Posted on 01/10/2006 4:14:05 AM PST by OXENinFLA
ALITO CONFIRMATION HEARINGS
Questioning Begins Today
Each of the eighteen senators on the Judiciary Cmte. will have 30 minutes to question Supreme Court nominee Samual Alito today during round one. Sen. Arlen Specter, as chairman, will begin, then they will alternate by party in order of individual seniority. Round two starts on Wednesday.
That part does NOT suprise me.
I am suprised as to how each dissented. IOW I figured Thomas for the libertarian one, not Scalia.
The problem for the Dems is that Alito is a smart and impartial judge, and while he may take the "conservative" side more often than not, he has well reasoned rationales at his fingertips. In an ironic way, Alito's paper trail helps him.
The Dems don't seem to have the stomach for a Roe/son of Roe (("Roe") jihad, and although Schumer exploited rather well Alito's 1985 comment that there is no right to abortion in the Constitution, there is now a well trod path for those skeptical of Roe to take, to keep the final endgame in doubt: Griswald is OK, there is a right to privacy in the Constitution, precedent is important, ignoring it to create disruption is bad, blah, blah, blah. At the end of the day, the Roe fans just can't fashion a case as to whether the answers are genuine or disingenuous.
And the Dems can only go so far in trashing inherent Presidential powers when it comes to waging war, and it gets rather obscure in a hurry.
My secretary said the senators seemed stuck on stupid, and into soporific repetition. I told her it was a sound byte and attempt to influence public opinion thingie. She said the public square doesn't need it. They can get it the first time. I told her I had some doubts about that. And so it goes.
I wonder if Biden was calmer than ususal because of the Italian vote, but then it didn't slow Schumer down. I wonder how the senators from New Jersey will vote, particularly Menendez. Italians seem to be somewhat volatile voters in the Northeast.
The Dims should have their own cable channel to spew their bile 24x7. Conservatives should pay for it.
Liberals and libertarians won't like that.
If it's Specter, I feel sorry that I complained.
Murder, in and of itself is a federal crime?
"To a large extent, Judge Alito's success at skating though a good deal of the day reflected the quality of the questioning. The senators frequently did not follow up on their own queries, and Mr. Biden in particular devoted most of his 30 minutes to talking, leaving little time for the nominee to speak.
"Mr. Schumer, whose questioning left Judge Alito looking wobbly and pale, was an exception, as was Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, who pressed him on his views about the Supreme Court's authority to overrule precedent. Early in the day, Judge Alito said there "needs to be a special justification for overruling a prior precedent."
The point I guess is that one MSM source and I agreed on the dramatic highlight of the hearings.
Alito will cruise to confirmation absent some shocker. Alito does not strike me as a guy who will afford some to the usual suspects. He's just a brilliant and cautious and principled nerd. Yawn.
BTW, you took the above out of context.
I was just watching bits of replay of today's hearing and it occurred to me how much flak Alito would have taken if he had not disclosed he joined CAPS. Oh how the dems would have squealed!!
I think it's pretty much unanimous opinion the dem senators did a lousy job questioning Alito. Should we worry they are up late planning ambushes for tomorrow?
No, but Schumer redux should be fun. He's the only one who discommoded Alito. He probably wants more.
No it's not.
Yes, and that gets to some of the questions I'd love to ask the Sens. from New York, California, Connecticut, and that alcohol disposal site from Massachusetts: "Senators: what is the greater crime? Allowing a police officer to strip search little girls and boys during the performance of their duties after having obtained warrants from a judge when it might actually save their lives from a drug-influenced horror of an existence OR allowing a 14 yr. old girl to decide to undergo an invasive surgical procedure without requiring or even permitting the involvement of her loving parents?
And to follow-up the obvious answer: do you truly believe that to represent mainstream American values? Why is it that you so much insist that it is vital to the national interest that a million pre-term babies must be killed annually?
Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime,
unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising
in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time
of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense
to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any
criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life,
liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be
taken for public use, without just compensation.
You don't see an enumerated right to life in this amendment?
You don't see an enumerated right to life in this amendment?
It applies only to the limitations of the federal government.
No, look at the 10th Amendment -- not Uranus.
Kennedy's been there for 43 years. What a terrible thought.
Yes, almost as disgusting as the "other" slime sInator from that state. 27 years, a traitor by every definition, has sat in the US CONgress.
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