Posted on 11/03/2005 6:14:01 AM PST by NCSteve
So much for stealth candidates.
So much for conciliation.
In nominating U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. of the Third Circuit to become an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, President Bush has chosen a far-right jurist with a well developed and well known record. In the process, Bush has exacerbated the nation's culture wars, setting off what is likely to be a long and ugly confirmation battle in Washington and around the nation.
Alito, whose legal opinions have earned him the nickname "Scalito" because they mirror those of the conservative Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, has all of the professional and academic qualifications that Bush's previous nominee, Harriet E. Miers, did not. At age 55, he's had a distinguished career in private law practice - including about a dozen appearances before the high court - and almost 15 years on the federal appellate court bench. He earned degrees from Princeton University and Yale Law School. No one questions his intelligence or legal knowledge.
Similarly, there are not likely to be questions about his personal demeanor. Unlike Scalia, Alito is described by his friends as a man of unusual humility and decency, someone who uses his considerable intellect to persuade and convince, not bludgeon.
But Alito's nomination is worth questioning because of his ideas on the law and how those ideas would alter the basic rights all Americans enjoy.
(Excerpt) Read more at journalnow.com ...
For what it's worth...
If they are miserable, JOB WELL DONE MR. PRESIDENT.
NC Ping?
Thanks.
Carlson Tucker's bow-tie was almost spinning the other night as he talked about a J. Alito opinion where he suggested private citizens should be able to own fully automatic weapons, without all the ATF rigamarole.
Anyone have a cite?
The more I hear about this nominee, the more I find there is to like.
I can't wait for the brawl to begin.
Anyone who subscribes to this rag should cancel their subscription immediately. De-fund the left.
In other words... A political litmus test.
Tell me this is not the only or even the largest newspaper in Winston-Salem.
In other words, the writer and his/her ilk intend to make the confirmation process "ugly". It is not correct to pin the blame for the "ugliness" on President Bush or on Alito's supporters - clearly they are not the ones who are going to force this into "ugliness". So, why not write an editorial against those who are making the process "ugly", rather than blaming Bush? (Rhetorical question only - don't expect editors or reporters to assign the blame where it truly belongs).
All they have is lies.
They are completely bankrupt.
Sadly, it is the only one. The general editor is an unapologetic Marxist. The editorial page editor, probably the author of this piece, is no better. Conservatives in our area bombard this fishwrap with letters, but only a very few ever survive the gaunlet.
He he, that was a good one! I'd hate to be in an argument with Justice Scalia, but I'd love to sit on the sidelines with an adult beverage and watch the show!
The basic rights of all Americans are those guaranteed by the Constitution. The Justices who are "altering" those rights -- which include the right to control the amendment process itself -- are the ones that she apparently prefers. She apparently likes Justices who make the Constitution mean whatever they want, and wipe their feet on that document.
Judge, soon to be Justice, Alito is the opposite. He will defend and obey the Constitution, as his record demonstrates. So this fool on this paper has her logic precisely backwards.
Congressman Billybob
I couldn't agree more, John.
[The President] "has provoked what will be a bitter fight with the rest of the nation he is supposed to serve."
I doubt that there will be all that much of a fight. Alito will handle himself well in his hearings, and when it comes to the floor of the Senate, he will get at least 50 Republican votes and more than 10 Democratic ones.
My hometown paper, the Charlotte Observer, is pretty consistently liberal, but they had a surprisingly mild, almost conciliatory, reaction to Judge Alito's nomination, as can be seen in Tuesday's lead editorial.
Alter basic rights? Most of the alterations of Constitutional rights I've seen have come from the left side of the court, such as with McCain-Feingold and Kelo.
Now, if you translate "basic rights" to mean "judicially-mandated right of a woman to kill her fetus", then we have drilled down to what this pinhead is talking about.
Oops, I see you had previously answered my question re the overall political leanings of the paper in post 13. That's too bad. Winston-Salem, despite being named for two brands of cigarettes (OK, the cigs were named for the town) is a pleasant burg, and clearly is conservative-ish overall.
Not worth worrying about, since newspapers are going the way of buggywhips and ice wagons.
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