For those of us of a certain age, who woke up and grew up with the ringing words and vision of justice of Brown v. Board of Education, Thursday’s decision by the US Supreme Court in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District #1 is a galling defeat for school integration, racial justice. The decision is long and dispiriting. Read it only if you are driven to. Brown, it now appears to our learned Justices, stands for school segregation. Update: Those of us not ready to celebrate, or settle, for the "end of integration" (unlike David Brooks) may want to look at SCOTUS Blog's report of the first post "Parents Involved" challenge to a school assignment plan in Lynn, Ma.

Everything the Supremes have been singing of late seems designed to remind us that there was a difference between Gore and Bush in 2000.

Events will not go to the front page automatically anymore. Any member of the site can still post events to the calendar; but to be front paged, all events have to pass editorial review first ... or is voted on to the front page.

This is due to the fact that Rocket slipped by post for Maria Cantwell fundraiser. The same Maria Cantwell who voted for cloture along with the Vichy 10; ensuring 40+ years of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court bench.

Daniel K. Akaka, Hawai'i
Jeff Bingaman, New Mexico
Robert C. Byrd, West Virginia
Maria Cantwell, Washington
Thomas Carper, Delaware
Kent Conrad, North Dakota
Herb Kohl, Wisconsin
Joseph Lieberman, Connecticut
Bill Nelson, Florida
Benjamin Nelson, Nebraska

BTW notice the name of Joseph Lieberman. He had already voted for Roberts when he voted for Alito's cloture. Even after he had made Planned Parenthood and NARAL believe he would be one of the the last people to do so.

Now, lest I get gobsmacked by Mole and Michael, there are reasons for Democrats to help her to get elected. I understand there are heated races around the country but, as Anonymous Coward said in this comment here, why fund an out of towner when there are races to still fund right here in the city?

Which is why I am going meta here.

The ten democrats on that list gave Bush a huge political won he did not deserve. Here's what I wrote a year ago, in relation to John Roberts' confirmation but still applicable to Democrats that put Alito on the bench:

[via c u l t u r e k i t c h e n: Twenty-one Democrats vote to confirm John Roberts? Meet "The Dominionists' 21"]:

You know what? Not only is Bush the worst President ever, but he is also the biggest embarassment to America. Okay, so Bush freaking out a baby in Germany wasn't completely his fault, though his expression of complete abandonment of all responsibility was disgusting. But Bush's latest embarassing act in Germany is just plain inexcusable in a man who is on a diplmatic mission. At the G-8 summit, President Bush reached from behind to grab German Chancellor Angela Merkel and gives her a quick massage before rushing off. This is a condescending and inappropriate gesture when one leader is interacting with another. Chancellor Merkel was clearly horrified at Bush's behavior.

Okay...THIS is the man who we have as our leader? THIS is the man who is determining our foreign policy? Sheesh! I bet Elmer Fudd would be a more dignified and diplomatic leader than Mr. "I peed on a police car and daddy got me off the hook" Bush.

Congressman Major Owens invites you to a Town Meeting Monday, March 20th at 7 PM at St. Francis College (180 Remsen St., Brooklyn) in the Callahan Room to discuss the American Court System.

Panelists:

Esmerelda Simmons, Esq., Director of the Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College

Deborah Goldberg, Director of the Democracy Program at NYU's Brennan Center for Justice

Light Refreshments will be Served

The thirst for blood from the left against the so-called "Vichy 10" is sweeping several blogs and I have to say I find it kind of repulsive. It is the kind of knee jerk reaction, poorly thought out and poorly expressed, that I expect from Bush supporters talking about Clinton's blowjobs. And some of my fellow leftists sure don't like me saying this. Got scolded considerably at My Left Wing for advocating a touch of restraint.

I understand people's frustration. But JESUS CHRIST PEOPLE! HAVE SOME PERSPECTIVE! Some of the people you want to target have among the best voting records in Congress on environment, labor and choice. Do we REALLY want to start by targeting those people???

The so-called “Vichy 10

Barack Obama was quoted earlier today lamenting the fact Democrats did not have enough votes for a filibuster and reflecting on what he believes needs to be done :

"There's one way to guarantee that the judges who are appointed to the Supreme Court are judges that reflect our values. And that's to win elections," Obama said.

Does this mean he is willing to work with the grassroots to rid the Democratic Party of these Republicrats?

1. Akaka (Hawaii)
2. Baucus (Montana)
3. Bingaman (New Mexico)
4. Byrd (West Virginia)
5. Cantwell (Washington)
6. Carper (Delaware)
7. Conrad (North Dakota)
8. Dorgan (North Dakota)
9. Inouye (Hawaii)
10. Johnson (South Dakota)
11. Kohl (Wisconsin)
12. Landrieu (Louisiana)
13. Lieberman (Connecticut
14. Lincoln (Arkansas)
15. Nelson (Florida)
16. Nelson (Nebraska)
17. Pryor (Arkansas)
18. Rockefeller (West Virginia)
19. Salazar (Colorado)
20. Harkin (Iowa) abstained from voting.

