"A Wretched Hive Of Scum And Villany": Part Two--Befuddlement From The Left.
First off, for any who would like to, please take Hugh Hewitt's advice and send the Left on the Senate Judiciary Committee some flowers. I suggest lillies, whcih is what I just finished ordering online for Sens. Leahy, Kennedy, and Biden. These people took asininity to new levels today, and Sen. Biden showed that any fool with a minimum of two brain cells, but no more than three, can be a sitting US Senator on the Left side of the aisle.
First off, Leahy and Kennedy went after Alito full bore this morning on CAP, abortion, and the president's war powers. Alito, ever the professional, held his ground, and made them look absolutely stupid. At one point, Kennedy referred to his colleagues as "scurrilous dogs" when he was extended two extra minutes, as those same colleagues started razzing him for needing the extra two minutes.
If nothing else, and you're really into solid humor, especially from the Party of Clouseau, these are the hearings to watch. The Democrats are pulling no punches, and wasting no talking points. They are going after Alito, and unfortunately for them (as they still haven't realized it yet) they're losing. Not only are they losing this fight, they're losing their minds. Sen. Biden was a mixture of "puzzlement" (his word of the day today, as much as "lest" and "et cetera" was yesterday) and opinions about Princeton. Intermixed within 30 minutes of rambling, stumbling and bumbling by "Slow Joe" Biden was over a minute of "ums," "uhs," and "hmms." This man had no clue how to be able to handle someone like Alito.
Honestly, ladies and gentlemen, the Democrat's attempts to derail Alito is pathetic, at best. These people are misreading, misinterpreting, and misrepresenting Alito's judicial record and his philosophy. It's not working. The activists--and yes I assume that mantle in this fight--are debunking those myths. The Democrats are slowly losing this fight. A few know it, as Confirm Them pointed out today.
[Democrats] are so frustrated by their members' poor performance and inability to get traction that they have indicated a willingness to Chairman Specter to cancel a third day of questioning by members (the 20-minute followup question round) and go right to the panels.
This doesn't bode well for their party. They walked into the Roberts hearings with that sort of "we're the studs, he's the dud" attitude, and they were handed their butts. Talking tough, and receiving an extraordinary amount of pressure from special interest groups, they strode right into the hearings again; this time vowing to get answers to their questions.
These questions aren't beating around the bush. Leahy and Kennedy literally demanded answers to how Alito would rule in certain situations. Remember Schumer telling everyone a day ago, or so, that the Ginsburg Option wouldn't "go over this time." In other words, he was pressing his Democrat associates to really push Alito. Alito nearly pushed back on Feingold today.
Feingold stated that he shouldn't have received any sort of preparation from the administration, insinuating that Alito was little more than a mouthpiece. Feingold wins the jackass award by a nose over the Leahy/Kennedy tag-team effort earlier in the day. Alito started to fire back, fuming at the allegation, but he recovered, and in the most polite way, handed Sen. Feingold his head.
Alito is doing well, even better than I expected. His humor is highly disarming, and seems to be dead-on for using it at the right moment. His knowledge rivals that of Roberts, and again I'm impressed with his ability to answer questions without notes, without cards, without any assistance at all.
But, how I'm impressed doesn't reflect this upcoming vote. Do I think there will be a filibuster? Only if the Democrats are suicidal, and then the lillies are appropo. Do I think this vote will be closer than the one for Chief Justice Roberts? Probably. Let's face it, despite his knowledge, despite his humor, this nominee is in the middle of a partisan war. Anyone who caught yesterday's hearings should know that.
Never before have I ever heard so much lauding and platitudes towards Justice O'Connor. It was an O'Connor love fest yesterday, and the Democrats feigning an affront as they demanded what made him think he could replace her. This is a woman who was a "trailblazer, "a defender" of the Constitution and women's reproductive rights. Even more, more than one of the Democrats brought up the fact they could add; the addition of Alito meant only one woman would be left on the high court. Congrats, guys. You proved the existence of those two brain cells.
The partisanship involved in this fight is all over the ideology and philosophy surrounding the person who still occupies that seat. Sandra Day O'Connor, while a decent jurist, is a mediocre Supreme Court justice. All too often we see the leanings of that ideology in women's rights--especially in the myth of the right of abortion. She has misinterpreted more aspects of the Constitution than I can count on two hands. Alito, on the other hand, has proven he reads and understands the Constitution the way it's meant to be: It says what it means, and means what it says. That's not a constructionist viewpoint. That's an originalist viewpoint.
When he sits on the high court, he will look at each case with fresh eyes, research and understand the precedents in play, and give each and every case it's fair shake. There will be no pre-judging for this man. And despite the myths being peddled by the likes of Kennedy, Leahy, Feinstein, Biden, Schumer, and Durbin, Alito has always abided by the law. He is a classic judge, as opposed to the more liberal-friendly progressive judges. That scares them.
Honestly, it should. But not because he will be a "conservative activist" judge; he's not that way. No, he should scare them because when he makes it to the court, there will be a solid 5-4 split; 5 progressives and 4 classic. Alito will probably garner between 60 and 70 votes in favor of his ascension. Roberts had 78 votes--I was off by one on my prediction. He'll lose a few of those people for the sheer fact that we're that close to dealing the death blow to activism emanating from the Supreme Court.
Later tonight, if we get the chance, we'll put up some of the transcripts from today. Chuck Schumer was slapped positively silly by Alito on abortion. Feinstein went wonky. And Biden's rambling diatribe has to be passed on. But trust me, if you get the chance to watch these hearings, pop some popcorn and pull up a chair. It's bumpy, hilarious ride the Democrats have decidedto try out.
