Monday, January 09, 2006
Sam Alito meets the barking dogs of the far left
All things considered, yesterday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing into the confirmation of Judge Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court was not much beyond what anyone thought it would be. Each committee member had the opportunity to make a 10-minute opening statement. At the conclusion of that, even though most of the air in the room was taken up by the blowhards sitting to the left, Judge Alito was introduced by Senator Frank "Last Place" Lautenberg (D-NJ) and former Republican New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman and was permitted to make an opening statement.
I won't pontificate about Judge Alito's statement, but I did think it was humble and sets a road map to how he sees the law, sees the role of the Supreme Court (or, for that matter, judges in general) and how he makes decisions as a judge.
Today at 9:30a.m. the games really begin. In the first round of questioning, each committee member will have 30-minutes in which to ask Judge Alito questions. There will be some tough questions from both sides. Some of them fair. Some unfair. There will be grandstanding -- most likely from Ted Kennedy and the Democrats attack dog, Chuck Schumer. At the end of the day, although Alito may be bruised by all the low blows, he'll come out standing. Good luck, Judge.
Here are some links to comments about yesterday's hearing (and beyond):
Ted Kennedy either lied or needs to fire his staffers for inadequate research.
Chuck Schumer wants to change the rules in his "what's good for the goose isn't good for the gander" approach to confirming Republican nominees. (More from Power Line here, here and here.)
New Jersey's two U.S. Senators should listen to former Governor Brendan Byrne.
Finally, Sam Alito the person, not the judge.
I won't pontificate about Judge Alito's statement, but I did think it was humble and sets a road map to how he sees the law, sees the role of the Supreme Court (or, for that matter, judges in general) and how he makes decisions as a judge.
Today at 9:30a.m. the games really begin. In the first round of questioning, each committee member will have 30-minutes in which to ask Judge Alito questions. There will be some tough questions from both sides. Some of them fair. Some unfair. There will be grandstanding -- most likely from Ted Kennedy and the Democrats attack dog, Chuck Schumer. At the end of the day, although Alito may be bruised by all the low blows, he'll come out standing. Good luck, Judge.
Here are some links to comments about yesterday's hearing (and beyond):
Ted Kennedy either lied or needs to fire his staffers for inadequate research.
Chuck Schumer wants to change the rules in his "what's good for the goose isn't good for the gander" approach to confirming Republican nominees. (More from Power Line here, here and here.)
New Jersey's two U.S. Senators should listen to former Governor Brendan Byrne.
Finally, Sam Alito the person, not the judge.
