Alito: Up To The Task…
…and, we might add, taking no guff from Teddy Kennedy:
…[A]t…times, he silenced Democrats by the directness of his responses. Asked by Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts about an endorsement of “the supremacy of the elected branches of government” in the 1985 job application, Judge Alito simply disavowed it.
“It’s an inapt phrase,” he said, “and I certainly didn’t mean that literally at the time, and I wouldn’t say that today. The branches of government are equal.”
Mr. Kennedy followed up. “So you’ve changed your mind?” he asked.
“No, I haven’t changed my mind, senator,” Judge Alito responded. “But the phrasing there is very misleading and incorrect.”
The Democrats made no progress whatsoever:
If Senate Democrats had set out to portray Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. as extreme on issues ranging from abortion to government surveillance of citizens, they ran up against an elusive target on Tuesday: Samuel A. Alito Jr. For nearly eight hours, Judge Alito was placid, monochromatic and, it seemed, mostly untouchable.
There will no filibuster. Alito will be confirmed, and the Coalition vindicated on the only stage that matters…
So what was Alito’s answer here? You seem to imply that he somehow lambasted Kennedy, but what was his answer? That he didn’t think enough about what he was saying to actually come up with phrasing that represented what he really thought? Sorry, that’s nowhere near good enough for me.
I don’t mean to imply that he lambasted Kennedy, merely that he skillfully dodged the trap – I think it’s pretty obvious Kennedy was getting set for an “Oh, you changed your mind…what else might you change your mind about? Heavy burden…equality…diversity…” type speech…
The process, as it has evolved over the years, is a farce whereby Senators ask self-serving, grandstanding questions and nominees dodge by giving inspecific, vague answers. The Bork hearings set the stage by establishing the ability to pursue an aggressive line of attack and the Ginsberg hearings created the now standard line of defense.
It is a sham and a collossal waste of time. Alito will be approved, and rightly so as demonstrated by the ABA’s rating of his qualifications and fitness.
I thought Chuck Schumer scored quite a bit more when he hammered Alito on whether Roe was correctly decided.
I really wanted to hear Judge Alito just say that however much he’d like to give a direct answer to this question, there was no question that this was an issue which would continue to come before the Court (just look at Senator Specter’s most impressive list of cases in which the issue has been before the Court! ) and therefore not one he could answer directly.
However, just getting Judge Alito to look a bit evasive on abortion isn’t going to substantially hurt his chance of confirmation, but points were scored. (Then again, he’d been going for nine hours straight, while Chuck Schumer was fresh…)
In the second day, we’re moving to Senators making statements that are intended either for their electorate or to send a message to the Supreme Court (Senator Specter has specifically said that the latter is what he’s doing…) It’s all over but the voting.
Alito Confirmation Hearings Made For TV Movie?
Okay, it’s no surprise that Hollywood is overwhelmingly liberal, including late night talk show hosts. Conan O’Brien is no exception, but he can still be hilarious. I particularly love when he has a bit about a (fake) upcoming made for…
Alito Too Smart For Democrats and other news
At least that seems to be the general consensus.
Personally I think an attempt to block a nominee to the court for ideological reasons is wrong. However this dance that is being performed now is great for Democracy imo. Judge Alito is proving to the…
[...] From the Right: Decision08, Ankle Biting Pundits, As Usual Alexandra from All Things Beautiful is particularly insightful and thorough. [...]