: I just noticed Durbin was listed in the seven Democratic Senators who have said they will not support a filibuster against Alito's confirmation. The error, left over from an earlier draft has been corrected.
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