The Senate Judiciary Committee wiil begin confirmation hearings on the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito at high noon tomorrow. The pundits predict that he will be confirmed, but in reality let's hope it depends on what happens in the hearings.
Neither party will admit to a "litmus test" on the issue of reproductive rights, but that is the "hot button" issue with many voters. Why deal with substantive issues when you can portray your opposition as baby-killers? Roe v. Wade is an important decision, especially to those who can remember the back-alley abortions that took place prior to it, but there is a lot more than that at stake.
Bush is running the most secretive and overreaching administration in the last fifty years (or more) and that didn't begin on 9/11. Can we afford to have a Supreme Court that is inclined to rubber-stamp executive excesses like torturing prisoners, illegal wiretapping, exposing CIA operatives' identities, and of course altering intelligence assesments to make a case for an ill-advised vendetta against Saddam Hussein?
Alito is the darling of Pat Robertson and other professional "Christian" demagogues, primarily for his sexist attitude on Roe v. Wade, but the real sticking point when it comes to his confirmation -- the one that will appeal not only to Democrats, but to Republicans seeking re-election -- is that he is yet another Bush crony loyal not to the country or the constitution but to one very flawed and increasingly unpopular individual.
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