January 31, 2006
The Alito Confirmation: Wiser Heads Prevailed
:One of the problems with the landscape that is the politically charged, partisan fragmented electorate is that we rarely get a chance to actually see/participate in a true debate of what is right for our nation’s future. With the nomination of Samuel Alito to the highest court in the land, there were three dialogues that could have been helpful to our nation’s future: 1) how do we see the separation of powers factoring into a world where the executive has much more power than the framers intended, 2) how much say should Congress have in the advise and consent of new justices, and 3) do the potential justices current views have any bearing on whether they should sit on the Supreme Court.
Alas, the nation had none of those conversations in the lead up for Alito’s confirmation today and we are none the wiser for it.
Alito is still mainly an unknown. He is clearly conservative. And from past decisions on the separation of powers to gerrymandering of districts, he is far to the right of the middle and far from my comfort level. He seems like a nice enough fellow, even if I do not agree with a thing he believes. But I cannot say that for sure, since once again we did not have a substantive discussion about him. Once again we have an unknown placed on the high court. Once again we as a nation did not have a valuable conversation.
This is something that everyone in this nation bears a responsibility for. We have not demanded or even asked for such a debate. So instead we get a bunch of showboating Senators asking questions in the middle of a long speech against or for the nominee. We learn nothing about Alito in this process.
The sad thing is that if Alito had answered truthfully and given us a good glimpse of what he believed and what his judicial philosophy entailed, many Senators would have voted against him. For instance, had he admitted that he will overturn Roe v. Wade because he believes its decision does not follow from the Constitution (which is hardly an uncommon position among Constitutional scholars), he would have been successfully filibustered yesterday. By not saying anything, Alito guaranteed his confirmation. But that doesn’t allow any of us to have a better idea of his beliefs or the direction the nation is headed. We the people do not benefit.
Why am I writing all of this when the title of this piece is “Wiser heads prevailed?” As I stated in the third paragraph, I do not necessarily agree with known Alito views. But I would give him the benefit of the doubt. Today, I would have voted to confirm him to become the 110th> Justice of the Supreme Court. He clearly is a man of integrity and has a sound judicial mind. To me that is the power the Constitution grants to the Senate in the confirmation process. He meets both. But I still have serious misgivings about the entire process. We have not learned much about Alito nor have we had a conversation about this nation’s future. But the system could have gotten so much worse had the filibuster worked yesterday.
Had a parliamentary procedure derailed his nomination yesterday, Democrats would have introduced a new level of pettiness and partisanship, much like Clinton’s impeachment did eight years ago. Thankfully, numerous Democrats joined Republicans and voted to close debate so that today’s confirmation vote could take place. While Senators should be blamed for allowing the confirmation hearings to descend into such an abyss, they should also be at least recognized for allowing a vote to take place. The system is bad but it could only have gotten worse.
(Filed under: Supreme Court, Commentary, Politics, US Courts, America, Alito Nomination)
October 31, 2005
Alito Nomination
:President Bush named appeals court Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr., 55, to replace Sandra Day O’Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court. Alito’s nomination comes three days after Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination for the same post. Alito was appointed to the appeals court in 1990 by President Bush’s father. He is widely praised in conservative circles while raising concern of many liberals.
(Filed under: Supreme Court, Bush Administration, Politics, America, Alito Nomination)
Commentary – A New Supreme Court Choice
:Miers’ withdraw and today’s nomination of Alito was a perfect strategy to change the debate in Washington and bring the Republican base back together. It was clearly orchestrated to happen last week during the indictment scandal so that the White House could air all of its laundry at once. But that does not mean it should not have happened. As this report pointed out on the day of Miers’ nomination, she was not qualified. Clearly, in a legal sense, Alito is. That alone gives me reason to look forward to his time before the Senate. His political views will obviously cause one camp excitement and another concern but that should not matter. He should be confirmed if he is qualified. However, Senators should not forget that the most important qualification of any justice is impartiality and fairness to all. Alito’s past decisions and statements leave many questions to whether he has this. The confirmation hearings will be important for all Americans to learn if he possesses these essential attributes.