Posted on 01/11/2006 7:24:25 PM PST by SmithL
A group cleverly called People for the Alito Way says the Associated Press wrongly characterized its an episode at Samuel Alito's hearing today that left his wife in tears.
The AP story, which followed an exclusive from the Drudge Report, placed the blame on a Republican senator rather than committee Democrats -- a fact the conservative group says is just plain wrong.
After taking a steady beating from Senate Democrats today, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R.-S.C.) offered an apology to Alito. (Read the full transcript.)
"Judge Alito, I am sorry that you've had to go through this," Graham said. "I am sorry that your family has had to sit here and listen to this."
Alito's wife, Martha-Ann Bomgardner, at this point had begun to choke up. She exited the hearing room and returned after a break holding her husband's hand.
But, according to the AP's account, it was a comment Graham made moments earlier that triggered Bomgardner's emotions.
"And really what I would look at to believe you're not -- and I'm going to be very honest with you -- is: How have you lived your life? Are you really a closet bigot?" Graham asked rhetorically.
The AP story reports:
"Martha-Ann Bomgardner, who had sat behind her husband for hours of questioning over several days, left as her husband was being questioned by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
"'Are you really a closet bigot?' Graham asked Alito. The nominee said no, and Graham said, "No sir, you’re not."
Commenting on the AP story, Coalition for a Fair Judiciary President Kay Daly said: “Mrs. Alito has shown grace under pressure after months of abuse at the hands of well-funded, left wing organizations and their Democratic minions on the Senate Judiciary Committee,” said Kay Daly. For the Associated Press to misrepresent these events in an attempt to smear Republican Senator Lindsey Graham sets a new low in the already subterranean level of journalistic standards on display in Judge Alito’s confirmation process.”
Mr. Bluey is editor of Human Events Online.
Yes, the press seems to have missed that Cheney wanted to punch Edwards in the face for that stupid crack.
Graham has been a great defender of Alito in the past two days, entering long speeches praising him and criticizing Dems.
The way he went about his question today was akward because he took forever to get to the "no sir, you are not." If you didn't know any better (and it was obvious by his facial expression it was not a seriou question), you would have wondered if he was actually wondering if Mr. Alito was such.
However, his heart was in the right place, and when he started tearing up defending Alito and praising him using comments from others, THAT is when Mrs. Alito started really losing it.
You are wrong to blame Graham. He has sometimes been on the wrong side, but he is with us on this judicial nomination matter and filibusters as well. He is not a RINO, and it makes me angry to have a friendly pro-Alito voice disparaged so.
CBS ripped the Dems about this one, so yes, Graham did a brilliant thing today by exposing the Dems as mean bullies.
When there is no room in hell you have mutant zombies from the dawn of the dead. They have to be stopped or they will devour everything in their path. The irony of it is that the Fourth Estate, that thrives in liberty, seeks to suck out the life of all who differ from its dogma.
what do you mean, he took too long?
in fact, he ran over alito's answer:
The issue, whether the group's records housed at the Library of Congress ought to be turned over to the committee. In the end, it all got resolved. Senate staff got to see the records and the mostly unremarkable confirmation hearing of Sam Alito droned on, until spectators were reawakened by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
Graham was at it again with prosecutor tricks he learned in the military. He has this way of getting to the point.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Are you really a closet bigot?
JUDGE SAMUEL ALITO, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE NOMINEE: I'm not any kind of a bigot, I'm not.
GRAHAM: No, sir, you're not.
GRAHAM: If you don't mind the suspicious nature that I have is that you may be saying that because you want to get on the Supreme Court; that you're disavowing this now because it doesn't look good.
And really what I would look at to believe you're not -- and I'm going to be very honest with you -- is: How have you lived your life? Are you really a closet bigot?
ALITO: I'm not any kind of a bigot, I'm not.
GRAHAM: No, sir, you're not. And you know why I believe that? Not because you just said it -- but that's a good enough reason, because you seem to be a decent, honorable man. I have got reams of quotes from people who have worked with you, African American judges -- I've lost my quotes.
```It appears Mrs Alito started to cry minutes before Senator Graham asked her husband if he was a bigot```
because of what he was saying before:
GRAHAM: Were you a member of a selective eating society?
ALITO: No, I was not.
GRAHAM: Did people not like you or you just didn't apply?
(LAUGHTER)
ALITO: I didn't apply.
GRAHAM: Well, let me tell you who did apply. Donald Rumsfeld was a member of a selective eating society at Princeton. And that's an interesting comment, I thought. Woodrow Wilson. Jim Leach, good friend of mine over in the House.
Mitch Daniels, the governor of Indiana, was a member of a nonselective eating society. Senator Claiborne Pell was a member of nonselective eating societies.
And other Princeton alumni who are members of Congress could not verify their participation or lack thereof in eating clubs, including Senator Sarbanes, Bond, Frist and Representative Marshall.
GRAHAM: And I promise you I'll get to the bottom of that before this is all done.
(LAUGHTER)
Now, this organization that was mentioned very prominently earlier in the day, did you ever write an article for this organization?
ALITO: No, I did not.
GRAHAM: OK.
And some quotes were shown, from people who did write for this organization, that you disavowed. Do you remember that exchange?
