Democrats are hoping to use Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito's "conservative record as a federal appeals court judge in Philadelphia to drive a wedge between Republicans and swing voters who could be critical in next year's midterm elections," the Wall Street Journal reports.
"Republicans hope to cast Judge Alito as a much-needed tempering voice in a judiciary that has been running roughshod over religious liberties and community values."
Looming over the pending nomination fight, however, is the filibuster, which "can cut both ways. To block the White House nominee could play well with the Democratic Party base but it also could expose vulnerable incumbents to the same kind of obstructionist charges that helped bring down former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota in 2004."
Even if Democrats want to stage a filibuster, "it is not at all certain that he could succeed. That decision now lies mostly in the hands of the seven Democrats who joined the bipartisan Gang of 14 last spring" to end the filibusters "that had blocked some of Mr. Bush's appellate court nominees."
As a result, Roll Call notes the White House "launched a charm offensive on Senate Democrats from conservative-leaning states" to win their support for Alito. The New York Times says early focus "on moderate Democrats from conservative states reflects an early recognition that the debate could grow into a Democratic filibuster - and a Republican effort to overcome it by changing the Senate rules."
But the Washington Post notes "it is not assured that the Republicans will stick together. More-liberal Senate Republicans who support abortion rights have kept a cautious distance from Alito, and Democrats will try to peel them away from the fold."
