Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, chairman of the Senate Democrats' campaign committee, underscored their political objectives recently to ... representatives of groups opposed to Alito's nomination.I think it's easy to predict that Alito will be confirmed. I hope the Senate Democrats are smart enough to use the confirmation process to win respect for the liberal version of constitutional interpretation, rather than to portray law as a political struggle and Alito as a candidate they must defeat.
In a private session, Reid and Schumer urged the groups to show restraint when lobbying Democrats from states that Bush won in 2004 - senators from Nebraska, Arkansas, the Dakotas and elsewhere who probably will be the most tempted to support the appointment. Officials who described the session did so on condition of anonymity, citing the confidential nature of the conversation.
Reid, in his first year as party leader, first angered groups opposed to Bush's court nominees last spring. Hoping to head off a showdown over appeals court nominees, he privately told Republicans he would allow confirmation for a few of the appointments that Democrats had long blocked.
[Nan Aron, president of the Alliance For Justice,] made her disagreement plain. "We don't want a deal. We have worked too hard, since we see these nominees as really extreme," she said at the time.
November 29, 2005
Senate Democrates have "rebuffed, rebuked and rejected" civil rights and women's groups opposed to Roberts and Alito.
Says AP's David Espo:
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7 comments:
What's with the fortune cookie comments? It's kind of annoying.
I hope this is a trend among the Democrats: listening to their consciences (provided they have them) rather than the far-left lobby groups that have led them further down the path to unelectability.
"I hope the Senate Democrats are smart enough to use the confirmation process to win respect for the liberal version of constitutional interpretation, rather than to portray law as a political struggle and Alito as a candidate they must defeat."
Maybe I'm just a crazed partisan, but I found that kind of funny. We are talking about Sen. Biden, Sen. Kennedy, Sen. Schumer, and Sen. Durbin here (Sens. Leahy, Kohl and possibly Feinstein might heed your advice).
Based on past performance your optimism would seem misplaced.
If they choose to engage on merit and discuss Judge Alito's nomination on substantive terms then I will be impressed and gratified, but I'm not holding my breath.
Palladian,
I think it's simple vote counting.
Don't pick fights you can't win in other words.
My view of the Roberts hearings was that they were an embarrassment to the Dems and their staff work. I think Reid recognizes that and thinks that Alito will also be intelligent, moderate and articulate on camera (unlike what he was hoping from Meirs). Beyond that 85 job application, and talking about strip searches of 10 year olds, I don;t think the Dems have much on Alito.
How often do you get to use the words, "besides strip searches on 10 year olds" in conversation?
Apopthegms irritate where expatiation charms.
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