Sam Alito Is SCOTUS Nominee.

Sam Alito is the next nominee for Supreme Court Justice, the AP is reporting. So far I have seen him described as a radical right winger, a strong conservative judge and an "originalist," which is this year's version of strict constructionist, I guess. From the AP:

Bush believes that Alito has not only the right experience and conservative ideology for the job, but he also has a temperament suited to building consensus on the court. A former prosecutor, Alito has experience off the bench that factored into Bush's thinking, the officials said.

While Alito is expected to win praise from Bush's allies on the right, Democrats have served notice that his nomination would spark a partisan brawl. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said Sunday that Alito's nomination would "create a lot of problems."

Judicial conservatives praise Alito's 15 years on the Philadelphia-based court, a tenure that gives him more appellate experience than almost any previous Supreme Court nominee. They say his record shows a commitment to a strict interpretation of the Constitution, ensuring that the separation of powers and checks and balances are respected and enforced. They also contend that Alito has been a powerful voice for the First Amendment's guarantees of free speech and the free exercise of religion.

Liberal groups, on the other hand, note Alito's moniker and say his nomination raises troubling concerns, especially when it comes to his record on civil rights and reproductive rights. Alito is a frequent dissenter on the 3rd Circuit, one of the most liberal federal appellate benches in the nation.

In the early 1990s, Alito was the lone dissenter in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a case in which the 3rd Circuit struck down a Pennsylvania law that included a provision requiring women seeking abortions to notify their spouses.

So this will be the fight, I think, the one that both pro- and anti-choice sides want to have. I have read some about Alito over the weekend, and there's little doubt that this guy is a conservative. There is also little doubt that he has the resume and that if Bush can keep his party at home in the Senate, Alito has little to worry about, but if I was him, I wouldn't count on Specter and Chaffee.

There will be no hiding Alito's pro-life stand and all that money that was held back in the Roberts confirmation will be flying around freely. It's going to be an interesting holiday season.

Comments

[Dave Schuler]

The real question in my view is whether the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee consider him “outside the mainstream” With the midterm elections coming up and smelling blood in the water with Libby's indictment my guess is they will. If so, I doubt it will be a bright time for the Republic. Both political parties will be cast into even more disrepute (if such a thing be possible).