Delayed Alito Hearings
Judge Alito will not begin the confirmation process before the New Year. This is troubling, and not just because it means the Democrats managed to successfully delay the process, I couldn’t care less about that.
What makes this delay troubling to me is the fact that between now and when he is confirmed, and he will be confirmed, the Supreme Court will hear some key Constitutional cases regarding abortion and freedom of religious expression. With Judge Alito on the Court we can rest assured the Majority vote will be the right one. However, with Sandra Day O’Connor still on the Court every case is a coin toss.
The Democrats are counting on this last-minute, last ditch effort to use the Supreme Court to swing the nation more to the left against the Voter’s will.
On top of that, the verdicts for several cases that were badly decided that Sandra Day O’Connor was the deciding vote on will be read. With her still on the Supreme Court these decisions will be final. If she were no longer a sitting judge her vote would be nullified and there would be a tied decision which would require a retrial after Judge Alito is confirmed, and most, if not all of these cases would be decided the other way as a result.
The Democrats do not want to let this happen.
So this delay in the confirmation process is a great victory for the Democrats, and a great loss for America. Congratulations, Dems, on screwing up our home just a little bit more.
What makes this delay troubling to me is the fact that between now and when he is confirmed, and he will be confirmed, the Supreme Court will hear some key Constitutional cases regarding abortion and freedom of religious expression. With Judge Alito on the Court we can rest assured the Majority vote will be the right one. However, with Sandra Day O’Connor still on the Court every case is a coin toss.
The Democrats are counting on this last-minute, last ditch effort to use the Supreme Court to swing the nation more to the left against the Voter’s will.
On top of that, the verdicts for several cases that were badly decided that Sandra Day O’Connor was the deciding vote on will be read. With her still on the Supreme Court these decisions will be final. If she were no longer a sitting judge her vote would be nullified and there would be a tied decision which would require a retrial after Judge Alito is confirmed, and most, if not all of these cases would be decided the other way as a result.
The Democrats do not want to let this happen.
So this delay in the confirmation process is a great victory for the Democrats, and a great loss for America. Congratulations, Dems, on screwing up our home just a little bit more.
posted by Daniel Levesque at
11:27 AM
7 Comments:
abortion is SUCH a touchy subject! Late term abortions should NEVER happen!! On the other end, I really, truly WISH that everyone would go to the middle on this (apologies to all! *feeling like I'm betraying the Republicans here*) and maybe there should possibly be an agreement that before 3 months, or even 2, that might be legal?
LibbY!
By
Libby, at 11:50 AM
You assume that there's no credence to the ethical questions being raised:
"Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr., who said in 1990 that he would disqualify himself from cases involving his sister's law firm, was a member of an appeals court that reviewed a 1995 case in which his sister's firm represented one of the parties, according to court records."
"Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. ruled in a 2002 case in favor of the Vanguard mutual fund company at a time when he owned more than $390,000 in Vanguard funds and later complained about an effort to remove him from the case, court records show -- despite an earlier promise to recuse himself from cases involving the company."
I realize that Alito supporters are already arguing that these cases aren't that important, but I suspect what's going to be more of an issue is that he specifically promised the Senate that he would recuse himself from any such cases. And now he's before the Senate again, having broken those promises, and they're expected to decide whether or not he should be trusted to sit on the nation's highest court.
The cases you're worried about can always be revisited at some point in the future. Once Alito is confirmed, on the other hand, it'll be too late to examine his ethics or lack thereof. It hardly seems unreasonable to look into why he didn't keep his word.
The administration certainly seems to have driven a stake through the heart of the notion that its appointments should be given the benefit of the doubt, don'cha think?
By
catastrophile, at 12:08 PM
Hi Daniel,
Over at my blog I have posted some "debate questions" regarding various issues. I hope to get a lively discussion going. I thought you'd be interested. Hope you can come!
By
MJ, at 12:10 PM
"With Judge Alito on the Court we can rest assured the Majority vote will be the right one."
How do you know that? Are you that confident that Alito's opinion of what's 'right' will coincide with yours? Don't forget, when Bush Sr. appointed Souter it was 'assumed' he would be a vote for the 'right'. Yet, despite his past rulings since on the SC he has consistantly voted more toward the center and the left.
Being a man of Christian values and high moral fiber, don't you desire to insure that Alito is what he claims to be?
By
wanda, at 12:43 PM
Wanda,
If his history as judge isn't proof enough I don't know what is. I understand that he may change his views once he reaches the Supreme Court, but anyone could do the same thing. I think judge Alito is a good risk.
By
Daniel Levesque, at 1:20 PM
Hey man, I just found you from Texas Fred.
Excellent blog and excellent post. These Dems will do anything for attention and they don't realize they're giving the GOP and Alito more time to get our ducks in a row. I think we're safe with the delay.
You're blogrolled.
By
Anonymous, at 2:24 PM
Dan, I hope Republican Vet is right but I have to agree the delay is bothersome to me too. Good post.
By
Gayle, at 7:41 AM
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