I must consume some coffee.
The Supreme Court Super Bowl is about to commence. Will John Cornyn do his crossword puzzle? Will he cry? Will Jon Kyl reaffirm his reputation for being one of the dimmest bulbs in the Senate. Will Sam Brownback furrow his unibrow? Will OrrinHatch2000.com try to build momentum for another Presidential run? Will Chuck Grassley mumble? Will Tom Coburn sprain his tongue heaping praise on the candidate? Will Mike DeWine and Lindsay Graham ask tough questions about Executive Power?
Will Arlen Specter stand up for the principles he ran for office promising to protect?
And will any of the Democrats go wobbly?
Kickoff.
Here’s a new “No to Alito” tool:
Write a letter to the editor of your local paper and contact your congress critters — all with one click.
Also: Moveon.org gathered 300,000 signatures in their Anti-Alito petition — in a day!
They’re shooting for 500,000, please sign if you haven’t already:
Move On.org’s stop Alito petition
People for the American Way have sent over 60,000 letters to the Senate:
Save the Court Petition
American Rights at Work also
Oppose Alito Petition
Defending the Constitution’s Stop Alito Petition
http://ga3.org/…
Democratic anti-Alito petition:
Democratic Party’s Reject Alito Petition
Stop the NRA is also getting in on the party:
Stop the NRA’s Oppose Alito Petiton
And while you’re at it: sign Planned Parenthood’s anti-Alito petition, too:
Planned Parenthood Petition
NARAL is shooting for 500,000 signatures, please add yours:
Naral Anti-Alito Petition
And don’t forget: urge Congress to support Plan B:
Plan B Petition
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No and
Maybe
I doubt it
One thing is sure, Biden is puckering up for the big wet one he’s gonna plant on Alito’s behind parts when he tells the world how much he really, really likes him.
watch out for Joey. He knows this is his opportunity to be a hero to the left. He did it before with Bork and I can’t believe he doesn’t plan to do it again now. He is, after all, running for President.
Alito, Joe Biden is still one cynical, craven bastard. I’ll take his vote if he decides the wind is blowing our way, but screw him.
Swearing reduction policy has been suspended today for Tracy!
and applying lipstick so it will leave a mark
Arlen’s hair looks a lot better.
specter doesn’t sound very happy with Bush.
The Cubicle Dwellers thank you! I said earlier this AM I am Tivoing the hearings because I don’t want to miss a thing but it is killing me to have to be a work right now. The Pond dwellers ROCK!
Leahy says this hearing is about Executive Power.
Leahy: Bush shouldn’t pack the court with people that will protect Exec power.
Leahy: Senate not a rubber stamp. Lifetime seat. Seat is decisive vote. Ask about disturbing memo to Meese, where he poo-poohed one person one vote.
That’s some good stuff. More, more!
time when administration seems intent on accumulating unchecked power…
extremely important.
embark on process to protect our right.
Reminded of a photo in Constitutional Center in Philly of first woman on SC, regrets extreme right criticizing Sandra and her judgments.
Leahy: pissed that Prez picked a white male.
Small point that everyone seems to gloss over. Can’t Bush at least nominate an actual human?
Leahy: Sandra ruled against Prez in Hamdi on indefinite detention of US citizens.
next up: Orrinhatchdotcom.
god orrin is boring.
I thought you were going to say “Orrin is borrin” it would make a good bumper sticker.
orrin says that Alito should not answer any questions.
Shouldn’t answer ANY questions?
Wouldn’t that put him in contempt of congress?
alito should give no hints of how he will vote on any cases.
Why should he give hints? His past rulings are a pretty good indication of how across-the-board awful he is…
did I say Orrin was boring?
orrin: the fact that Judge Alito is a baseball fan gives me even more confidence that he will be a good judge. ?????????
Of course — because then he will understand Justice Robert’s baseball analogies. (As well as Patrick Fitzgerald’s ). You can’t understand that?
Thank you for the translation of Republicanspeak… 🙂
next up: Teddy Kennedy
Thank goodness hatch is done. I thought I might hurl.
Teddy: impressed by his personal story
orrin is a idiot but then most of them are. Don’t answer questions, just kiss Bush’s butt LOL I do hope the dems have some backbones for once.
Teddy: can Alito apply equal justice?
Teddy chaired his confirmation to the court in 1990. Asked if he could be impartial, and he said he could.
But now 15 years later he is deeply troubled. In an era when Prez is abusing power, spying on citizens and torturing people…
gravely concerned of Alito’s support for vast executive power.
Supports overreaching power that most Americans consider frightening.
Just got back from getting a new headlight for car. …
Must Ted read without emphases? Come on, drama!
Teddy: doesn’t want a cheerleader for an imperial presidency.
Alito is rubbing his eyes as Kennedy says he has contempt for one person one vote and women’s rights.
Kennedy raises the issue of the Vanguard case. Alito promised to recuse himself from cases about Vanguard because he held a lot of their mutual funds. Alito broke that promise.
Nice and blunt, the way I like it.
Next up: Grassley, promises to be more positive than Teddy.
Grassley: boring.
do all of the remaining 13 members of the committee get to pontificate? No wonder americans hate congress.
10 minutes each.
Grassley: 54 of Alito’s law clerks said Alito never prejudged a case, their opinion is Alito is guided by rule of law, etc. Tries to act like an umpire, calling balls and strikes.
see? this is why its important that all supreme court judges be baseball fans.
