First things first, Hugh Hewitt has a poll running in the same vein as Patrick Ruffini’s polls. You can find it here.
So Alito was nominated and my first thought was if the ACLU hates the man chose by President Bush to serve on the SCOTUS:
?Judge Alito is one of the most accomplished and respected judges in America,? the president said in announcing Alito?s selection. ?He?s got a mastery of the law and a deep commitment to justice.? Bush exhorted the Senate to confirm his choice by the end of the year.
Then he has gotta be good.
?This is a pivotal moment in our nation?s history,? said Anthony D. Romero, the ACLU?s Executive Director. ?The administration is claiming unprecedented national security powers, reproductive rights are in jeopardy, the teaching of evolution is under attack, and we continue to struggle with a legacy of discrimination.
I started thinking “you know what would be even better self? If Pelosi hates Alito”
“Last week after Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination, I asked the President: Who was in charge? Today, the President answered: the radical conservative right is in charge of his Administration. Instead of seeking to unify the country with a nominee who would command wide consensus, the President again chose to submit to the dictates of the radical right. The President’s nomination of Judge Alito reflects weakness – the President is unable or unwilling to withstand pressure by an extreme element in our country, rather than acting as a leader of all the people.”
Ooh yeah, now we’re onto something….how about Schumer?
“Will Alito, like Rosa Parks, use his seat to change the course of history for the better, or will he return it to the injustice of the past?? Schumer asked.
“It?s sad that the president felt that he had to pick a nominee likely to divide America, instead of picking a nominee like Sandra Day O?Connor that had united America,? Schumer said.
Oh boy, now I’m excited! How about Dean?
President Bush’s nomination of Alito is not leadership, it is capitulation.
“Alito’s record suggests an activist judicial philosophy bent on rolling back the rights and freedoms that all Americans value. Alito has sought to limit the rights of women and people with disabilities in discrimination cases, demonstrated an open hostility to women’s privacy rights even in basic reproductive health matters, has a record of hostility toward immigrants, and tried to immunize employers from employment discrimination cases. It is particularly troubling that President Bush would nominate a judge who would reverse American progress and make the Supreme Court look less like America on the same day that most Americans are honoring the life and legacy of Rosa Parks.
Wow! Bush has hit a homerun, a trifecta, a slammer-roony….Perfecto President Bush.
Deep breath. Anyways, it sure does appear that Alito is a great candidate for the SCOTUS and the left will have a hard time filibustering this pick, although I wish they would so we can drop an A-Bomb. But alas, I believe he will sail through.
ACSBlog has some great information on his career as a litigator:
Judge Samuel Alito?s pedigree includes 12 appearances before the United States Supreme Court. Below is a list of the cases, in reverse chronological order, Judge Alito argued before the Supreme Court, all on behalf of the government as assistant Solicitor General.
National R.R. Passenger Corp. v. Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Ry. Co., 470 U.S. 421
The Court agreed with the government holding that the ?federal statute requiring private railroads to reimburse Amtrak for rail travel privileges that Amtrak provides to railroads’ past and present employees, and their dependents, held constitutional.?Atkins v. Parker, 472 U.S. 115
The Court agreed with the government holding that the ?notice advising food stamp recipients of a general change in the law affecting their benefits, without explaining its precise effect on individual recipients, held not to violate notice requirements of federal law or regulations or of due process clause.?…
The First Amendment Center has an analysis of Judge Alito’s career in 1st Amendment cases:
Today President George W. Bush nominated Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. to serve as an associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Having served 15 years on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Alito is a nominee with considerable judicial experience and an equally extensive record of published opinions on a variety of constitutional and statutory topics.
Importantly, those topics include his views on the First Amendment as reflected in his 20 majority opinions (14 freedom of expression, seven freedom of religion and various per curiam opinions) during his tenure on the 3rd Circuit. There are also the First Amendment cases in which he participated but did not write an opinion.
A preliminary examination of his First Amendment opinions suggests that Alito is: (1) quite protective of several categories of expression, including religious and commercial expression; (2) far less protective of First Amendment claims raised by prisoners; (3) guardedly protective of First Amendment rights in defamation cases, and (4) generally concerned about prior restraints on expression.
My finale to this post is from Andy McCarthy:
I’d like to note this before it gets lost in the swarm of deserved coverage about Judge Alito’s merits. The Wall Street Journal reports this morning that White House Counsel Harriett Miers was with the President over the weekend, helping him sort through the available choices and settle on a nominee for the Supreme Court seat that was dangled before her up until her honorable withdrawal last week.
That had to be a very hard thing to do, but judging from the apparent choice, she did it with her characteristic professionalism.
I don’t know her, but she sure sounds like a class act. The President and the country should be grateful for her service.
Other’s blogging include:
Mike’s America posts about the Alito family picture with ole’ liar in the background.
Bookworm Room posts about her opinion on Judge Alito.
Jason Coleman with Spector’s recent idiotic comments.
Moonbat Central with some more examples of Democrat idiocy.
The Hedgehog Blog with a big reason why Alito is good for SCOTUS.
Dean’s World with the catfights ahead.
Stop The ACLU with the ACLU’s reactions.
Suitably Flip posts about the RNC Chairman conference call today.
Lifelike Pundits posts about the abortion debate.
See author page
Thanks for the link, Curt.
You know, I find it very funny that the liberals feel so betrayed. Our legal system has become extremely binary. A nominee could please only one side — liberal or conservative — and it’s almost funny to think that a conservative president, in this binary world, would attempt to locate a candidate who would please the liberals.
I have about the same reaction to Alito, Curt. The libs are furious and the conservatives happy. That alone tells me it was a good choice!
And kudos to Miers, too, for her evident lack of bitterness.