Considering Schumer and Clinton seemed to reluctantly get on board the filibuster effort, I wonder if the issue is not to elect more Democrats but more progressives of any kind. It's a question that needs to be examined closely, especially given how herculean is the task of running for office in a place like New York City.

At least from what I have observed, in New York City electability has nothing to do with personal values, political strategic thinking or even popularity. Getting elected in New York City is a game of ring-around-the-money : If you do are not sexy in a fundraising way, you better say goodbye to your political aspirations.

Notice though I have not said this is a malaise pertaining to Democrats. Actually, it is even more apparent in the NYGOP; with the state honchos dangling Jeaneane Pirro as Clinton-bait in an unwinnable race.

It was so obvious how the just wanted to milk PAC'ed tits a little harder and all the way to 2008. It's not working though. They have plenty of politicos that would stand up to Clinton. The problem is that none of them will make them any money.

So what eexactly is it that we need? Fundable candidates? More Democrats? Or progressive politicians with cojones?

I've been working on the Supreme Court since the day Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement; there have been literally dozens of meetings, conference calls, many press releases, events, speeches, flyers and what not else. Today, with the vote on cloture in the Senate, that effort came to a not entirely unexpected end.

And yes, defeat is galling. That said, I don't regret a second of the effort. It was a good fight, fought well, against high odds. Only in five Supreme Court nominees has ever been defeated, and I can't think of an example other than Abe Fortas, filibustered in the closing days of the Johnson Presidency, who was defeated when the same party held the Senate and the White House. Of course, as is their wont, the reigning reactionaries have threatened to overturn that longstanding inconvenient rule.

There will be plenty of recriminations, the usual circular firing squad of Democrats lining up to attack the other Democrats who caved and what not else. That's fair – after all, we lost, and I hate the happy talk that treats every outcome as worthy of a pat on the back. And after all, we're Democrats – attacking each other is our specialty. So let's get it over and done with and move on to the next fight with a few new scars and hopefully, some lessons learned.

Here's some of the good news from the fight:

Progressive orgs are building coalitions

That's the biggest story you'll never read about. Progressives have always had their own little areas of interest, their own pet issue, and not worked with anyone who was not a carbon copy of their own strongly held beliefs. That's over. The Americans for Fair Courts Coalition contained virtually every single group imaginable. New and strong relationships have been created, and while we're not yet at the level of lockstep discipline exhibited by, say, Grover Norquist's boy toys, we're doing quite well, thank you very much.

Lincoln Chaffee is a douchebag

The biggest loser of this battle may be Lincoln Chaffee, who has managed, through his remarkably undexterous pandering, to piss off literally everyone. Chaffee has probably damaged the old myth of the 'moderate' or 'pro-choice' republican beyond repair. It will be interesting to see whether he even survives the primary, since the Club for Growth is running some nutjob against him. It's entirely possible that the next few years will see the defeat of every blue-state republican Senator, especially as the Alito/Roberts court finds its stride.

The netroots matter

This was the first battle in which the netroots, by which I mean blogs and online organizations, decisively formed the debate. Speaking from the inside, after the hearings, I was convinced there would not even be a filibuster attempt. That changed when hybrid blog/organizing sites like Daily Kos and Democrats.com entered the arena with a vengeance. The money to pay for the fight, the energy, and the manpower, came from these sites and from the sophisticated integrated campaigns run by People For the American way, MoveOn.org and others. Over the course of the Alito fight, I've heard numbers of up to two million messages – emails, phone calls, faxes, petitions – delivered to Capitol Hill. That's fantastic, considering that there's another election coming up.

Liberals are finally getting it

Over the last few weeks, I've heard the stock phrase "Elections matter" repeated so often I've promised myself to beat the next person who says it senseless. I say this because I've been repeating that mantra for years; I said it to Nader people in 2000 (thanks again, guys), I said it to the Kerry-haters from the Dean camp in 2004, and I repeat it today: elections matter. If you do not want people like Alito on the court, well, get off your couch and get busy. Stop bitching about how the Democrats aren't good enough, don't fight hard enough, whatever. The good news is that yes, people do not look at me like I have three heads anymore when I say this. If we still had fifty Senators, Alito would not be getting on to the court. People get that – hallelujah.

Samuel Alito, Esquire, will now step into the pages of the history books and write a chapter that none of us are looking forward to. It won't be over until he finally keels over, and meanwhile, half of America will be praying that Ann Coulter feeds him some rat poison with his crème brulée.

