Bush nominates Samuel Alito

Can we keep this about Judge Alito?
I am about as anti-abortion as it's possible to be.
But Dumnezeu there's a lot more (I hope) to a judicial nominee than abortion views.
At least I sure hope there is--and with Judge Alito I am confident there is.

 

Re: So much for being a "pretty average Democrat".

Possible they just don't know enough about him yet. He's no publicity hound, which is actually a plus but could be affecting people's opinions. Even now the press keeps throwing around that "Scalito" nick and misrepresenting his decisions by telling only half the story, regardless of the particular issue involved. If people would just go read some samples of his opinions on various issues they would see that this is a fair and reasonable judge.

Kit

 

Judge Alito also suffers the misfortune of being nominated by an increasingly unpopular President. A significant chunk of the population so hates and distrusts the President that we automatically assume the worst from him at all times.

Unfortunate, really. The President's last few picks have been good ones, I think.

 

The President's unpopularity was reflected in the Nov. 8 election results - GOP defeats in NJ and Virginia gubernatorial contests as well as the defeat of several California initiatives backed by Gov. Schwarzenegger.

Following the Miers withdrawal, the conservatives called for the President to nominate a "staunch conservative" candidate and urged the GOP senators to invoke "the nuclear option" to confirm the new Associate Justice. My posts in a different thread advocated the President nominating a moderate compromise candidate that would be able to be confirmed by a bipartisan Senate. While the Republicans have a majority in the Senate, it is not a filibuster-proof (60 votes) majority and thus some compromise is necessary.

However, that apparently isn't good enough for the Republican "base" (an imprecise term at best that really means "those who scream the loudest") who were calling for the "nuclear option" and the resultant permanent change in the character of the Senate. Well, after the Election Day defeat of Republican candidates, the continuing problems in Iraq, the Scooter Libby indictment, etc., which Republican Senators from non-Republican stronghold states are going to go along with the "nuclear option?" Do you think that the Maine Senators (Susan Collins and Olympia Snow) or Lincoln Chaffee (RI), among others, are going to risk their political futures backing the "nuclear option?" The Republicans also know that they can't count on Sen. McCain who has a well-deserved reputation for independence.

In many respects, it is a shame that a fine jurist such as Judge Alito may end up being the victim of an anti-Administration backlash. Nonetheless, the GOP brought it on themselves by characterizing the nominee as a "Scalia conservative." The President does have the right to nominate the candidate that he best feels will serve the country but the Senate also has the right to "advise and consent" on the selection.

 

Maybe not, though. Judge Alito IS a good choice, I think. Perhaps my beloved Democratic Senators will be able to see beyond their own noses and conform him on his own merits.

That's what I'd like to see, anyway.