Bush picks new Supreme Court nominee (NRR)
jazzercism
838 Posts
I guess we should have seen this coming especially since Bush has been steadily losing his conservative base. Alito has been consistently compared to Scalia which is definitely 
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Moving quickly to pick a Supreme Court nominee after his last selection withdrew her name, President Bush on Monday nominated Circuit Court Judge Samuel Alito -- a favorite of conservatives -- to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor."Judge Alito's reputation has only grown over the span of his service," Bush said from the White House, with Alito by his side. "He has participated in thousands of appeals and authored hundreds of opinions. This record reveals a thoughtful judge who considers the legal merits carefully and applies the law in a principled fashion."Alito, a former U.S. attorney who has been a judge for 15 years, said while on the bench he has kept in mind what he called a "solemn responsibility." (Watch Bush call Alito 'fair-minded and principled' -- 4:15)"Federal judges have the duty to interpret the Constitution and the laws faithfully and fairly, to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans, and to do these things with care and with restraint, always keeping in mind the limited role that the courts play in our constitutional system," he said."And I pledge that, if confirmed, I will do everything within my power to fulfill that responsibility." (Samuel Alito accepts with reverence and thanks -- 4:15) Sen. Charles Schumer, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that will hold a hearing on the nomination, panned Bush's choice."It is sad that the president felt he had to pick a nominee likely to divide America instead of choosing a nominee in the mold of Sandra Day O'Connor, who would unify us," the New York Democrat said. Bush called for Alito to be confirmed as associate justice by the end of the year. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said an Alito appointment would narrow the high court's view, making it less diverse."This appointment ignores the value of diverse backgrounds and perspectives on the Supreme Court," the Nevada Democrat said. "The president has chosen a man to replace Sandra Day O'Connor, one of only two women on the court. For the third time, he has declined to make history by nominating the first Hispanic to the court."White House counsel Harriet Miers withdrew from the process Thursday after weeks of opposition from liberals and conservatives, who questioned her qualifications and record. 'Scalito'Legal experts consider the 55-year-old Alito so ideologically similar to Justice Antonin Scalia that he has earned the nickname "Scalito." (Profile of his legal resume)"The qualifications issue, I don't think will cut against him at all," CNN's senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said. "The big issue will be judicial philosophy. He is very conservative, and the issue that he is most publicly identified with is abortion.""Since he's been on the court, he has been a very outspoken conservative voice, and that's where you're going start to see objections," Toobin said. (Notable decisions)In 1991, in one of his more well-known decisions, Alito was the only dissenting voice in a 3rd Circuit ruling striking down a Pennsylvania law that required women to notify their husbands if they planned to get an abortion. The Supreme Court upheld the decision, Planned Parenthood v. Casey. (Abortion decision could be focus of attention -- 1:42)"I think a lot of people will look to that [Alito's opinion] as a proxy, as a symbol, as a hint of how Judge Alito feels about Roe v. Wade and conservatives will be pleased," Toobin said. "Liberals will be very distressed, I think."Alito, a Yale law graduate, also wrote the opinion in 1999 in a case that said a Christmas display on city property did not violate separation of church and state doctrines because it included a large plastic Santa Claus as well as religious symbols. Alito was put on the circuit court bench by President George H.W. Bush in 1990 after his service as U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey. (Biography)He also served as assistant to Solicitor General Rex E. Lee from 1981 to 1985, where he argued 12 cases before the Supreme Court.Confirmation could be tough battleReid said the Senate would give Alito "an especially long hard look by the Senate because of what happened last week to Harriet Miers.""Conservative activists forced Miers to withdraw from consideration for this same Supreme Court seat because she was not radical enough for them," he said. "Now the Senate needs to find out if the man replacing Miers is too radical for the American people." Sen. Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican who chairs the Judiciary Committee, said, "We'll be interested in Judge Alito's views on following precedents. He said in a very brief statement that he has worked hard to follow the precedents of the Supreme Court and there is a lot more to the issue of a woman's right to choose than how you may feel about it personally."As opposed as they were to Miers' nomination, conservative activists were equally pleased with the president's latest choice."Harriet Miers was a feminist who had no judicial experience and her strongest qualification was that she's a friend of the president's. Alito has a terribly impressive record as a judge and as a prosecutor," said Phyllis Schlafly, president of the ultra-conservative Eagle Forum.Jan LaRue, legal counsel for Concerned Women for America, a conservative public policy group, complimented Alito's qualifications and said he "has always been one of our top choices for the Supreme Court."Abortion-rights activists said they strongly opposed the nomination."Judge Alito would undermine basic reproductive rights, and Planned Parenthood will oppose his confirmation," Karen Pearl, interim president of the organization. "It is outrageous that President Bush would replace a moderate conservative like Justice O'Connor with a conservative hardliner." Bush nominated Miers on October 3 to replace O'Connor, often a moderate swing vote, on the high court. O'Connor, who has announced her retirement, will stay on the court until the Senate confirms her replacement.CNN's Dana Bash contributed to this story.