Supreme Court ruling raises ‘08 stakes

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Obama camp: McCain health plan "a disaster"

Democrats see vulnerable GOP senators
Assessing the potential for Democratic Senate gains next year, Malcolm said Collins “straddles the fence on this issue and the other Republicans that I think are particularly vulnerable, (Norm) Coleman in Minnesota, (John) Sununu in New Hampshire, and (Gordon) Smith in Oregon are completely anti-choice. In those four races particularly this issue could have an effect.”

For abortion-rights advocates, Wednesday’s ruling was an “I told you so” moment, and a reminder of what might have been, had Senate Democrats chosen to mount a more vigorous effort to block Alito with a filibuster. “Let this decision be a lesson to those senators, editors, and pundits who thought it unseemly to filibuster Sam Alito’s nomination,” said Kim Gandy president of the National Organization for Women.

Sen. John Kerry, D- Mass. flew back from Switzerland in January of 2006 to call for a filibuster, but the effort fizzled as Alito backers won the vote to curtail debate and move on to a vote on his nomination.

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Schumer's regrets
Alito was confirmed 58 to 42. Two GOP senators, Collins and her Maine colleague Olympia Snowe, who’d voted against the partial-birth abortion ban, also voted for Alito.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D- N.Y., the head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said the week after last November’s election: “I will tell you my greatest regret in last two years is that we didn’t stop Alito… I was never for a filibuster of Roberts, even though I voted against him…. You don’t filibuster unless you think someone is way out of the mainstream. I was unclear on Roberts whether he was, but Alito clearly seemed to be.”

The impact of that loss to abortion rights forces was clear in Wednesday’s ruling, and clearer still if one considers longevity: if Alito serves for as long as Stevens has, it will be 2037 before a president gets to name his successor.

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