Liberal Talk Radio

The vote on Roberts came down pretty much how I expected, 78-22.

The Slant wonders (happy birthday, man!!) why Hillary would vote no:

Is puzzling. Kerry’s a no-brainer. He’s obviously sticking left. But I don’t get Hillary here– she has her liberal bona fides. She doesn’t need liberal cred. She needs centrist cred. And by most accounts, Roberts is a pretty good match for Rhenquist’s seat.

I think the simple answer is that, while Hillary does indeed have generalized “liberal bona fides,” she’s going to need 110% of the support of women’s groups for the rest of her political life. And that means “no” on any pro-life judges. She has little to lose with her “no” vote. It’s not like her opponents (either in ‘06 or ‘08 are going to use her vote against her, really. They already have enough anti-Hillary ammo that’s much more lethal than, “she voted against a guy you’ve never even heard of, and on the off chance that you did hear of him, you probably have no idea where he stands! But remember, Hillary voted against him!” Not exactly the kind of stuff you can put on a bumper sticker.

Taken like that, it’s a no-brainer as well.