Nice. He’s pleasant and courteous as he strips away your rights.
It’s important to maintain that smile on your face when you allow the strip-searching of 10-year-old girls without a warrant….
Grassley: ABA found Alito to be unanimously well-qualified.
Grassley’s starting to sound like the losing pig at the Iowa 4H contest.
he seems all pissed off.
Grassley: says we are twisting facts and giving Alito a black eye before he even has a chance to go before the committee.
Yeah, because of course all of the due diligence that the committee does happens right here in the hearings. There was no document review or other work that went on as part of the process. The hearings are it — and everyone should start with a fresh slate. Yeah.
Grassley: (breaks it out) wants up and down vote
up or down vote, up or down vote
Next up: Biden
did you put in your coffee?!? I’d like some, please.
Biden: historical moment. Historians will look back to see this nomination to see if the course of the court changed.
Biden: have we gone off on the wrong path. Lots of 5-4 decisions on the critical central issues of the day.
Biden is puzzled by many of things that Alito has said.
Why are you proud of being a Federalist Society, etc.?
Those orgs think we have been misreading 5th amendment, that we have no right to privacy, and now you find yourself in the center of a debate.
You are replacing a woman.
Biden: wants to put the little guy on the same footing as the big guy. SC is (supposed to be) the only place where David is equal to Goliath.
<Bankruptcy bill>
Biden: O’Connor was not afraid to go into the shadows where discrimination works, and to protect workers and women and minorities.
Biden: Joey thinks the founders intended the American people to know what their judicial nominees think on the issues.
You mean Joey didn’t even say anything about liking Alito? That’s promising heh?
through in some good words there like Bork and Democratic
Next up: Kyl
watch for the hankey ;o)
I can’t listen to this anymore, I’m heading out to get some lunch. Keep up the good work, I’ll read through when I get back. (Easier than listening.)
deserves permanent retirement in November. I am not streaming the hearing feed, but this should sum things up:
Kyl: I <3 Samuel cuz my master George told me to.
Kyl: wants up or down vote.
I’m shocked. Poor Harriet Miers–where was her upperdown?
Kyl: could have been a wealthy attorney but instead dedicated life to public service.
What, ALito’s not wealthy???? I guess $900,000 in Vanguard is chump change.
that will sink a person the firey depths of hell. I am never getting in fight with you!
Kyl: you are fair minded.
Two points: colleagues like to ask ‘what side are you on’. But it is inappropriate. We should not ask what side you are on.
that Alito is on the side of the cylons.
(We should have live Battlestar Gallactica blogging, U.)
Thanks everybody. It’s so nice to “watch” it like this. By which I mean, of course, not watching it.
Kyl: concerned that Alito might be inclined to support the little guy, thinks it is okay not to support the little guy.
Kyl: no hints are necessary. Ginsberg standard is that I will not say I will vote in a case that might come before the court.
[paraphrase: for the love of God, do not say how you will vote on Roe, torture, domestic spying, etc.]
Now up: Herb Kohl
Kohl: our first boring Senator
Kohl: you have a long track record. your judicial record says that you will not protect the individual. you diminished women’s rights over their own bodies, you rule against people who are discriminated against. you have hostility to individual rights.
you singled out pride in opposing the right to abortion. you pursued a degree because you opposed the Warren court on miranda rights, one person one vote, and abortion rights.
Kohl: will you continue to consistently rule against the individual?
Kohl: extreme judicial philosophy
Boring or not, Kohl went at him pretty good.
Next up: Sen. DeWine
DeWine: constitution usually prefers the opinion of the people to the opinion of judges.
He’s almost accusing the recent court of being liberal and activist
sounds like he’s reading from the cheat sheet he got from Scalia
BooMan, you’re awesome. Thank you.
DeWine: American with Disabilities Act, portions were struck down, DeWine is not cool with that. Congress should be deferred to.
Is this an invitation to FREEP or what?
http://www.cnn.com/
Should Democrats filibuster Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito?
Yes: 35%
No: 40%
Decide after hearings are over: 25%
Fuck yes: me
Christian Soldier Wenches are going to hit this poll so hard. They have nothing else better to do! Supper is going to be late tonight DaddyO!
too many concurrences and dissents have left lawyers confused about the law.
DeWine: indicated Alito has his vote.
Next up: DiFi
DiFi: you are the pivotal vote. Are you in the mainstream?
I hope you will be straightforward.
Concerns: legacy of Rehnquist court to restrict Congressional power (commerce clause and 14th amendment). Could prevent COngress from dealing with important social and environmental issues.
One example: (Reybar (sp.) case) on regulation of machine guns.
DiFi: executive power very big, all concerned about how you approach cases of expanded Predidential powers. Recent case highlight (torture, geneva conventions, bound by ratified treaties, detention of US civilians without due process, domestic surveillance, impact of right to choose).
Consider a new thread? This one is getting harder to refresh? Maybe? Please?
DiFi: stated constitution has right to privacy and have a deep respect for precedent, but in 1985 you said Roe should be overturned.
Also concerned about role of court to protect individual rights. Civil rights, but in 1985 you said you that you were opposed to reapportionment (bedrock one man one vote).
connects in mind with everyone with illegal wiretaps.
fuckin pasted on smile through his words. Makes me sick!
who gives a shit!