John Kerry's Statement on the Cloture Vote

[kerrygoddess]

John Kerry on the Senate Vote to End Debate on the Alito Nomination
January 30th, 2006 @ 2:51 pm

Below is a statement by Senator Kerry on the cloture vote on the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States:

“This was a fight over principle. Trying everything in our power to stop an ideological coup on the Supreme Court was the right thing to do. Everything in Judge Alito’s record shows that he will actively work to erode civil rights, discrimination and privacy protections. The time to fight was now, before the irreversible decision of confirming a new Supreme Court Justice was written in stone.

“We knew we faced steep odds, but we also knew that once Judge Alito becomes Justice Alito, there’s no turning back the Senate confirmation vote. It wouldn’t matter if we spoke up after the Supreme Court has granted the executive the right to use torture, or to eavesdrop without warrants. It wouldn’t matter if we spoke up only after a woman’s right to privacy was taken away and only after the courthouse door was slammed in the faces of women, minorities, the elderly, the disabled, and the poor. This was a debate worth having, and a debate we had no choice but to have today.”

http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=1802

[saltpoint]

1. Yes to John Kerry. An emphatic yes. / nt

[hang a left]

2. He got that out pretty fast.

[xultar]

5. I'm sure he had it written since last week.

[karynnj]

14. He always gets statements out very quickly

He knows where he stands, he had to know - as he and Kennedy both told us - that it was a long shot. He and Kennedy did all they could.

He's a very eloquent person who seems able to write and release in less than an hour statements others couldn't write if they were given a week.

Some people here have used as their signature a quote that was part of the q & a from his Georgetown speech. "The most important word in the American language, other than love, is citizen" Just a little throw away sentence when he was explaining to a student the need to be actively involved.

[Sydnie]

7. That was the speech he was trying to make when they cut him short

on the floor today. Great speech.

[bklyncowgirl]

3. Thank you Senator Kerry. nt

[ProSense]

4. Thank you Senator Kerry. n/t

.

[emulatorloo]

6. Thank you Senator Kerry -- and all of Senators and DUers who stood w you

Kicking and Nominating

[politicasista]

8. Thank you Senator Kerry!

For fighting the good fight. :kick:

[jenndar]

9. That's a great statement. n/t

[Der Blaue Engel]

10. Thank you, President Kerry

:cry:

[deflated]

27. I agree

Pres Kerry

[Dr Fate]

11. Thank him with a check. n/t

n/t

[YvonneCa]

21. Will do...

...pay day is tomorrow.:patriot:

[ClayZ]

12. Thank you John Kerry ... You are the real President!

:patriot:

[gizmo1979]

13. Here Here

Kudo's Mr kerry!:toast:

[kerrygoddess]

15. KICK

:kick:

[ADyingDemocrat]

16. Kerry is a good man. I'm tired of Political BS.

John Kerry is a good man, pure and simple.

He's political and shifty in his speech, because he tries to pander to the crowd.

*GASP*

I don't use that word in it's strictest traditional sense, but I use it anyways.

It's nice to see somebody who might legitimately give a DAMN, what was in the best interests of the American People.

I've been reading DU for going on 3 years now, and this is my first post.

I was tired of so many Dems during the election agreeing that he was flimsy. I'm tired of Democrats jumping off the ship..

At this point, our party is dead. Our... party... is... dead. It has NO power. We make NO decisions. We will NOT win the next election, but not because people like me viciously, obsessively didn't work hard enough, but because the manpower isn't there.

This IS a Conservative Right-wing Ideological Extremist-Christian nation, that spits on minorities, and overall doesn't care.

The US does NOT care about the US.

It's too hard. It's just too hard for people to care, and that is our downfall.

I fight like hell to speak to people, but no one ever listens. Not a single person EVER listens to me. The world is strained, and there's no color in hope and sensitivity.

We are a dead, decadent nation that deserves it's downfall if we don't see beauty and hope in helping the lesser man to his feet.

[BlueIris]

33. Welcome to DU.

:-)

[Skip Intro]

17. Thank you, President Kerry.

[LeahD]

18. Yes! It WAS the right thing to do. Thank you, John Kerry.

[YvonneCa]

19. Agreed...and the reason my Kerry bumper sticker is still...

...on my car. It will remain! Thank you, Senator Kerry.:patriot:

[BReisen]

25. Mine, too...

And I see lots around here (in SE Pennsylvania). The 'W' stickers all seem to have been pulled off the cars. Wonder why...

[globalvillage]

28. Mine, too.

SW PA. I haven't seen a 'W' in a long time.

[GreenPartyVoter]

20. Thanks for posting that.

------------------------------------------------------
How about some freakin’ election reform already?!

[globalvillage]

22. Thank you Senator Kerry!

He and Teddy stood on principle today. I expected nothing less from either of them.
I'm proud to say they both have my support and admiration.

:yourock:

[kerrygoddess]

23. Salute Senators Kerry and Kennedy, et al

Senators John Kerry and Ted Kennedy stood today and led a valiant fight against the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. That fight was a fight for the rights of the little people.

The fight is not over… We will continue to stand against the oppressive leadership that currently rules on the Hill.

Please join The Democratic Daily in thanking John Kerry, Ted Kennedy and all the Democratic Senators that stood today on principle.

http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=1803

[IndianaGreen]

24. Kerry was combative, in focus, and was just great!

No nuances and complex sentences!

I watched his speech on C-SPAN, the one that was stopped for running over time, and I thought it was a good indictment of Alito.

Sen. Menendez was also very good!

[bilgewaterbill]

26. We can't thank you enough, Sen. Kerry! nt

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

29. I Love My President. Go Kerry!

[LiberalAndProud]

30. I wish ...

Kerry / Kennedy

They were my heroes today. I was heard on the Senate floor today. Thank you gentlemen.

[Straight Shooter]

31. This is precisely why the filibuster was so damned important

Try to imagine hundreds of thousands of Americans tuning in to find out what the hell the fuss is about, and listening to John Kerry give an impassioned speech such as he outlined in his statement. Try to imagine those hundreds of thousands listening to someone explain how the Democratic Party represents the people, while the Republican party represents the corporations.

Whatever you do, don't try to imagine what we lost today. :(

[spuddonna]

32. This is exactly why it was so damn important...

I'm sending it in the text of my "SHAME!" mail to the DINOs who voted down this filibuster... and I'm using it in the thank you too to emphasize why it was important!

This was an important vote. I am so disappointed in my party...