Alito expected to move court to right

The Washington Times ^ | 16 January 2006

[Aussie Dasher]

Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. is poised to join a tradition of pragmatic justices who have moved the Supreme Court to the right in measured steps.

Eighteen hours of questions over four days showed President Bush's nominee to be a judge respectful of legal precedent but hardly starry-eyed. Judge Alito also displayed a strong inclination toward executive authority, a trait not surprising for a lifetime government employee and former Reagan Justice Department lawyer.

By the design of Bush administration officials and despite Democratic efforts to smoke him out, almost nothing was learned in Senate confirmation hearings about Judge Alito's views on transcendent issues likely to come before the court, such as abortion.

Instead, legal experts say, the hearings may have provided more understanding of Judge Alito's influence on the court's changing dynamics when he replaces retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the decisive vote on abortion, affirmative action and the death penalty.

For example, while Judge Alito will fit comfortably in the conservative camp of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, legal experts see him as being closer to Justice Scalia than Justice Thomas in his incremental approach to overturning what the court has done before.

"Alito's not going to be a radical," said Christopher Wolfe, a political science professor at Marquette University.

Mr. Bush, in his weekly radio address, said Judge Alito was "a man of character and intelligence" whose long legal career shows he is highly qualified for the court.

The president also called for a prompt Senate vote.

[Aussie Dasher]

Mr. Justice Alito...got a nice ring to it!

[Paleo Conservative]

He's warming up.

[minus_273]

who needs to expect when we have PROOF that he leans to the right
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1558659/posts

[martin_fierro]

Earl Warren Warren Burger David Souter Alito expected to move court to right

We'll see.

[Blue Turtle]

The only radicals I know are left wing nuts. Take a look at that Vermont judge....60 days for raping a 4 year old for years!! And the state wants treatment for HIM!!!! President Bush is a conservative, it is his right to nominate whoever he pleases.

[lepton]

Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. is poised to join a tradition of pragmatic justices who have moved the Supreme Court to the right in measured steps.

Two comments: He will likely move them more towards literacy than conservatism; and it would be surprising if he does not substantially improve the quality of written decisions - O'Connor was horribly convoluted and vague where she didn't need to be.

[martin_fierro]

Earl Warren was an immensely popular Republican governor when President Dwight Eisenhower appointed him to the Supreme Court. Ike later regretted his choice; he had hoped toappoint a moderate conservative; Warren proved to be an unabashed liberal.

Burger was named by President Richard Nixon in 1969 to replace Earl Warren as Chief Justice. Burger was a strong advocate of "strict construction" to the interpretation of the Constitution. He identified with the Court's conservative wing and frequently voted to limit the liberal decisions of the Warren period. Burger was not one-dimensional. He authored the Court's opinion upholding the right of trial judges to order busing as a remedy for school segregation and he spoke for a unanimous Court upholding a subpeona for the Watergate tapes which resulted in President Nixon's resignation.

A man of unusual and peculiar sensibilities, David H. Souter came to the Supreme Court as a complete enigma. Souter, who received his nomination to the Court from President George Bush only months after his promotion to a federal appeals court, lacked a public reputation. As a result, the press labeled him the "stealth justice," an unknown judge with uncertain values. Conservatives praised Souter as a restrained jurist and predicted that he would bolster the right-wing bloc of Antonin Scalia and William H. Rehnquist. The Bush White House assured the Republican far right that Souter would be a "home run." Liberals, on the other hand, hoped secretly that the Bush nominee would fail in expectations and emerge as a surprise to his sponsors. To this day, Souter has avoided validating either camp.

[Mr_Moonlight]

Alito expected to move court to right

NOOOOOOOOOOO ... SAY IT AIN'T SO !!!

[Brujo]

... almost nothing was learned in Senate confirmation hearings about Judge Alito's views on transcendent issues likely to come before the court, such as abortion.

tran - scen - dent

1 a : exceeding usual limits : SURPASSING
  b : extending or lying beyond the limits of ordinary experience
  c in Kantian philosophy : being beyond the limits of all possible experience and knowledge
2 : being beyond comprehension
3 : transcending the universe or material existence

So abortion is beyond comprehension according to The Washington Times? Wow, what an admission.

[raynearhood]

"President Bush is a conservative, it is his right to nominate whoever he pleases."

Although I think, from his record, that Judge Alito is a conservative, the President that nominated him is not. Sure we got a tax cut, but the spending that he approves, and the spending that he allows, and the fact that there is not less, but more federal government, and more federal government influence on our lives since President Bush took office pretty much disqualifies him as a true conservative.

Conservative tendencies? maybe. Strong on defense? sure. Cutting of Welfare spending? nope. Giving education control, ANY education control, back to the states? nope. Fixing Social Security? He talked about it, but nope. etc...

I've said it before, if it wasn't for the war, President Bush would have a real problem with his base supporters. But, who knows, if it wasn't for the war maybe things would have been different.

Anyhoo, I'm hoping Judge Alito's big contribution to the SCOTUS is to put activist judges in the lower courts in constant turmoil.

[SmithL]

Ya reckon?

[Aussie Dasher]

I'm hopin'!

[Torie]

One would certainly hope so, but one never knows. That is what makes life intersting.

[Liberty Wins]

Advice to our liberal friends:

Invite a strict constructionist to lunch. Giving up your obsession with the ACLU will give you new confidence (and new brain cells).

[Clintonfatigued]

Actually, the court won't be moved to the right overwhelmingly. Too many conservatives think that Sandra Day O'Conner was a clone of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. O'Conner wasn't the worst of them. She did oppose government takeover of private property, for example.

It's the next vacancy that will really decide the future of the Court. Let's hope it happens while Bush is still in office and the GOP still controls the Senate.

[conservativecorner]

[Aussie Dasher]

LOL! Love it!

[goodnesswins]

Nah....I think he'll move them more to the CONSTITUTION....which is WHERE they SHOULD BE!!! sheesh.