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Moving quickly to pick a Supreme Court nominee after his last selection withdrew her name, President Bush on Monday nominated Circuit Court Judge Samuel Alito -- a favorite of conservatives -- to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor."Judge Alito's reputation has only grown over the span of his service," Bush said from the White House, with Alito by his side. "He has participated in thousands of appeals and authored hundreds of opinions. This record reveals a thoughtful judge who considers the legal merits carefully and applies the law in a principled fashion."Alito, a former U.S. attorney who has been a judge for 15 years, said while on the bench he has kept in mind what he called a "solemn responsibility." (Watch Bush call Alito 'fair-minded and principled' -- 4:15)"Federal judges have the duty to interpret the Constitution and the laws faithfully and fairly, to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans, and to do these things with care and with restraint, always keeping in mind the limited role that the courts play in our constitutional system," he said."And I pledge that, if confirmed, I will do everything within my power to fulfill that responsibility." (Samuel Alito accepts with reverence and thanks -- 4:15) Sen. Charles Schumer, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that will hold a hearing on the nomination, panned Bush's choice."It is sad that the president felt he had to pick a nominee likely to divide America instead of choosing a nominee in the mold of Sandra Day O'Connor, who would unify us," the New York Democrat said. Bush called for Alito to be confirmed as associate justice by the end of the year. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said an Alito appointment would narrow the high court's view, making it less diverse."This appointment ignores the value of diverse backgrounds and perspectives on the Supreme Court," the Nevada Democrat said. "The president has chosen a man to replace Sandra Day O'Connor, one of only two women on the court. For the third time, he has declined to make history by nominating the first Hispanic to the court."White House counsel Harriet Miers withdrew from the process Thursday after weeks of opposition from liberals and conservatives, who questioned her qualifications and record. 'Scalito'Legal experts consider the 55-year-old Alito so ideologically similar to Justice Antonin Scalia that he has earned the nickname "Scalito." (Profile of his legal resume)"The qualifications issue, I don't think will cut against him at all," CNN's senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said. "The big issue will be judicial philosophy. He is very conservative, and the issue that he is most publicly identified with is abortion.""Since he's been on the court, he has been a very outspoken conservative voice, and that's where you're going start to see objections," Toobin said. (Notable decisions)In 1991, in one of his more well-known decisions, Alito was the only dissenting voice in a 3rd Circuit ruling striking down a Pennsylvania law that required women to notify their husbands if they planned to get an abortion. The Supreme Court upheld the decision, Planned Parenthood v. Casey. (Abortion decision could be focus of attention -- 1:42)"I think a lot of people will look to that [Alito's opinion] as a proxy, as a symbol, as a hint of how Judge Alito feels about Roe v. Wade and conservatives will be pleased," Toobin said. "Liberals will be very distressed, I think."Alito, a Yale law graduate, also wrote the opinion in 1999 in a case that said a Christmas display on city property did not violate separation of church and state doctrines because it included a large plastic Santa Claus as well as religious symbols. Alito was put on the circuit court bench by President George H.W. Bush in 1990 after his service as U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey. (Biography)He also served as assistant to Solicitor General Rex E. Lee from 1981 to 1985, where he argued 12 cases before the Supreme Court.Confirmation could be tough battleReid said the Senate would give Alito "an especially long hard look by the Senate because of what happened last week to Harriet Miers.""Conservative activists forced Miers to withdraw from consideration for this same Supreme Court seat because she was not radical enough for them," he said. "Now the Senate needs to find out if the man replacing Miers is too radical for the American people." Sen. Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican who chairs the Judiciary Committee, said, "We'll be interested in Judge Alito's views on following precedents. He said in a very brief statement that he has worked hard to follow the precedents of the Supreme Court and there is a lot more to the issue of a woman's right to choose than how you may feel about it personally."As opposed as they were to Miers' nomination, conservative activists were equally pleased with the president's latest choice."Harriet Miers was a feminist who had no judicial experience and her strongest qualification was that she's a friend of the president's. Alito has a terribly impressive record as a judge and as a prosecutor," said Phyllis Schlafly, president of the ultra-conservative Eagle Forum.Jan LaRue, legal counsel for Concerned Women for America, a conservative public policy group, complimented Alito's qualifications and said he "has always been one of our top choices for the Supreme Court."Abortion-rights activists said they strongly opposed the nomination."Judge Alito would undermine basic reproductive rights, and Planned Parenthood will oppose his confirmation," Karen Pearl, interim president of the organization. "It is outrageous that President Bush would replace a moderate conservative like Justice O'Connor with a conservative hardliner." Bush nominated Miers on October 3 to replace O'Connor, often a moderate swing vote, on the high court. O'Connor, who has announced her retirement, will stay on the court until the Senate confirms her replacement.CNN's Dana Bash contributed to this story.
Comments
On paper so far he seems conservative, but nothing unexpected.
They are not catering to Dems or the center of the country, and anyone expecting that has had their head up their ass for the last 5 years.
So we'll see what they dig up on old boy. If he's a square john like Roberts, it's a done deal.
He looked cold as hell, almost robotic, when Bush introduced him this morning. I am sure the confirmation hearings will be equally illuminating. He seems to be even more square than Roberts, with, if it's possible, a lot less personality. His daughter, however, looked like she might be tapable.
http://www.moveonpac.org/stopalito/?id=6240-3707106-9gff24AnYlX0OnXys4EAUA&t=2