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H07288

Headlines : Civil Liberties

Summary:

Senate Democratic leaders coined two Orwellian phrases for their Alito confirmation vote strategy: “strategic vote” meaning “political surrender”, and “vote their conscience” meaning “use expediency”.

The outcry from rank-and-file Democrats has caused more Senate Democrats to support a filibuster of Alito. The hesitancy of Senate Democrats to fully fight Alito’s nomination may have doomed the effort, but, according to one Democratic strategist, success is still conceivable.

The Republicans may have hurt their chances of easy confirmation by insulting Sen. John Kerry, calling him the “Swiss Miss”. This could make crossing the aisle to support Bush’s choice feel like political treason.

[Posted By hungeski]

By Robert Parry
Republished from consortiumnews.com

Rank-and-file Democrats aren't buying Senate Democrats' tough language that cloaks political surrender.

At Consortiumnews.com, we often criticize the Bush administration for its Orwellian language – “torture” and “democracy” being just two abused words – so we must note how Senate Democratic leaders slid into their own dissembling while trying to defuse rank-and-file demands for a filibuster of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito.

The Democratic leaders tried to sound tough and principled when they were really acting soft and manipulative. For instance, they urged Democrats to cast a “strategic vote” on Alito’s nomination as well as calling on senators to “vote their conscience” – but neither phrase meant what it purported to mean.

The so-called “strategic vote” on Alito amounted to Democrats conceding defeat on his nomination but then having most Democrats vote against him. That supposedly would permit Democrats to say “I told you so” when the negative consequences of Alito’s confirmation become apparent to the American people.

But that sort of ineffectual opposition is less “strategic” than it is “symbolic.” It amounts to surrendering to George W. Bush and the Republicans, even when important constitutional issues are at stake, and then briefly showing the flag to appease an angry Democratic base. It’s “strategic” like Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox was.

The other phrase…

[end excerpt]

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