Alito

[scaeagles]

I would suggest that conservative America will already be rushing to his side. This is what Bush promised when he was campaigning - conservative justices should he have the opportunity to nominate. He came through with Roberts. Miers was an extraordinary letdown (just because I had no idea what she thought about anything and there were so many more choices available). This is what I expected when he nominated Miers. This should have been who he picked instead of Miers in the first place.

This man has been through two prior confirmations, and was confirmed in the Senate both times by 100-0. He was educated at Harvard and Yale (or maybe one of those was princeton - I forget exactly what I read). He has an abundance of experience and a track record for all to see.

Contrary to what GC has suggested, Miers was not vilified by the right because of her policies. It was because no one had any idea what she stood for and was clearly not the best nor most qualified for the job. I would suggest it would be difficult to find anyone more qualified by Alito.

And to talk about using Parks for political purposes....funny. Schumer came out and compared Alito and the seat on the SC to Parks and and the seat on the bus. Will he use the seat to change the world for good? Is that solely for political purposes? Maybe, but who cares? It is politics. Parks is in the news, as she should be. If Alito doesn't go pay his respects, he is criticized for not caring. He goes, so it's criticized as a photo op. Yawn.

So it will come down, as it did widely with support for Roberts, as to if someone thinks that Alito will do what they think is correct. Not if he is qualified to hold the position, but if he will vote on cases the way someone thinks he should. I will again point out Ginsburg - I don't agree with much if anything she has ever said or written (that I am familiar with), but she was qualified for the seat, and was rightly confirmed.

If the left does not like this nomination, a nomination of someone apparently very qualified to hold the position, then I would suggest they win the Presidency. Presidents nominate. Does this make me a hypocrit for being less than excited about Miers? I don't think so. She was not what Bush had promised during his campaign.

I will say one thing - it does concern me that he did not recuse himself on the first case involving Vanguard since he had investments with them. That could be cause for concern, so I will be curious to learn more about it.

[Gemini Cricket]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

Contrary to what GC has suggested, Miers was not vilified by the right because of her policies. It was because no one had any idea what she stood for and was clearly not the best nor most qualified for the job. I would suggest it would be difficult to find anyone more qualified by Alito.

(from Concerned Women for America's website) “Harriet Miers has shown respect for Christian values by attending an Evangelical church. But her professional and civic life leaves us questioning whether she chooses to reflect and advance the views of the group she’s with at the moment. Though she attends an Evangelical church known for its pro-life position, during the same time period she advanced radical feminists and organizations that promote agendas that undermine respect for life and family,” said Wendy Wright. “This drives us to rely upon her actions, her deeds, her words as opposed to the endorsements of those who have worked with and known her."

This is making a clear judgement on Miers for her actions, her policies. To me this says: She wasn't radically conservative enough for us. Withdraw her.

Originally Posted by scaeagles

If Alito doesn't go pay his respects, he is criticized for not caring. He goes, so it's criticized as a photo op. Yawn.

He was with Frist (who has problems of his own) and it was clearly a photo-op. He's exploiting the body of a dead woman for positive press.

And what does Alito care about civil rights anyway?

Alito dissented from a decision in favor of a Marriott Hotel manager who said she had been discriminated against on the basis of race. The majority explained that Alito would have protected racist employers by “immuniz[ing] an employer from the reach of Title VII if the employer’s belief that it had selected the ‘best’ candidate was the result of conscious racial bias.” [Bray v. Marriott Hotels, 1997]

[scaeagles]

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

This is making a clear judgement on Miers for her actions, her policies. To me this says: She wasn't radically conservative enough for us. Withdraw her.

Of course there are groups who say that. Ever heard of planned parenthood? They go a little bit in the other direction - as in don't bother nominating anyone who isn't fully for abortion on demand. Can you imagine if Clinton had nominated a pro-lifer?

He was with Frist (who has problems of his own) and it was clearly a photo-op. He's exploiting the body of a dead woman for positive press.

Yawn. Like I said, no matter what was done he'd be criticized for it. It has no bearing on the man himself.

And what does Alito care about civil rights anyway?

Funny. I'll again go through my favorite confirmation hearing story ever. Ginsburg being questioned by Hatch. Hatch descirbes an employer with 30 employees, all of whom were white. He asked her if that employer could be considered as racially discriminatory under the law. She said yes. He pointed out that this was the exact employment situation of her staff. Was Ginsburg a racist? I doubt it. I would suspect that Alito isn't either.