Moderate dems are saying Alito is not evil. That's not quite Harry Reid kissing Harriet Miers on the capitol steps but it is a clear visible symbol that Dems aren't rushing to demonize bushes SCOTUS pick. Red State Survivor, Sen. Ben Nelson told reporters that he got assurances that Alito would not be a "judicial activist" or "take an agenda to the bench" if confirmed. "He assured me that he wants to go to the bench without a political agenda,".
With months before any hearings commence are Reid & Co. planting seeds in the Rightwing Blogosphere to insure Alito has to make his Roe ambitions black and white to the world?
Today the
Christian Science Monitor paints a purple picture of the man who would be the next Associate Justice:
On abortion, a nuanced stand
In 3 of 4 cases, Supreme Court nominee Alito voted on the side of abortion rights.
By Warren Richey | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
... the true test of appeals court judges isn't which personal views they hold, but to what extent those personal views may influence how they rule in a particular case.
On this issue, legal analysts disagree in their assessments of Judge Alito. Some say he is a conservative ideologue. Others say he is a smart, careful jurist who leaves personal views behind when he dons his black robes.
The best evidence of his work as a judge are his published opinions. They contain a few surprises and some ammunition - for both the left and the right.
For example, of the four abortion cases in which he participated as an appeals court judge, he voted on the pro-choice side in all but one. A 1995 Alito vote striking down a Pennsylvania abortion restriction in particular is raising eyebrows among some legal scholars.
"That [1995 case] strongly seems to indicate that Alito is not a policy-driven true-believer who's used every possible opportunity to advance one side's preferred outcome, but instead a judge who has indeed come down on both sides, in different cases," says David Garrow, a constitutional historian and expert in reproductive rights cases at the high court...
... His four abortion cases include:
- A 1991 challenge to a Pennsylvania law requiring married women to notify their husbands before seeking an abortion. The court struck down the restriction. Alito dissented.
- A 1995 challenge to a Pennsylvania law that required women seeking to use Medicaid funds to abort a pregnancy resulting from rape or incest to report the incident to law enforcement officials and identify the offender. Alito provided the decisive vote striking down the abortion restriction.
- A 1997 challenge to a New Jersey law that prevents parents from suing for damages on behalf of the wrongful death of a fetus. Alito ruled that the Constitution does not afford protection to the unborn.
- A 2000 challenge to New Jersey's ban on so-called partial-birth abortions. Alito struck down the law based on a recent Supreme Court decision.
Analysts are divided over the meaning of Alito's votes and his various writings while on the bench.
"I don't think these cases tell us anything about whether he would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade or not," says James Bopp, general counsel for National Right to Life. "Nor do they tell us whether he supports pro-life as a value."
Okay, this isn't Pat Robertson questioning Alito's abortion bona fides but how long before the wingers begin to press him for a blanket pledge to overturn Roe. Isn't that the real straw that broke Miers'nomination?
Harry Reid brilliantly looked like he was supportive of Harriet but his early and passionate support focused the sceptical fundamentalists Roemyopea to the point that she couldn't nod and wink hard enough for them to believe that she would carry out their mandate. The kneejerk reaction has been that Alito would be a Bush protecting, personal rights slashing, anti-abortion activist justice but signs of intelligence are being leaked and much of the leaking is coming from the dems.
How long until Repugs are demanding Alito clarify his Roe stance? I give it to Thanksgiving but it will come and the American public will be faced with the most clearly identified anti-Choice candidate since Roe. Polling is showing the American public is about 60% against Alito if he is clearly Anti-Choice.
Armed with this public sentiment the Dems can then play the Filibuster card with a clear conscience and force so-called moderates like Snowe, Chaffee and McCain to put there Nuclear votes on public display. I don't even think Frist gets the votes to go nuclear. Too many republicans can see the Senatorial math going against them sooner than later.
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