Eminent Domain

Matt Drudge is running the headline (siren included) that John Kerry is calling for the filibuster of Judge Alito. I can't find a link supporting it yet. If this is true and they go through with it... wow.

EDIT: Link's up. Is John Kerry this foolish to provoke Frist's use of the rule change?

He announced his decision Wednesday to a group of Democratic senators, urging they join him, Henry said. Kerry also has the support of his fellow Massachusetts senator, Democrat Edward Kennedy.

Yeah, that's shocking.

EDIT AGAIN: Here's Byron York's take...

From a Senate source: Kerry's call for a filibuster comes after his leadership, that is, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, decided there won't be one. In other words, Kerry was making a brave, Kos-friendly pronouncement in the total confidence that a filibuster will never happen.

Kerry is also currently in Switzerland. That might make any sort of Mr. Smith antics difficult.

EDIT 3: Looks like Frist filed the cloture motion. That means that the cloture vote will be at 4:30 PM Monday and the final vote will be at 11:30 AM Tuesday (I'll be watching via C-SPAN's video feed). Senator Reid has thrown in the towel. Kerry's "filibuster" was just a bone thrown to the more rabid portions of his base. Quite a throw too, considering it was from across an ocean.

My only question is about what happens after the vote. Is Bush going to commission Justice Alito right away, then have him sworn in, and maybe show up at the State of the Union? At least one Justice shows up every year. I think Breyer was there last year. It will be interesting to see what happens.