But before that blessed day, odds are, we'll have a couple more elections. The Supreme Court won't be there anymore to defend us from reactionary illegality. Get busy, people.

The following letter was delivered to the office of Senator Schumer today by representatives of the undersigned organizations. Plug to self: I wrote it.

The Honorable
Charles E. Schumer
313 Hart Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Schumer,

We, the undersigned Progressive, Civil Rights, Women's Rights and Advocacy groups, wish to commend you for the vision, vigilance and leadership you have shown in the national conversation regarding Judge Samuel Alito.

We are profoundly troubled by Samuel Alito's demonstrated and consistent record of opposition to a broad array of basic civil rights. We believe his views are pernicious to the fair and impartial administration of the law, and so urge you to vote in opposition to his nomination.

Judge Alito has authored opinions and, more frequently, dissents that clearly fall outside of the judicial mainstream on a number of issues of concern to us and our memberships: the right to choose, civil rights, voting rights, discrimination, and other areas where the Supreme Court has established vital protections.

We are also deeply troubled by the views Judge Alito has stated on the proper respective roles of the branches of government. It is clear from his writings that he sees few limitations in the Constitution on the scope of the powers the executive branch may see fit to arrogate to itself. For example, as the Washington Post reported on January 2nd , 2006, Alito argued in a 1986 memorandum that so-called Presidential Signing Statements should become routine instruments of the legislative process, thereby undermining the legislative powers vested by the Constitution in the Congress alone.

Against the backdrop of the current debate about warrantless National Security Agency wiretaps, extraordinary rendition, unlawful detentions, torture, and the scope of executive authority in general, we believe that this nomination deserves all the scrutiny a co-equal branch of government can and should muster.

This scrutiny should be additionally heightened, in our estimate, by the fact that Samuel Alito in recent weeks claimed to 'not recall' statements he had enthusiastically supported while applying for a position in the Reagan administration. Views and opinions do change; however, Alito's expressed views clearly and consistently inform his judicial decisions, which leads us to doubt the reliability of his statements abjuring them.

We believe that Judge Alito's full track record, as established by his extensive paper trail both as a judge and as a political appointee, demonstrates beyond any reasonable doubt that he considers the law as merely the most convenient means to the end of advancing an extreme right-wing ideology.

However, the constitutional role of the Supreme Court is not advocacy for one political ideology over another, or to elevate one branch of the government over the others, but the fair, consistent and transparent administration of the law. Therefore, our organizations have coalesced to oppose the confirmation of Judge Alito to the High Court. We believe that nominees should be firmly within the broad mainstream of American jurisprudence.

Samuel Alito is not.

We ask that you continue to hold Judge Alito to the highest standard of truthfulness and disclosure. The Senate has the right and the duty to exercise its own discretion when reviewing nominees to the bench. You have been a strong leader in defending this prerogative. We urge you to exercise your discretion and leadership by voting against this nomination, and to rally the majority of Senators in the cause of moderation, restraint and fairness on the Supreme Court.

Respectfully,

AAUW NYS
Central New York Citizens Action
Citizen Action NY
Citizen Action – NYC Chapter
Code Pink NY
CWA Local 1180
Gay Men’s Health Crisis
Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition
Housing Works – New York
Lambda Legal
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center of New York
NAACP – New York State
NARAL Pro-Choice NY
National Council of Jewish Women – New York Section
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
National Organization For Women – NYC
National Organization For Women – NYS
New Democratic Majority
People for the American Way
Planned Parenthood of New York City
Queers For Economic Justice
Reach Out America
Reproductive Choice Association
The Workman’s Circle/Arbeiter Ring – New York Region

DEC.15/ Phone banking against Alito with People for the American Way,
Thursday, 6-9 PM, 149 Fifth Avenue, 7th Floor. Call or email Tony Simone at
212-420-0440 x13 or tsimone@pfaw.org to volunteer. Russ Feingold has said
he’d filibuster. Even Schumer says he heard disturbing information, which
means they may sense an opening. The Congressional Black Caucus is standing
firm against Alito. Let’s hope we are able to hang tough.

HELP US SAVE THE SUPREME COURT AT WEEKLY PHONEBANKS EVERY WEDNESDAY every Wednesday until the Senate votes on Roberts’ nomination. 6:00-9:00 PM at the People For the American Way New York office, 149 Fifth Avenue at 21st Street, 7th Floor. To RSVP, please call Tony Simone at (212) 420-0440 x13, or email tsimone@pfaw.org. Please indicate whether you are willing to use your cell phone to make calls throughout NY State. We have many calls to make, but only a limited number of phone lines -- donating your minutes for this effort is a great help.