It seems increasing likely that Samuel Alito will get few if any Democratic votes in the US Senate. To my knowledge only Ben Nelson of Nebraska has come out in favor of Alito. What motivates the Democrats to oppose Alito? It can't be his legal qualifications. The man unanimously received the highest rating from the American Bar Association. Its review board, which, if the confirmation hearings taught us anything, knows much more about Constitutional law than the U.S. Senate, rated Alito "well qualified" to sit on the Supreme Court. Can it be Alito's character? Even Senate Democrats, such as Joe Biden, say that the Vanguard issue means nothing. The Concerned Alumni of Princeton seems a red herring. All who know Alito, of various political stripes, testify that he is a good man of the highest integrity. And integrity is part of the ABA's rating. So those in the best position to judge Samuel Alito give him the highest marks on both professional competence and personal character.
Here are, I think, the two reasons the Democrats are opposing Alito en masse.
1. Politics. They must play to their liberal base, and having essentially given John Roberts a pass, they must show the left-wing interest groups that the Democratic Party is on their side. Also, Democrats perceive, with some accuracy, that Bush and the Republicans are weak, and so this is the time to take advantage.
2. Abortion. The Democratic Party worships at the alter of Roe v. Wade. There are pro-life Democrats, but they are a weak voice in a party that has yet to find an abortion it doesn't like. While hiding behind the language of "pro-choice" and "a woman's right to chose," this is a party will do all it can to make sure there are as many abortions as humanly possible. I am reminded of Lincoln's words at Alton in 1858 during his debates with Sen. Douglas:
And if there be among you any body who supposes that he, as a Democrat can consider himself "as much opposed to slavery as anybody," I would like to reason with him. You never treat it as a wrong. What other thing that you consider as a wrong, do you deal with as you deal with that? Perhaps you say it is wrong, but your leader never does, and you quarrel with any body who says it is wrong. Although you pretend to say so yourself you can find no fit place to deal with it as a wrong. You must not say any thing about it in the free States, because it is not here. You must not say any thing about it in the slave States, because it is there. You must not say any thing about it in the pulpit, because that is religion and has nothing to do with it. You must not say any thing about it in politics, because that will disturb the security of "my place." There is no place to talk about it as being a wrong, although you say yourself it is a wrong.
As Lincoln once put it regarding slavery, the supposed indifference of "pro-choice" is really a "covert zeal" for abortion. Simply put, the Democrats oppose Samuel Alito because he threatens the abortion-on-demand regime. That is enough to keep him off the Supreme Court. Notice how the Democrats care not that the Supreme Court overturned precedent in Lawrence v. Texas and Atkins v. Virginia. All the talk in the Alito hearings about precedent had to do with one case: Roe v. Wade. The Democrats have no special love of precedent. They have a special love of abortion, and thus they must defend the judicial imposition of Roe v. Wade, damn what the Constitution actually says or what the American people really want.
What will Senator Johnson do? Will he side with the dominant left-wing of his party, personified by Ted Kennedy and Chuck Schumer, or will he side with his neighbor to the south, the moderate Ben Nelson?
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