By a vote of 13 to 5. From the Washington Post:
Voting No were:
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (Mass.),
Joseph Biden (Del.),
Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) ,
Charles Schumer (N.Y.) and
Dick Durbin (Ill.)
Democrats voting Yes:
Sens. Patrick Leahy (Vt.) ,
Herb Kohl (Wis.) and
Russ Feingold (Wis.)
All the Republicans voted in favor of Judge Roberts. The interesting question is whether the Democratic vote represents genuine individual differences, some kind of strategy, or simple disarray. As SDP has noted, the current Democratic leader, Harry Reid, had announced his intention to vote against Roberts on the floor, whereas former leader Tom Daschle has said he would have supported Roberts. I'm not so inclined to be hard on Daschle for that. Obviously the question has divided current and former Senate Democrats. But I suspect that Reid would have liked a more coherent party position.
The main grounds for voting against Roberts is his refusal to answer questions about hot button issues, coupled with a fear that the nominee will not vote the way they want him to on future cases. This represents an about face from the Ginsburg hearings, when Democrats were insisting that she not answer certain questions, and the New York Times was insisting that she be judged "as a judge, not as an advocate."
One Democrat who has not flipped and flopped is Russ Feingold. Here is the key quote from his comments today.
History has shown that control of the White House -- and, with it, the power to shape courts -- never stays for too long with one party. When my party retakes the White House, there may very well be a Democrat John Roberts nominated to the court, a man or woman with outstanding qualifications, highly respected by virtually everyone in the legal community, and perhaps with a paper trail of political experience through service on the progressive side on the ideological spectrum. Now, when that day comes -- and it will -- that will be the test for this committee and the Senate. And, in the end, it is one of the central reasons I will vote to confirm Judge John Roberts to be perhaps the last chief justice of the United States in my lifetime. The position of chief justice demands the very highest scrutiny from the Senate. And the qualifications and abilities of the nominee for this position must shine through. Judge Roberts has the legal skills, the intellect and the character to be a good chief justice. And I hope that he fulfills that promise. I wish him well. May his service be a credit not only to the rule of law, but also to the principles of equality and freedom and justice that make this country so great. [My italics]
That looks suspiciously like statesmanship. One wonders how the Republicans will do on the test, when that inevitable day comes.
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