Alito 2; Democrats Zip
Wednesday January 11, 2006
Click here for an Easy Print Version
From Detroit, Michigan
Last Friday, when I was on CNN with Paul Begala, substitute anchor John King said:
"I want to read you a quote, here, from Senator Ted Kennedy � This is what he told the Washington Times: "I'm concerned that Judge Alito's statements, writings, and decisions suggest an unmistakable tendency to favor strong executive authority."
To which I responded:
"I have to tell you that of all the people on the Hill who should be careful about looking back 20 or 25 years into what somebody may have done or said 25 years ago, Ted Kennedy is probably at the top of that list."
To which Begala responded:
"Senator Kennedy gets a six-year contract renewed every six years by the people of Massachusetts. They have passed on his integrity for 42 years, and it is beyond question."
Not bad for old Paul, but that "integrity beyond question" business is just a little suspect.
Here's the problem for the Democrats in the Senate and over at the Democratic National Committee HQ: The only people who think Judge Alito shouldn't be confirmed are the same people who think John Kerry really won Ohio.
The Associate Press' Tom Raum wrote leading his analysis:
Samuel Alito is no John Roberts. Roberts wooed senators of both parties with a dazzling command of legal precedent and social ease to win confirmation as Chief Justice of the United States.
Ah! The new standard Democrats are demanding (in addition to swearing he will never, ever, ever do anything other than fully and unquestioningly endorse the National Abortion Rights Action League's position) that a Supreme Court Justice must be able to double for Cary Grant.
By the way, how did it come to pass that "a woman's right to choose" became code for a woman's right to have an abortion?
We have previously discussed the matter of the National Abortion Rights Action League having officially changed its name to its initials, NARAL, so why are the pro-abortion folks so insecure of their position as to need code words to state it?
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are trying to trap Judge Alito (or just plain wear him down) into making a mistake which they can then use to justify a filibuster on the Senate floor, but it's not working.
Jill Zuckman of the Chicago Tribune:
Alito's smooth responses frustrated Democrats as they sought to pin him down on past statements, speeches and legal opinions.
"I don't think we've heard anything from the nominee except statements that every nominee would make," complained Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who fruitlessly tried to pin Alito down on his personal opinion about whether the Constitution allows for the right to an abortion. "Every nominee would say, 'Of course I will keep an open mind.' You don't expect a nominee to say, 'No, no, no, my mind's closed.'"
The only closed mind in the Schumer-Alito colloquy was Schumer's.
Democrats in the Senate, according to Bill House of the Arizona Republic, "are embracing a concerted strategy to emphasize and underscore how Alito is no [Justice Sandra Day] O'Connor.
The Republicans, one hopes, are smart enough not to allow the Democrats to make that an issue. I seem to remember the Kerry campaign suggesting that the election in November, 2004 was important because the winner would likely get to nominate at least two Supreme Court Justices.
Well, the Kerry campaign was right. Elections, as we like to remind each other when we're feeling especially pithy, have consequences. One of them is, neither Joe Biden, Ted Kennedy, nor Chuck Schumer get to pick the nominee.
Going back to that CNN appearance, last Friday, I said that these hearings would not change two votes. When I said that, I was willing to accept one vote each way. But based upon Judge Alito's excellent performance so far, if any votes change they will likely be from "Nay" to "Yea."
Yea!
On the Secret Decoder Ring page today: A link to the CNN transcript; and really meaningless Mullfoto and a Catchy Caption of the Day.
--END --
Copyright © 2006 Richard A. Galen
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