Once Judge Alito becomes Justice Alito, there's no turning back the Senate confirmation vote. We don't get to "take a mulligan" when choosing a Supreme Court Justice. . . . Will it matter if we speak up after the Supreme Court has granted the executive the right to use torture, or to eavesdrop without warrants? Will it matter if we speak up only after a woman's right to privacy has been taken away? Will history record what we say after the courthouse door is slammed in the faces of women, minorities, the elderly, the disabled, and the poor? No. History will record what we say and what we do now.--John Kerry, 31 Jan

The march towards knocking down the walls of discrimination that permitted us to pass a 1964 Civil Rights Act in public accommodations so people whose skin was not white could go into restaurants and go into hotels. Public accommodation. The 1965 act for voting rights. 1968 Act for public accommodations. The 1973 act to say that women are going to be treated equally. The Americans with Disabilities Act that said the disabled are going to be part of the American family. All of that is the march to progress. And my friends, the one organization, the one institution that protects it is the Supreme Court of the United States.--Ted Kennedy, 31 Jan