Final Thoughts on the Alito Confirmation
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I didn't blog much about the Alito nomination and confirmation, mainly because I had little to say. Despite any reservations or disagreements I might have with the man's past opinions or judicial-political philosophy, he was indisputably qualified for the seat and deserved to be confirmed.
Stated differently, Samuel Alito is no Harriet Miers, and is also no Robert Bork.
The scary part is that, when a conservative-Republican Justice retires, and a conservative-Republican President nominates a conservative-Republican to replace her and submits the nomination to a conservative-Republican Senate, it's still a difficult, lengthy, controversial process.
Which invites the question: what in heaven's name will it be like if Justice John Paul Stevens dies while Bush is still President? (I once heard that he has stated publicly that he will never retire.) During the Alito confirmation process, we heard gobbledygook about Democrats asserting some fictitious "right" to a "balanced court."
Oh really? I see no quota provisions in Article III of the Constitution, and I thought a seemingly endless string of 5-4 decisions (or, worse, 4-4-1 plurality rulings) was a bad thing.
The idea that Justice O'Connor's seat had become a "female" seat is now dead and buried; the tradition of a "Jewish seat" is long gone, and so is the idea that that there is a ceiling on the number of Catholics that can sit on the Court. So apart from the Thurgood Marshall cum Clarance Thomas "black seat," there simply appears to be little or no constraint anymore on who can replace whom.
Which won't stop the John Kerry's and Ted Kennedy's of the Democratic Party from asserting that Justice Stevens' seat is somehow reserved for liberals only.
Bottom line: If Roberts and Alito were confirmation purgatory, then I don't want to see confirmation hell.
More thoughts at Moderate Voice, Hammer of Truth.
FUN FACT: Justice Stevens, generally regarded as the most liberal member of the Supreme Court, was appointed by Republican Gerald Ford.
Stated differently, Samuel Alito is no Harriet Miers, and is also no Robert Bork.
The scary part is that, when a conservative-Republican Justice retires, and a conservative-Republican President nominates a conservative-Republican to replace her and submits the nomination to a conservative-Republican Senate, it's still a difficult, lengthy, controversial process.
Which invites the question: what in heaven's name will it be like if Justice John Paul Stevens dies while Bush is still President? (I once heard that he has stated publicly that he will never retire.) During the Alito confirmation process, we heard gobbledygook about Democrats asserting some fictitious "right" to a "balanced court."
Oh really? I see no quota provisions in Article III of the Constitution, and I thought a seemingly endless string of 5-4 decisions (or, worse, 4-4-1 plurality rulings) was a bad thing.
The idea that Justice O'Connor's seat had become a "female" seat is now dead and buried; the tradition of a "Jewish seat" is long gone, and so is the idea that that there is a ceiling on the number of Catholics that can sit on the Court. So apart from the Thurgood Marshall cum Clarance Thomas "black seat," there simply appears to be little or no constraint anymore on who can replace whom.
Which won't stop the John Kerry's and Ted Kennedy's of the Democratic Party from asserting that Justice Stevens' seat is somehow reserved for liberals only.
Bottom line: If Roberts and Alito were confirmation purgatory, then I don't want to see confirmation hell.
More thoughts at Moderate Voice, Hammer of Truth.
FUN FACT: Justice Stevens, generally regarded as the most liberal member of the Supreme Court, was appointed by Republican Gerald Ford.
Related Posts (on one page):
- Final Thoughts on the Alito Confirmation
- Alito Nomination: On His "Gay Cases"
- Alito Nomination: I Got Nothing -- Which is Not a Bad Thing
Posted by Kip on
31 January 2006
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