True to Form, John Kerry Picks Worst Possible Moment to Act Like a Visionary
January 27, 2006
Have you ever heard of a politician whose timing and instincts were so clearly off about everything as John Kerry, who today announced that he and Senator Kennedy would attempt to mount a filibuster against all-but-confirmed SCOTUS nominee Sam Alito.
I’ll admit that I get a little flutter in my heart every time someone says “defeat” and “Alito” in the same sentence. It would be so brilliant if we could get together the votes to keep that guy off the Supreme Court. But the fact is, he’s qualified and ideology is not a justification for a filibuster.
The filibuster idea is getting a cool response on Capitol Hill and I called my Senators to urge them to vote against his confirmation, but not to filibuster. This is a battle we have lost.
But the fact is, he’s qualified and ideology is not a justification for a filibuster.
I think reasonable people can have differing opinions on whether he is in fact qualified. A qualified person must meet certain “qualifications”, not limited to legal and judicial ability.
Ok, point taken. Yes ideology can play a role in someone’s qualifications for the bench - but I just can’t see how a filibuster will help matters in this instance.
I think what’s likely here is that Kerry is trying very hard to remake himself into the image of a Democratic crusader - to show that he possesses what everyone imagined he lacked, and it’s all for the sake of the 2008 nomination.
Am I growing less cynical about a politician’s motives? Perhaps I am!
Possibly. From my perspective, this just reeks of some pompous out-of-touch campaign advisor saying, “John, you’ve got to make yourself look more effectual. Get out there and establish some leadership on this Alito issue.”
This sort of thing is why Kerry was a terrible nominee last time, and he’d be an even worse nominee this time. Fool us once, shame on you. Fool us twice, shame on us.
Or “Fool me once… [pause]… shame on… [pause] Shame on you… [pause] If fooled, you can’t get fooled again.”