Senator John Kerry and others are threatening a filibuster. Oh boy, here we go again...

From FOXnews:

WASHINGTON — Massachusetts Sens. John Kerry and Edward Kennedy, along with a small number of other Senate Democrats, have threatened a filibuster to block the vote for Judge Samuel Alito's confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court, FOX News has learned.

"Judge Alito has consistently made it harder for Americans to have their day in court. He routinely defers to the power of the government, no matter how extreme. And he doesn’t believe women have a right to privacy that’s protected by the Constitution," Kerry said in a statement.

"The president has every right to nominate Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. It’s our right and our responsibility to oppose him vigorously and to fight against this radical upending of the Supreme Court," he added before announcing he would return to Washington early on Friday from Davos, Switzerland, where a Senate delegation was attending the World Economic Forum.

But a senior Democratic leadership aide told FOX News on Thursday that Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and a majority of Democrats "do not support this action by Kerry and Kennedy. It is not politically advantageous for us."

The Senate's No. 2 Democrat said earlier in the day that while he opposes Alito, he thought it unlikely that Democrats would try to mount a filibuster.

"Having made a count, I have come to the conclusion that it is highly unlikely that a filibuster would succeed," said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

"There's been adequate time for people to debate," Reid added.

But on the Senate floor late Thursday, Kennedy said support is growing for a filibuster, and Durbin, along with Sens. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and Paul Sarbanes of Maryland would back an attempt.

Two Democrats announced Thursday that they would vote for the 55-year-old Alito: Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia and Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota. Both represent states that Bush carried in the 2004 presidential election.

In a speech on the Senate floor, Byrd, the longest-serving Democrat in the Senate, said he refused "simply to toe the party line when it comes to Supreme Court justices."

"My considered judgment ... leads me to believe [Alito] to be an honorable man, a man who loves his country, loves his Constitution and a man who will give of his best," said Byrd, who faces re-election in November. "Can we really ask for more?"

Johnson said that while he was "troubled" by some of Alito's views, "I cannot accept an argument that his views are so radical that the Senate is justified in denying his confirmation."

He also said he would oppose any filibuster of the nomination.