Robert Novak briefly mentions the potential filibuster of Alito without offering much insight. While liberal organizations who oppose Alito may prefer a filibuster, Alito said nothing during his confirmation hearings that suggest he is the sort of "extremist" judge worthy of a filibuster in the eyes of the general public. I think these public perceptions of Alito will be enough to overcome any pressure top Democrats are feeling from liberal activists to filibuster his nomination.
Pressure from liberal activists to oppose confirmation of Judge Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court has been so intense that Democratic senators may be trapped into a filibuster that they do not want to wage.
Despite the consensus that Alito performed well in his confirmation hearings, leaders of liberal organizations opposing him -- Ralph Neas, Nan Aron and Wade Henderson -- demand that Democrats vote against him. Consequently, Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska is the only Democrat at this writing who has announced in Alito's favor.
That means the number of senators voting "no" will be well over the 41 needed to prevent cloture. Pressure groups then could ask why no filibuster had been launched. But Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid may not want to risk causing Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist to set a precedent by using the "nuclear" option: to end a filibuster by simple majority vote.
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