Alito bit of this, Alito bit of that
It looks like Alito will be the next US Supreme Court Justice. Despite claims that he’s out of the mainstream (which is code for he may not be pro-choice), claims that he’s a radical right wing judicial activist (again, code for the fact he may not be pro-choice), that he is a gun fanatic in the pocket of the NRA (which means he thinks the commerce clause actually was not written with disappearing ink), claims that he’s a racist, Bible-thumping misogynist (which is code for he belongs to the same country clubs as that paragon of moral certainty Ted Kennedy and he may not be pro-choice) and despite a pretty abysmal attempt at a filibuster, he will likely be confirmed according to, well, every account I’ve seen. What do I think? I’ll tell you:
The claims that he’s libertarian on guns and his GOA endorsement are good things.
The fact he’s a fan of the commerce clause is good too.
However, he seems to be a statist Republican on the surface for most other issues and that’s bad.
I could be wrong on any of those points but, based on what I’ve seen, I have no reason to think otherwise.
Update: He’s confirmed.
January 31st, 2006 at 6:55 pm
Well, the one thing we know is that he’ll say anything to get the job. He’s a liar. And that’s not code for anything.
My guess is he’s more right-wing than most Americans, but what else do you expect with a right-wing president and a right-wing Senate and a right-wing Congress? This is what we elected, and the courts will follow. I think we’ll regret it.
Gridlock is good, and we shouldn’t have all three branches, including both houses of Congress, all tilting to the right.
January 31st, 2006 at 8:00 pm
I’ve been meaning to blog this, but it should tell us a great deal about public opinion that admitting to not being pro-choice is a kiss of death for any judicial appointment. And in a larger sense, whether you believe it’s right or wrong, the originalist/strict constructionist interpretation of the constituion must be supremely unpopular. If it weren’t, a nominee could proudly proclaim those beliefs and not jeopardize his or her nomination.