Chafee to Vote No

Senator Lincoln Chafee, facing both a conservative primary challenger and Democratic opponents in his upcoming reelection bid, will announce this morning that he's voting against the confirmation of Sam Alito. Taking the same position that I have, however, Chafee said he'll oppose an attempt to filibuster the confirmation. Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine now is the only Republican senator not to publicly state how she'll vote on the nomination.

The cloture motion on Alito's nomination will come up for a vote this afternoon; if it attains a 60-vote majority (as it presumably will), the final vote on confirmation will come tomorrow morning.