I have serious concerns about Alito that have not been made clear, especially after the Specter/Alito meeting two days ago.
Have you seen the latest Drudge Report claiming that Alito went with the pro-choice side in 3 out of 4 decisions?
I'm really not as concerned about the SCOTUS upcoming decisions regarding abortion as I am about future decisions regarding gay marriage, conscription of private property for public use, and the subtle inclusion of European legal precedents in US Constitutional decisions. I think that Alito would stay away from European laws and treaties and am hopeful about the right to own property, but I'm not convinced that Alito wouldn't use the privacy argument from the Liberty Clause to overturn the will of many states regarding gay marriage.
I thought that made a bunch of sense.
If Alito is a proven originalist (I haven't heard anyone anywhere say otherwise), then you don't need to worry about property rights, or gay marriage, or European laws.
Methinks you fret too easily.............and believe Drudge too quickly.
There are two facets to the democratic strategy. First they want the right to turn on Alito for being to liberal. This guy as nicknamed Salito for being so like Scalia.
Some will say that He and Scalia will not always agree. Well Scalia and thomas don't always agree.
The Democrats learned their less in when opposing Ronald Reagan. They thought they could defeat Reagan by painting him as a right wingers right winger. They thought that would drive the middle away. It did not work.
What they have found is that they need to paint a person on the right as if he is a secret liberal. That works both ways. the liberals hate a fake liberal, and the right will turn on a fake liberal.
For Democrats it is the best possible attack on a conservative. The media knows the way to destroy someone on the right is to accuse them of being on the left.
The Democrats now know that had they painted Reagan as a closet Democrat that LBJ could love, Jimmy Carter would have served two terms.
The left will do the following. Before then hearings a new story painting Alito as a closet leftist will be published at least once a day.. To drive the right away from supporting Alito. The leftist senators will make statements that they may vote for Alito's confirmation That will make some of the right turn on Alito.
Then in the hearings they will express total surprise and attack Alito for being way too far right wing.
If they drive enough of the Right into opposing Alito the hearings and Drive the left into opposing Alito during the hearings Alito will be gone.