I have long thought that the Roberts confirmation has been a foregone conclusion, basically from the spin in the media in the first 24 hours after he was announced.
But, I kept reading things here that led me to believe that there was some hope that he might be defeated, or at least vigorously opposed.
Two stories on the AP wire today; I am convinced it is completely over.
The
first is primarily about Specter endorsing Roberts, but the key sentence reads that:
"All 55 Senate Republicans are expected to vote to confirm Roberts, and so are a large number of the 45-member Senate Democratic Caucus."
Now, I have no idea how the AP has any idea what the count of Democrats is going to be, or what they mean by a large number. But to state this without equivocation, tells me that their reporters feel pretty certain which way the winds are blowing. Equally important is that Reid is apparently telling members to vote their conscience- which to mean equals- we are losing this, so vote whatever you think is best for you.
To me, the point is made even more clearly in the second story. Here, the key paragraph is the unnamed Democrat who states that the debate amongst the Democratic leadership is whether it would be better to confirm Roberts with seven or eight Democratic votes or with thirty votes. Clearly, either way, he gets in.
But, more telling is Schumer's quote- that he doesn't think that Roberts is going to be a particularly big issue in the 2006 elections. That sure doesn't sound to me like a party leader preparing to go to the mattresses over this fight- in fact, it sounds like a party leader who has concluded that the American people as a whole like Roberts and that if he is an issue in 2006 it hurts the Democrats.
Like I said, it's over. Time to move onto O'Connor.