Oregon Senator Ron Wyden to oppose Alito

AP ^ | 1-20-2006 | MATTHEW DALY

[nwrep]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden said Friday he will oppose Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, saying he is not convinced that Alito will bring an impartial viewpoint to the court.

Wyden, a Democrat, met with Alito on Wednesday and talked about executive power, legal precedents and abortion rights.

“I cannot reconcile the seemingly moderate and amiable jurist of the past few weeks” with Alito’s two-decade record as a federal appeals court judge and official in the Reagan and Bush administrations, Wyden said Friday.

“It is my conclusion that Judge Alito’s record portends a view on the power of the president that would undermine our proven and constitutionally-mandated system of checks and balances,” Wyden said.

“His record demonstrates a dangerous and narrow interpretation of the commerce clause (of the Constitution), which could lead to results that would threaten the health and safety of all Americans.”

Wyden also criticized Alito for “standing with large, corporate polluters who fouled our air, poisoned our waters, and then don’t want to pay for it.”

Wyden is the latest among a growing number of Democrats who say they will oppose Alito, a veteran appeals court judge from New Jersey. Wyden voted for Chief Justice John Roberts last fall.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote Tuesday on Alito’s nomination to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, with the full Senate voting after that. Alito is widely expected to be confirmed by the Republican-controlled chamber.

Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., has said he expects to vote for Alito, calling him “supremely qualified.”

[SoCar]

Sen. Smith supports Alito. Read the last line. This has become a strict party line vote. So far the Rats have held everyone except Nelson of NE who has to vote for Alito. Let's see what our weak sisters from Maine and Chafee do.

[SoCar]

Sorry but who's Taney?

[B Knotts]

Yeah, I was just trying to make the point that Oregon has one Republican senator. He's not a real conservative, but he's not quite as bad as Chafee & friends.

[Salvation]

Oregon Ping

Please notify me via FReepmail if you would like to be added to or taken off the Oregon Ping List.

[SoCar]

He's dumb but he can't be dumber then Patty Murray. That's not possible.

[Paleo Conservative]

Sorry but who's Taney?

He was the Chief Justice when the Dred Scott decision was handed down in 1857.

[Nam Vet]

I knew this idiot would vote against Alito. I'm still going to call his office here and tell them my disappointment in his decision as an "independent voter" because I viewed him as 'middle of the road'. Also, that I've reviewed his voting record over the weekend and come to the conclusion that he will NOT get my vote again. (as if he got it in the first place) The guy has been a socialist loon from the beginning and always will be.

Nam Vet

[Salvation]

Contact Senator Wyden and tell him that you think he should vote for Alito just like many Republicans voted for Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Or give your own reasons.

[TheBigB]

Sen. Snowe (ME) has already announced her support. I haven't heard about Collins.

[Paleo Conservative]

Sen. Snowe (ME) has already announced her support. I haven't heard about Collins.

Aren't they siamese twins?

[SoCar]

Don't know all that much about Sen Smith, but the fact that I don't hear about him must mean that he's not opposing his party much. You can be sure that if he was he'd be all over the MSM.

That in itself must mean that Gordon Smith is about as conservative a Senator that Oregon will ever get in a long time. I wish him a lengthy career.

[Nam Vet]

I saw that interview also. As I have not studied Obama in depth at all, his moderate comments in the past gave me some hope he had his head screwed on somewhat correctly. After that interview, I know now that he is just another dim socialist with a lot more finesse.

Nam Vet

[nathanbedford]

A study in sophistry.

Wyden also criticized Alito for “standing with large, corporate polluters who fouled our air, poisoned our waters, and then don’t want to pay for it.”

Here he betrays the basest kind of favoritism of one group over another and the Constitution be damned. Under this system of jurisprudence, the judge first identifies which litigants are the good guys (or, more likely, the bad guys) and then shapes his opinion to favor the guys who enjoy the favor of political correctness this week.

[SoCar]

Sen. Snowe (ME) has already announced her support.

Do you have a source for that?

[Salvation]

Here was my email to Wyden:

Senator Wyden,
As an Oregonion I think Samuel Alito is very qualified for the position of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.

Please vote to confirm him as many Republicans voted to confirm Ruth Bader Ginsburg even though they disagreed with her philosophies.

You do believe that Judge Alito is qualified after serving for 15 years as a federal judge, don't you?

Please confirm Alito.

My vote for you in the next election depends on your affirmation of Judge Samuel Alito.

Thank you,

[Salvation]

**Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., has said he expects to vote for Alito, calling him “supremely qualified.”**

Smith will get my vote when he is up for re-election.

[thoughtomator]

Same as they were in the beginning... 100%. The guy reads the law as written, and that's holy water to the vampires of the Left.

[Radix]

It is weird that this is a vote that these people are claiming that they are proud of, but it is OK with me.

Lets get them on record for something, finally.

[ckilmer]

Compare the look on Sen. Dianne Feinstein's face during Judge Aleto's hearings to one of the sinners in Michelangelo's famous Sistine Chapel fresco "The Blessed and the Damned of the Last Judgment."

[SoCar]

Obama is about as left as they come. He has a phony "moderate" demeanor that the MSM plays up. His voting record will be akin to Kennedy, Schumer, Durbin, et al.