Publius II
First off, for any who would like to, please take Hugh Hewitt's advice and send the Left on the Senate Judiciary Committee some flowers. I suggest lillies, whcih is what I just finished ordering online for Sens. Leahy, Kennedy, and Biden. These people took asininity to new levels today, and Sen. Biden showed that any fool with a minimum of two brain cells, but no more than three, can be a sitting US Senator on the Left side of the aisle.
First off, Leahy and Kennedy went after Alito full bore this morning on CAP, abortion, and the president's war powers. Alito, ever the professional, held his ground, and made them look absolutely stupid. At one point, Kennedy referred to his colleagues as "scurrilous dogs" when he was extended two extra minutes, as those same colleagues started razzing him for needing the extra two minutes.
If nothing else, and you're really into solid humor, especially from the Party of Clouseau, these are the hearings to watch. The Democrats are pulling no punches, and wasting no talking points. They are going after Alito, and unfortunately for them (as they still haven't realized it yet) they're losing. Not only are they losing this fight, they're losing their minds. Sen. Biden was a mixture of "puzzlement" (his word of the day today, as much as "lest" and "et cetera" was yesterday) and opinions about Princeton. Intermixed within 30 minutes of rambling, stumbling and bumbling by "Slow Joe" Biden was over a minute of "ums," "uhs," and "hmms." This man had no clue how to be able to handle someone like Alito.
Honestly, ladies and gentlemen, the Democrat's attempts to derail Alito is pathetic, at best. These people are misreading, misinterpreting, and misrepresenting Alito's judicial record and his philosophy. It's not working. The activists--and yes I assume that mantle in this fight--are debunking those myths. The Democrats are slowly losing this fight. A few know it, as Confirm Them pointed out today.
[Democrats] are so frustrated by their members' poor performance and inability to get traction that they have indicated a willingness to Chairman Specter to cancel a third day of questioning by members (the 20-minute followup question round) and go right to the panels.
This doesn't bode well for their party. They walked into the Roberts hearings with that sort of "we're the studs, he's the dud" attitude, and they were handed their butts. Talking tough, and receiving an extraordinary amount of pressure from special interest groups, they strode right into the hearings again; this time vowing to get answers to their questions.
These questions aren't beating around the bush. Leahy and Kennedy literally demanded answers to how Alito would rule in certain situations. Remember Schumer telling everyone a day ago, or so, that the Ginsburg Option wouldn't "go over this time." In other words, he was pressing his Democrat associates to really push Alito. Alito nearly pushed back on Feingold today.
Feingold stated that he shouldn't have received any sort of preparation from the administration, insinuating that Alito was little more than a mouthpiece. Feingold wins the jackass award by a nose over the Leahy/Kennedy tag-team effort earlier in the day. Alito started to fire back, fuming at the allegation, but he recovered, and in the most polite way, handed Sen. Feingold his head.
Alito is doing well, even better than I expected. His humor is highly disarming, and seems to be dead-on for using it at the right moment. His knowledge rivals that of Roberts, and again I'm impressed with his ability to answer questions without notes, without cards, without any assistance at all.
But, how I'm impressed doesn't reflect this upcoming vote. Do I think there will be a filibuster? Only if the Democrats are suicidal, and then the lillies are appropo. Do I think this vote will be closer than the one for Chief Justice Roberts? Probably. Let's face it, despite his knowledge, despite his humor, this nominee is in the middle of a partisan war. Anyone who caught yesterday's hearings should know that.
Never before have I ever heard so much lauding and platitudes towards Justice O'Connor. It was an O'Connor love fest yesterday, and the Democrats feigning an affront as they demanded what made him think he could replace her. This is a woman who was a "trailblazer, "a defender" of the Constitution and women's reproductive rights. Even more, more than one of the Democrats brought up the fact they could add; the addition of Alito meant only one woman would be left on the high court. Congrats, guys. You proved the existence of those two brain cells.
The partisanship involved in this fight is all over the ideology and philosophy surrounding the person who still occupies that seat. Sandra Day O'Connor, while a decent jurist, is a mediocre Supreme Court justice. All too often we see the leanings of that ideology in women's rights--especially in the myth of the right of abortion. She has misinterpreted more aspects of the Constitution than I can count on two hands. Alito, on the other hand, has proven he reads and understands the Constitution the way it's meant to be: It says what it means, and means what it says. That's not a constructionist viewpoint. That's an originalist viewpoint.
When he sits on the high court, he will look at each case with fresh eyes, research and understand the precedents in play, and give each and every case it's fair shake. There will be no pre-judging for this man. And despite the myths being peddled by the likes of Kennedy, Leahy, Feinstein, Biden, Schumer, and Durbin, Alito has always abided by the law. He is a classic judge, as opposed to the more liberal-friendly progressive judges. That scares them.
Honestly, it should. But not because he will be a "conservative activist" judge; he's not that way. No, he should scare them because when he makes it to the court, there will be a solid 5-4 split; 5 progressives and 4 classic. Alito will probably garner between 60 and 70 votes in favor of his ascension. Roberts had 78 votes--I was off by one on my prediction. He'll lose a few of those people for the sheer fact that we're that close to dealing the death blow to activism emanating from the Supreme Court.
Later tonight, if we get the chance, we'll put up some of the transcripts from today. Chuck Schumer was slapped positively silly by Alito on abortion. Feinstein went wonky. And Biden's rambling diatribe has to be passed on. But trust me, if you get the chance to watch these hearings, pop some popcorn and pull up a chair. It's bumpy, hilarious ride the Democrats have decidedto try out.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 6:39 PM
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