Senator Lindsay Graham decided to shut down Congress' ability to serve as a check to Judicial and Executive power today.
Senators Kennedy, Feingold, and the others are fighting this nomination pretty damn hard. They are asking tough questions, hitting the fact that Scalito has shown a strong desire to ignore 30 years of Supreme Court precedent and overturn Roe. They also drilled him on his membership in the notably bigoted CAP orginization. Some senators even went after him for contradiciting himself in different questions on the key issues. And, the Democratic hard-ballers are concerned that, after our president wiped his ass with the Fourth Amendment, Alito might be prone to increasing presidential power.
They were hitting these questions enough to make the Repubs scared, to the point where Spectre and Kennedy got in a
fight on the panel.
After intense questioning about being a member of a known bigoted orginization, Linsay Graham decided to strike, looked at Alito and said, "You're not a closet bigot, are you?"
Sneaky little bookworm, isn't he? He's trying to make Kennedy look like a bully who only wants to hurt their poor innocent nominee. In classic Republican strawman fashion, he shifts the focus from criticizm on the criticized by accusing the dems of calling Alito names! Wait, only bullies call people names, democrats must be bullies!
Actually, Mr. Graham, Kennedy and the others have pretty legitimate concerns about human rights, presidential power, and handing such power to a bigot.
I wish they would speak to the dems like adults.
I learned earlier in the day, watching that piece of shit Sean Hannity, that the Republican party strategy of getting Scalito, champion of women's rights, confirmed is to smear again. Hannity was screaming that the democrats are "bullies" and were only out to "smear" Alito because they Kennedy and the democrats are "smear merchants."
My answer to Graham, "how the do you know he's not a bigot?" I'm not a member of the KKK, I think everyone else is pretty much the same as me. If I found out that someone I knew was a member, at any time, for any reason, the member of a bigoted orginization, I would immediately question that person's character.
Not just that, but Alito claims to not remember whether he was a member of the orginization. How in the hell do you forget something like that? The reasonable person logically asks "is that guy lying?" when someone claims to forget such an inflamatory fact.
I would give the ex-member an opportuinty to explain themselves, like Kennedy and the democrats attempted to do. Maybe it is a misunderstanding. But, I would be VERY VERY VERY skeptical before I considered overlooking a past membership in an orginization bent on segregating blacks and women. In fact, I would say it's virtually impossible to regain my trust after such a deplorable act, but I would at least give them the opportunity.
The republicans won't have it. They will NOT TOLERATE any attempt to slow or threaten the ushering of their golden-child to SCOTUS. Some small, teeny, minor detail like the past membership in a bigoted club doesn't matter more than getting another conservative seat.
I'm stopping there, empathizing with their point of view is like stubbing the toe in my soul.
So, as anyone can see by watching Scalito's wife cry today, Graham stifled debate by smearing the democrats and painting them with bully-paint. In doing so, he threw the balance of power, Congress' check of power against the judiciary and the executive, a little more off-kilter.
How do you know he's not a closeted bigot, Mr. Graham? I've heard a little evidence, and Alito's shown signs of deceit, I'd like to know a little more before I make up my mind as you have.