John Kerry's Statement on Judge Alito

Translation for thinking Americans in italics. Edited version - follow link for his full statement

JohnKerry.com - Official Web Site: "25 Democratic Senators joined our effort to filibuster the Alito nomination - that's more votes to filibuster the Alito nomination than there were votes against Justice Roberts nomination itself just a few months ago. A day later, 42 Senators voted against Alito's nomination. That's the highest number of votes against any Supreme Court nominee since Clarence Thomas in 1991.

Translation: We lost the fillibuster and we lost the vote by simple majority. According the constitution we have a new Supreme Court Justice and there's not a blame thing within the law that we can do about it. Trust me, we've investigated it completely. We threw as much sand in the gears as the law would allow.

It's hard to lose but it's important to fight for what we believe in. I want to thank the hundreds of thousands of you who signed our petitions, called your senators, wrote letters to the editor and, most important, refused to stand silent while President Bush worked to pack the highest court in the land with far right ideologues. We fought a fight that needed fighting. We made sure the nation knew the truth about the Alito nomination. We made sure America heard how a right wing ideological coup sandbagged Harriet Miers' nomination and replaced her with Judge Alito. No one will be able to say, in five to ten years, that he or she is surprised by the decisions Judge Alito makes from the bench. People who believe in privacy rights, who fight for the rights of the most disadvantaged, who believe in balancing the power between the President and Congress had to take a stand.

Translation: We didn't like Miers either but it's easier to dislike Alito because A) He was male and B) He actually got confirmed. Had Miers gotten confirmed, I would have been writing a similar email about her...but since she wasn't, I can fake regret and insist we would have confirmed her easily. Oh well. At least we've got a killer fundraiser issue. We'll be in fat city for '08 if we can keep Al Gore down on the farm.

We also made it clear to the Bush administration that no matter what they throw at us in 2006 -whether it's extreme nominees, special interest giveaways, shortsighted policy or Swift Boat-style attacks against Democratic candidates - we will never surrender. We will always fight back.

Translation: We will guarantee you, the American people, total gridlock until at least 2008 and probably beyond.

Now, we must be clear about something else. Winning the 2006 congressional elections is the only way to change the dangerous path George W. Bush has put us on. We need to defeat those Republicans who have overlooked this administration's incompetence, turned a blind eye to its failures, and lent a helping hand to its dangerous ideology.

Translation: We must be unclear about something else. Winning the 2006 congressional elections is the only way to continue the dangerous path we have for the unborn.

I look forward to fighting alongside you."

Translation: I look forward to fighting you.