11.01.05
A Sigh of Relief
Today I’m breathing a sigh of relief as president Bush named judge Samuel Alito to replace justice Sandra Day O’Conner on the Supreme Court. Based on what I’ve heard today, the conservatives in America (Democrats, Independents and Republicans) are virtually unaminous behind Alito. The strong opposition by the liberals (primarily all Democrats) has been fierce. Their desparation shows how inconsistent and hypocritical they are. They have argued on many occasions how president Clinton’s judicial nominees deserved an up or down vote. Now they want to make sure that Alito is not “too conservative” or “out of the mainstream of America.” Being listening carefully because you will hear these talking points repeated thousands of times and willingly broadcast by the ultra-liberal, truly out of the mainstream, media. What’s so amazing is that the Republicans voted overwhelmingly to confirm justice Ginsberg. Keep in mind that most who voted for her vehemently disagree with her philosophy of liberalism.
I’m also relieved that we are no longer trying to get Harriet Miers confirmed. I agree with Michael Medved that this will likely go down in history as one of president Bush’s biggest mistakes. I know that I initially supported Miers but my position has changed dramatically over the last couple of weeks. The more I learned about her, the more concerned I became. As a conservative I do not want to hear arguments like, “she broke the glass ceiling,” or “she’s been a trusted advisor,” or even “I know Harriet Miers and she will make a great justice.” That just doesn’t cut it for me.
Notice the difference in the approach taken when announcing judge Alito. In president Bush’s opening remarks he said, “Judge Alito is one of the most accomplished and respected judges in America, and his long career in public service has given him an extraordinary breadth of experience.” He went on to say, “As a Justice Department official, federal prosecutor and judge on the United States Court of Appeals, Sam Alito has shown a mastery of the law, a deep commitment of justice, and he is a man of enormous character. He’s scholarly, fair-minded and principled, and these qualities will serve our nation well on the highest court of the land.”
For those who would like to bring up judicial experience as being of prime importance: “Judge Alito has served with distinction on that court for 15 years and now has more prior judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in more than 70 years.” Furthermore, Judge Alito has argued 12 Supreme Court cases and argued at least two dozen court of appeals cases and handled at least 50 other cases.
Most importantly: Judge Alito was nominated by President George H. Bush to the federal bench in 1990. He was unanimously confirmed by the Senate.
My prediction at this point is that the Democrats will yell and scream, the gang of 14 will do a bunch of TV interviews discussing how we need to approach this caustiously, and when he finally gets a chance for an up or down vote he will be confirmed by roughly 74-26.
Your comments are welcome.