From the NewsMax.com Staff

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Hillary Clinton Backs Alito Filibuster

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New York Sen. Hillary Clinton told a Buffalo radio station Friday morning that she hadn't decided whether to support a move to filibuster the confirmation vote next week for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito.

But by the end of the day, Mrs. Clinton had made up her mind to join the doomed effort to block the conservative judge, which was launched Thursday by Sen. John Kerry.

In a statement posted to her web site late Friday, Mrs. Clinton announced: "Because I do not think Judge Alito would advance the principles Americans hold most dear, I oppose his nomination and support efforts to block his confirmation.”

Mrs. Clinton claimed: "History will show that Judge Alito’s nomination is the tipping point against constitutionally-based freedoms and protections we cherish as individuals and as a nation. He would roll back decades of progress, and roll over when confronted with an administration too willing to play fast and loose with the rules."

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  Clinton's support came even as Sen. Minority Leader Harry Reid announced that a filibuster was sure to fail, saying that "everyone knows" Senate Democrats couldn't muster the 40 votes needed to block Alito.

Political analysts said Clinton's move was driven by presidential politics. "What Democratic primary voter is going to vote for her if she didn't do everything to oppose Alito?" Jennifer Duffy, who monitors the Senate for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, told Newsday. "She had to join John Kerry."

Recent polls show Mrs. Clinton's support with her liberal base has begun to slip over her perceived support for the Iraq war and other efforts to pass herself off as a moderate.

The latest bad news comes from an online Newsday poll, which asked: "Would you vote for Hillary Clinton if she ran for president in 2008?"

With more than 15,000 readers responding by Saturday morning, 60 percent said "no."

Only 33 percent said they would support Mrs. Clinton's presidential bid.

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