The senator has not said whether he will vote to confirm the Supreme Court nominee, but says he will vote to break any stall tactic by Democrats.

01:00 AM EST on Saturday, January 28, 2006

BY JOHN E. MULLIGAN
Journal Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee, under pressure as one of the last senators undecided on Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr.'s fitness for the Supreme Court, has committed himself to help fellow Republicans break a last-ditch Democratic filibuster of the nomination.

But with the conservative Alito likely to be seated on the high court as soon as Tuesday, Chafee's stance has drawn attacks from his opponents in both parties, underlining the incumbent's dilemma on difficult Senate votes in this election year.

Democratic challenger Sheldon Whitehouse says he sees "political pressure" at work on Chafee, who said during his 2000 Senate campaign that he would not vote for a nominee who did not pledge to affirm the landmark Supreme Court decision -- Roe v. Wade -- that legalized abortion.

Chafee is "trying to find a way out, between his promise on the one hand, and the pressure from his leadership on the other," said Whitehouse, a former attorney general, referring to the Senate Republican leaders who have made Chafee's reelection a top priority.

Republican challenger Stephen P. Laffey said, "The sad thing is, Mr. Chafee has made himself irrelevant to the process." Chafee is still on the fence as the nomination moves toward a full Senate vote, so Republicans "have got enough votes to confirm with him, and they've got enough votes to confirm without him," said Laffey, the mayor of Cranston. "What specific information is he waiting for?"

Where the senator's opponents depicted indecision, Chafee spokesman Stephen Hourahan portrayed a deliberate approach to the Alito vote. "He has taken a long time to do due diligence," Hourahan said. Through Hourahan, Chafee declined to answer the commentary from his challengers.

Sen. Jack Reed announced his opposition to Alito's confirmation earlier this week.

Chafee, who disappointed abortion-rights supporters by voting to seat Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. in September, has hinted that he might hold Alito to a tougher standard on that issue.

Chafee has noted that whereas Roberts replaced an abortion opponent, the late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, Alito would replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who has often cast the swing vote in narrow rulings against restrictions on abortion. Alito's record on the appeals court leaves "no doubt" that he would move the court to the right on abortion, Chafee said in November.

Through the confirmation process, Senate Democrats and liberal interest groups have been frustrated in their efforts to ignite opposition to Alito, 55, a New Jersey native who has served on a Pennsylvania-based federal appeals court since 1990.

On Thursday, however, Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry announced plans to lead a filibuster against Alito's nomination, despite the lack of a united Democratic front behind the delaying tactic.

A Senate vote to shut off the filibuster is set for Monday, with the vote on Alito's confirmation slated for Tuesday. Chafee has long signaled his worry that a filibuster against Alito would gridlock the Senate. Hourahan reaffirmed Thursday that the senator would join fellow Republicans in voting to shut off debate. Yesterday leaders of both parties said the Republicans would get more than the 60 votes needed to do so.

Whitehouse and Secretary of State Matt Brown, another Democratic candidate for the Senate, said that Chafee's position on the filibuster was a form of support for Alito and therefore contradicted his 2000 campaign pledge on abortion rights.

Laffey, charging that Chafee is simply trying to appease the Republicans, questioned whether Chafee would "knuckle under to pressure from the extremist groups" that oppose such restrictions as requiring girls to tell parents when they plan to get abortions. Laffey portrays himself as personally opposed to abortion but reconciled to the fact that legal abortion is a settled issue.

Chafee plans to announce his position on Alito's nomination Monday.

jmulligan@belo-dc.com / (202) 661-8423