ALITO: I disavow them. I deplore them. They represent things that I have always stood against and I can't express too strongly...
GRAHAM: If you don't mind the suspicious nature that I have is that you may be saying that because you want to get on the Supreme Court; that you're disavowing this now because it doesn't look good.
And really what I would look at to believe you're not -- and I'm going to be very honest with you -- is: How have you lived your life? Are you really a closet bigot?
ALITO: I'm not any kind of a bigot, I'm not.
GRAHAM: No, sir, you're not. And you know why I believe that? Not because you just said it -- but that's a good enough reason, because you seem to be a decent, honorable man. I have got reams of quotes from people who have worked with you, African American judges -- I've lost my quotes.
Judge Higginbotham -- I don't know where they're at. But glowing quotes about who you are, the way you've lived your life; law clerks, men and women, black and white, your colleagues who say that Sam Alito, whether I agree with him or not, is a really good man.
You know why I believe you when you say that you disavow those quotes? Because the way you have lived your life and the way you and your wife are raising your children.
Let me tell you this: Guilt by association is going to drive good men and women away from wanting to sit where you're sitting. And we're going to go through a bit of this ourselves as congressmen and senators.
People are going to take a fact that we got a campaign donation from somebody who's found out to be a little different than we thought they were -- and our political opponent's going to say, "Aha, I got you!"
And we're going to say, "Wait a minute. I didn't know that. I didn't take the money for that reason."
And you know what? I'm going to believe these senators and congressmen for the most part, because that's the way we do our business. We meet people here every day. We have photos taken with people -- and sometimes you wish you didn't have your photo taken.
But that doesn't mean that you're a bad person because of that association.
Judge Alito, I am sorry that you've had to go through this. I am sorry that your family has had to sit here and listen to this.
I think the MSM is deliberately confusing the facts of the issue. This DemonRATic gang bang of Martha Alito's husband throughout the hearings has had its defining moment with her reaction to the truth that Senator Graham so clearly outlined in his words. Senator Graham was telling it like it is with a clear voice. Upon hearing the way Senator Graham painted the truth with such photographic perfection, the response by Martha was so telling of the despicable treatment she felt had been dealt by these demonic Senators, that the press is desperately trying to bury it. They will not allow the public to feel sympathy for Martha. That is not in the script.
There is no confusion in anyone's mind who watched the hearings as to what happened.
Anyone notice how the C-Span cameras have tried to avoid showing the faces of Alito's family in the background?
Libs on another board are now claiming that the crying is a sign of spousal abuse.....
I just about hit the floor laughing at that one!!
Just goes to prove that there is NO low that a Lib/dem will not sink to and try to score political points....
It would be funny if it weren't so damn sad........
Here's how today's New York Times reports it:
"The Democrats' questions and implications about her husband's record appeared to get to Judge Alito's wife, Martha-Ann. She began crying as Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, defended her husband's character and rejected any suggestion that his membership in the alumni group made him a bigot, Mrs. Alito retreated to an anteroom, sobbing for some minutes.
"Let me tell you, this guilt by association is going to drive good men and women away from wanting to sit where you're sitting," Mr. Graham said.
Democrats and their aides on the committee said they were resigned to the fact that Judge Alito would win approval on the committee with its 10-member Republican majority. All eight Democrats appear likely to vote against the nomination.
The Democrats' strategy appeared to be aimed at raising questions about the credibility of Judge Alito's explanations about the alumni group and recusal that could be used in the confirmation floor debate."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/12/politics/politicsspecial1/12confirm.html
You blame Graham?
Blame?
Are you kidding? Nobody that matters is going to buy the AP or ABC's account of this. They are going to buy Drudge's account.
You can't stage something like what happened today, it was a real moment, and damning to the D's. Schumer lamely defended Kennedy all day today after the hearing.
That's airtime that he might have used on underlining all the damage they did to Alito, but since there wasn't any, there was just a real wife crying about the public humiliation heaped on a man who might have made millions as a private attorney, but chose to serve as a judge instead.
Blame him? I'd pin a medal on the man. The Republican Senators on the committee have done an amazing job this week. They have calmly and coolly demonstrated the philosphical difference between leftists and the rest of the country.
I know others have posted this before but I don't how anyone could put themselves through this. To work your whole life to building a career only to sit there and have your reputation smeared by a bunch of 90 year old gasbags. And especially one old dinosaur who drove some poor girl off a motherloving bridge. And you have to just sit there. Not allowed to fire back with "Well, sorry Senator but at least I didn't kill some girl the Irish way...."
It takes the patience of Job
It was Kennedy, he made a remark about how they had raised their children.
Yeah, but he'd better keep a close eye on his daughter!
"You know why I believe you when you say that you disavow those quotes? Because the way you have lived your life and the way you and your wife are raising your children."
--Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
"And the lying MSM will take any opportunity to take a quote out of context with the result being the deliberate confusion presented by the media."
I'm sure that if you watch the posted video of events, you too will conclude that you are doing the exact same thing as you suggest in your above comment.
The old established/liberal/socialist media is America's most ruthless, relentless, and destructive enemy.
***
I disagree........ it brought the UGLY demamation of the judge and his family by the Dems. to the public's eye.
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