The Alito Scuffle Begins

The confirmation hearings for Samuel Alito begin today, and his opponents will be doing their best to belittle his qualifications and experience in the most partisan way they know how. So, if you feel a rush of hot air during your commute to and from work, it's not because of an unusually warm January day, it's the Democratic blowhards on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Alito's been given a "well qualified" rating by the American Bar Association. Of course it doesn't mean squat to the Dems when the ABA gives its highest rating to a conservative. Patrick Leahy, Ted Kennedy, Chuck Schumer, and their buddies plan to grill Alito on issues of privacy (abortion) and the intended reach of executive power (NSA wiretapping) in an attempt to paint him as an enemy of the Constitution. Actually, I think they're really just sore because Alito's actually read and understood the document. After all, is there really any reason for Senator Schumer to ask, "do you personally believe very strongly that the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion?" Now, I'm no Constitutional scholar, but why would a document that had to be amended to allow women to even vote have imbedded in it a right for a woman to obtain an abortion? That just doesn't pass the smell test.

But look at who we're dealing with here. The anti-Bushies and the liberal Senators who were lucky enough to have their opinions solicited in the first place were against Samuel Alito before he was even nominated. I truly believe that all those press releases denouncing him and his "ultra-conservative" views were drafted and ready for circulation weeks before the president even called him. A typical screed from these lefty groups probably went something like:

"We have studied this nominee and we believe that (INSERT NAME HERE) is not qualified to serve on the Supreme Court because of his ultra-conservative values."

My point being that their opinions are foreordained, which makes the whole confirmation process a bit comical. Leahy, Schumer, and Kennedy know the answers to the questions they are going to ask. And they know how they are going to vote. Basically, all we'll get out of this is a lot of grandstanding from the Democrats and further proof that Sam Alito will make a good Supreme Court Justice.